We were busily sowing the final oilseed rape when I noticed the wide double-gates into the field were missing. We have been steadily widening field entrances so combines and artics can get in easily and put in shiny new steel bar gates – a big mistake. A second pair of gates was also missing – taken clean away from iron pillars bedded in concrete.

With four gates missing, I rang the insurance company confident that my multi-peril, all-risks policy would cover me. The local office confirmed I was covered and that the loss adjuster would ring. When he did, he informed me that the only gates insured for theft were those in the direct precincts of the dwelling house. Bog standard field gates did not qualify.

I was disappointed but there is little I can do about it. I have some spare, clearly secondhand gates around the place. They may not look as smart but they may be less attractive to opportunistic thieves.

Meanwhile, the oilseed rape seems to be emerging well after the weekend rain.

One of the major expenses this year followed a county council inspection on my septic tank. The unit was put in 100 years ago and has worked faultlessly since. It had the old-fashioned large clay tile pipes that could be easily rodded in the event of a blockage.

The effluent continued to be discharged into the same ditch with no obvious ill effects. However, the council inspector took a different view from a water quality aspect. His line was that the whole system was not up to standards and would have to be upgraded.

I took a deep breath. We settled on a competitively priced local firm to put in a modern treatment system with an electric power unit linked up to the domestic supply, and an intricate network of drainage pipes to disperse the effluent into a wide area of subsoil. I gather that every stand-alone dwelling being built in the countryside has the same installation so all modern criteria are being met. I hope for a clean bill of health in the near future.