I'm so sorry Katherine Hepburn's dead. She was one of the few film stars I wanted to meet and now there's no chance of that (there never was, Nicola!)

Since she was 96 when she died, I wonder how many people under 40 have even heard of her. She wasn't a great actress; probably her only films that will stand the test of time are 'Philadelphia Story,' 'The African Queen' and 'On Golden Pond'. There are memorable moments in other films, like the genuine tears that flooded her eyes when she looked at Spencer Tracey in 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.' (She wouldn't have stopped crying if she'd known he had only a few weeks to live. There were some very funny moments in 'Adam's Rib' and 'Bringing up Baby,' but the films themselves won't last. Like most of her other films, they are either too lightweight, too stylised or too dated. Katherine Hepburn was more than her films. She was real. She never succumbed to being a celebrity and when you saw her on screen, her personality came through the role. She was a feisty woman and I'm sorry she's gone.

Elaine came round to prune the apple trees. I was a little taken aback: I thought apple trees were pruned in the Autumn. "So they are," she said. "This is tip pruning." And she proceeded to prune the tips of the branches. I got caught up in the spirit of the thing and even suggested one or two places for her to prune. I felt really proud of myself when she told me I was getting the hang of it... I'm such a baby at heart!