The Sun Also Rises on Boxing Day

The monkey puzzle was a gift from Uncle Bob and was six foot tall when we transplanted it from his garden in Grangemouth to ours in Carnoustie. It's tap root was double that length and was the main cause of the difficulty we had in finding it a suitable place in our garden. It took four years to decide that we hadn't killed it by transplanting it and it has showed steady growth since. Oscar, Pepsi, Piccadilly, Copper and a few other rodents lie entwined by its feet, and it looks out over the North Sea with greater majesty and height as each year passes.