0:00:02 > 0:00:05Hello. Last autumn, a group of us here at the BBC in Aberdeen
0:00:05 > 0:00:10started work on a project which we hope will, over the coming weeks,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12become a regular part of your viewing.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Hello, and welcome to Beechgrove Garden.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Now, I wonder how many times I've said that.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27He's the grandfather of Scottish horticulture.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Well, he's a lovely person, you know, and he's a bit of a softie.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33He loves the humour of gardening. He just loves the humour of life.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36I made rather a skittish remark
0:00:36 > 0:00:38and his lovely twinkle came out
0:00:38 > 0:00:41and he said "Och, ya wee besom!"
0:00:41 > 0:00:45He's not an intsy-tinsy, just for show gardener,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47all that sort of instant gardening programme,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50they're an anathema to Jim, cos he's a real gardener.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54And every day with Jim is a school day.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03In the late '70s, I, as did millions of you at home,
0:01:03 > 0:01:04fell madly in love
0:01:04 > 0:01:06with a TV programme that appeared on our screens.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Hosted by Jim McColl and his trusty pal, George Barron,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13these guys, with their incredible passion and knowledge of gardening,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17brought the outside world into our living rooms.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Now, I was fortunate enough to meet Jim further down the line,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22but it wasn't gardening that brought us together.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24It was music.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Aly Bain and myself were doing a concert in Islay
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and we got a whisper that the legendary Jim McColl
0:01:29 > 0:01:30was going to be in the audience.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33Little did we know that Jim was actually a long-time fan
0:01:33 > 0:01:35and when we finished, he came to see us.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37We shared a chat and a dram.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39The next thing I knew, Jim had my accordion strapped on,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I was relegated to piano
0:01:41 > 0:01:43and concert number two began for the evening.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Down the years, Jim and I have met many more times,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48but over the last couple of weeks,
0:01:48 > 0:01:50I've been able to appreciate Jim the man
0:01:50 > 0:01:53a little bit more, as he's taken me, as he would say himself,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56on a wee dander down the garden path of his life.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59- Well, it'll soon be strawberry time, George.- Aye.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01So we've got to spray 'em, straw 'em...
0:02:01 > 0:02:03- And net 'em.- And net 'em. - THEY LAUGH
0:02:03 > 0:02:08After listening to BBC garden programmes,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11they suggested burning it, which I did,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13with disastrous results.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14LAUGHTER
0:02:14 > 0:02:18We take no responsibility for other broadcasters on the BBC.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22I mean, there's a' kinds of funny chiels get on the BBC from time to time!
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Jim's is such a familiar voice and face.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Well, he's been part of Scottish culture and family life
0:02:29 > 0:02:30for over 40 years.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32We've all seen him gardening on the telly,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35but what about the man behind the trowel?
0:02:35 > 0:02:37- Well, you're getting into a fair snarl.- Aye.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38In this special programme,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40we have the chance to examine the life and times
0:02:40 > 0:02:44of the horticultural broadcasting legend that is Jim McColl.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49I've got a wee swing going here now.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Well, that is the strangest way to arrive at a community garden.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01An Ayrshire man,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05Jim was born in Kilmarnock on the 19th September in 1935
0:03:05 > 0:03:08and so it was fitting that we began our digging around in Jim's roots
0:03:08 > 0:03:11in the town of his birth, with one of the passions that has shaped him,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13the works of our national bard
0:03:13 > 0:03:16and fellow Ayrshire man, Robert Burns.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18- Isn't this lovely?- Absolutely.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21I suppose I first visited it about 75 years ago!
0:03:21 > 0:03:25'No sooner had we arrived in Killie, at the Burns Monument Centre,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27'we were met by Kilmarnock's provost
0:03:27 > 0:03:29'with an appropriate Burnsian birthday gift for Jim.'
0:03:29 > 0:03:32So I'd like to present you with a Burns book
0:03:32 > 0:03:34on behalf of everyone at East Ayrshire Council.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36- That's nice. - You're welcome to Kilmarnock.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37This is the Luath edition.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41The provost gives these books out to special people
0:03:41 > 0:03:42and it's very special,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46celebrating your 80th and your welcome to Kilmarnock today.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I'm very grateful, thank you for that.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50I'll never...
0:03:50 > 0:03:52- forget Kilmarnock.- Not yet.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54- Well deserved, Jim.- Thank you.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57And a nice inscription on the inside, too.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00"The simple Bard, "unbroke by rules of art,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02"he pours the wild effusions of the heart,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05"and if inspir'd, 'tis nature's pow'rs inspire,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09"her's all the melting thrill, and her's the kindling fire".
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- That's good. - Nothing like a bit of poetry.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14He kind of knew his job, the boy, didn't he?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16JIM LAUGHS
0:04:16 > 0:04:18"Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20"great chieftain o' the..."
0:04:20 > 0:04:22- Squeeze-box race! - THEY LAUGH
0:04:22 > 0:04:25I mean, how have you kept Burns with you over the years?
0:04:25 > 0:04:29- I've done an Immortal Memory in Penang.- Really?- Yes!
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- I've toasted the haggis... - What bus do you get to Penang?
0:04:32 > 0:04:34- THEY LAUGH - ..toasted the haggis in Cambodia.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Gee whizz.- Number one son is out there, you see,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40so there's always, has to be a Burns supper, or something.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43It's getting the haggis there that's the biggest problem.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Did you fall in love with Burns because it was obligatory,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49because of where you came from, or was it a genuine interest
0:04:49 > 0:04:51- in the words that he was writing? - Well, I think it grows,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and as you get older, you begin to see more in the words.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57This looks a bit special.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59I know, it's always exciting to see these old books.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02I got my little wee 1947,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06was as far back as I would go, but these are original.
0:05:06 > 0:05:07Wow.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11It's got a library ticket, it was due back!
0:05:11 > 0:05:12THEY LAUGH
0:05:12 > 0:05:141972!
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Yeah, yeah, yeah. "The twa dogs."
0:05:17 > 0:05:18- Yeah.- "A Tale."
0:05:18 > 0:05:20"I've often wondere'd, honest Luath,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23"what sort of life poor dogs like you have
0:05:23 > 0:05:26"and when the gentry's life I saw,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29"what way poor bodies liv'd ava.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32"Our laird gets in his racked rents,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35"His coals, his kane, an' a' his stents..."
0:05:35 > 0:05:38- So, he's describing the life of the nobbery...- Yeah.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42..and, of course, Luath is a wee collie dog
0:05:42 > 0:05:45with a different view of life, but a bit of a philosopher.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47It's a story of society,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49the haves and the have-nots
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and everybody can associate with it.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Some may look down on it,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57but in their heart of hearts, this is about man.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- And do you think...- It's about civility and civilisation.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Do you think that your connection with Burns' work
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- has had an effect on the way you've lived your own life? - I think you do.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08I think there's two things,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11that sort of work and as far as I'm concerned, say, the Bible.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Take the Bible away
0:06:14 > 0:06:17and just give me the ten commandments, that'll do me any day.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19There's almost a phrase in the Burns works to cover
0:06:19 > 0:06:22just about anything and everything we can get involved in.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Well, "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley."
0:06:26 > 0:06:28And you'd be forgiven for thinking that I'm down here
0:06:28 > 0:06:31in supplicant pose, praying for better weather.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35'And how fitting is it that there is yet another appropriate gift,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37'Jim's very own family tree.'
0:06:37 > 0:06:39THEY LAUGH
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Genus McColl.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44Species...
0:06:44 > 0:06:46never known!
0:06:46 > 0:06:48THEY LAUGH
0:06:48 > 0:06:50- Holy mackerel!- Look at this.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Now you can see here that we've got back to Angus McColl,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56who was your great, great, great grandfather...
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- Ooh.- ..and this book tells the story of your family.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04So, Angus McColl, as you can see, was a gardener.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Did you know that?
0:07:06 > 0:07:07It's in the genes.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- I knew it was!- That's amazing. - It tells the full story
0:07:11 > 0:07:15of your life on the McColl side, the family tree.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17What a great thing.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19I thought Facebook was bad.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20THEY LAUGH
0:07:20 > 0:07:22How many of these people do you think
0:07:22 > 0:07:27were involved in gardening, horticulture, agriculture?
0:07:27 > 0:07:30There was Father himself and then Mary, who had a market garden,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and then there was Willie, who was a farmer
0:07:32 > 0:07:34and his family are still farming.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38And Uncle Willie was just brilliant and he and I had a great relationship.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40He wanted me to do agriculture,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43but he'd already two sons in the business
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and Father said, "Well, please yourself".
0:07:46 > 0:07:50I can still, actually, size up a nice-looking heifer.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52THEY LAUGH
0:07:52 > 0:07:55ACCORDION MUSIC
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- So, Jim, you've brought me to this lovely park here.- Yes.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01What significance do parks have in your life?
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Well, I should say it's the Kay Park and in Kilmarnock,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06there are four or five lovely parks.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Before he left for other places,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- my father was deputy superintendant for all of the parks.- Wow.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14And the Kay Park here was one of them.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17He started off in the Howard Park in the centre of town
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and when he came back from the forces in '46,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22he immediately went back into the park there
0:08:22 > 0:08:24and he was foreman of the park,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27so it was part of the fabric of our life, really.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29You're much influenced by your environment
0:08:29 > 0:08:31and that's one of the features,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33obviously, that was part of my environment.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35And years later, in 1989,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Jim was able to visit and interview his dear dad
0:08:38 > 0:08:42in his then Helensburgh garden to talk begonias.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45And then, after time,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47they'll be covered up.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- Right.- Covered like so.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54So, they've got to be kept in frost-proof premises
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- and as I mentioned before, with certain permission... - JIM LAUGHS
0:08:58 > 0:09:02..I'm allowed to use under the bed in the spare room
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and that's where the boxes are wintered
0:09:05 > 0:09:09- until, say, around about the month of April.- Right.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Jim's upbringing in Kilmarnock
0:09:10 > 0:09:14was also the seed bed for another of his passions...music.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16'And in the surroundings of the Kay Park,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19'reminiscing on early family life with his dad,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'Jim and I strapped on our squeeze-boxes ready for a tune.'
0:09:22 > 0:09:25What are your memories of family life in those days?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Well, of course, he disappeared from the time I was five
0:09:27 > 0:09:31and he came back at the end of the war and I was 10, 11, you know,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and so I can remember from then on
0:09:33 > 0:09:35when things really started to happen
0:09:35 > 0:09:37and one of his Army pals,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39they went to football every Saturday in the winter time,
0:09:39 > 0:09:40nip down to Rugby Park,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43but we all met up afterwards and we had our high tea
0:09:43 > 0:09:45and then we would sit and listen to The McFlannels.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- What was The McFlannels? - Well, it was a family saga, really,
0:09:48 > 0:09:53just like The Broons type thing on the radio.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57'Once again we bring you The McFlannels, by Helen W Pryde.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59'Ah, tak aff yer boots if ye want tae,
0:09:59 > 0:10:00'Sarah's not in the now,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03'I'm used wi' bad smells at the work.'
0:10:03 > 0:10:05And then, of course, there was Scottish dance music.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07The parents all loved Scottish dance music
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and the tune that it all started with was Kate Dalrymple.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Kate Dalrymple, that's Take The Floor, I guess?
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Well, it was a pre-runner of the Take The Floor.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18- Let me hear you...- Kate Dalrymple,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22- and they still use it, Robbie still uses it today?- Oh, I'm sure he does.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25THEY PLAY "KATE DALRYMPLE"
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Welcome to Tak' The Flair!
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Och! Me, me, I go back to the road shows,
0:10:45 > 0:10:49it was one of the best highlights of my life on television
0:10:49 > 0:10:52was presenting the Beechgrove Roadshows.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Well, here I am having a general chat about gardening,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58but the experts have arrived now, so I'm going to leave it to them.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01No matter where we were, Jim always took the accordion with him
0:11:01 > 0:11:06'and George Barron sometimes took his fiddle
0:11:06 > 0:11:09'and of course I contemplated a song or two'
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and we had an impromptu ceilidh, often just between ourselves.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Was there much music in the house?
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- Piano.- Yeah?- And of course, that was one of the problems.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19When I flew the nest,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23I suddenly realised I couldn't take the piano with me
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and in the meantime, one of my farming cousins
0:11:26 > 0:11:28had a squeeze-box and I just loved the sound of it,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32so I bought a Frontalini from a music shop in Ayr.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34What kind of sauce did you have with that?
0:11:34 > 0:11:35THEY LAUGH
0:11:35 > 0:11:37All the sauce in the world, because I could,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39I could play with the right hand of course,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41but you've got to learn the bellows.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Well, I used to sit in the bothy in Auchincruive
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and drive the boys absolutely wild as I sat trying.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- What about playing The Headlands? - The Headlands? Aye.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52MUSIC: The Headlands by Ronnie Cooper
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I can just imagine Jim entertaining,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13or maybe torturing his fellow horticultural students
0:12:13 > 0:12:15as he taught himself to play the squeeze-box
0:12:15 > 0:12:16in his leisure time in what was then
0:12:16 > 0:12:21the West of Scotland College of Agriculture.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Well, Jim, this must bring some happy memories back to you,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27this is where you started to formalise your career.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29- Absolutely.- Just think of working in this environment.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33I spent two years at college, formal training,
0:12:33 > 0:12:34and at the end of that,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36the superintendent of these gardens,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38which served all the students and so on,
0:12:38 > 0:12:40said to me, "Have you got a job to go to, boy?"
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I said, "No." He said, "Well, there's one for you here".
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- Really?- Yes.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48So, I came onto the staff here, lived in the wee bothy up there
0:12:48 > 0:12:51and I did three years here in three different departments
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and for one whole year, I kind of looked after this bit.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56I cut all this grass every Thursday
0:12:56 > 0:13:00in the growing season with a big 36-inch mower...
0:13:00 > 0:13:01That's a lot of grass.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04It was a throwback to the old days of the estate,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07but what you were doing was learning the rhythm of the seasons,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09the priorities of the job.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- And the disciplines.- The disciplines of how to get it done,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15so it was a hugely important learning curve
0:13:15 > 0:13:18and learning actually on the job as well.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22How did you find that formal learning aspect to it?
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Was it quite revealing?
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I'm going to be very predictable...
0:13:27 > 0:13:28it grows on you!
0:13:28 > 0:13:30THEY LAUGH
0:13:30 > 0:13:32I can't help but draw some comparisons,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35having spoken to you for the last little while,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39between horticulture, gardening and music.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41You know, you can teach anybody to play tunes
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and you can learn to play an instrument,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47but it's learning to love it and to love the music and love the craft
0:13:47 > 0:13:49and clearly, that's what you do.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Absolutely right. But the interesting thing is
0:13:51 > 0:13:54I use the same analogy in a different way.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57You can start gardening any time you like,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59there are no barriers.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01You can get involved or you can be a spectator,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04you can go on to be a champion, or you just like a nice lawn.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06It's the same with music.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09What effect does this all have on you personally?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- I'm a kind of happy chappy! - THEY LAUGH
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I do what I can for my fellow man, I do what I can for the family.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16What's life for otherwise?
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Yeah, I 100% agree with you.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20ACCORDION MUSIC
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Aye, it's tomato time again.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25I'm going away to sit in a corner and think about that.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28In the 1970s, Jim brought his young family to Aberdeenshire
0:14:28 > 0:14:30and it's from Jim's present home in Oldmeldrum
0:14:30 > 0:14:34that I learned the connection between another two of Jim's passions,
0:14:34 > 0:14:35whisky...
0:14:35 > 0:14:37and tomatoes.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41I feel really privileged to have been invited into your own greenhouse
0:14:41 > 0:14:44to see Jim McColl's own tomato plants.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47They're not the best this year, I can tell you.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50I'm suffering, like everybody else, from the peculiar summer we've had.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52We've got a crop, that's for sure.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- You do.- If they would just ripen, I want them to turn red!
0:14:56 > 0:15:00What is it with you and tomatoes? Where did this love affair begin?
0:15:00 > 0:15:04I could argue that it's why I'm here in many respects, you know,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07but if you come outside, I'll tell you all about it.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10This is quite a nice bit of ground,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14but it used to be covered with polytunnels and glasshouses.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15- Really?- Yes, exactly.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18So, I go back to the mid-'70s,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21we'd just had the oil crisis of '73
0:15:21 > 0:15:25and there was big headlines in the newspapers saying
0:15:25 > 0:15:27"The Scotch tomato's going to be disappearing"
0:15:27 > 0:15:31because the Clyde Valley houses were old and difficult to heat
0:15:31 > 0:15:35and with the cost of fuel, it wasn't going to work.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38The production director of Stanley P Morrison Ltd,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40based in Glasgow, is reading this
0:15:40 > 0:15:42and he's having something of the same problem
0:15:42 > 0:15:46with his distillery in Oldmeldrum, so on the phone, "McColl..."
0:15:46 > 0:15:49..right, "could we grow tomatoes in Aberdeenshire?"
0:15:49 > 0:15:51I said, "Yes, but it's going to cost you because
0:15:51 > 0:15:53"they'll take a lot of heating."
0:15:53 > 0:15:56The story is we finished up, we put a half acre,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00multi-span poly-tunnel on this piece of grass out here
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and we used waste energy.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05The water that was cooling the spirit
0:16:05 > 0:16:07then had to go to a cooling tower.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Well, that was costing money.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12So, instead of that, we diverted it through the glasshouse
0:16:12 > 0:16:14and it heated the glasshouse.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18So, at its peak, by the end of the '80s, 200 tonnes of tomatoes.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20- That's incredible.- Waste energy.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24It was a project that was 20 years before its time.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25It was so far ahead of its time
0:16:25 > 0:16:28that it was featured on the then also ground-breaking
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Tomorrow's World.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32By boosting that three or four times,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35they can get the plants to grow faster and stronger.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37The gas coming off the fermenters
0:16:37 > 0:16:39is high on carbon dioxide,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42so we bottled it, so to speak,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45but it brought with it the perfume,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47so people walked in there and it...
0:16:47 > 0:16:49- JIM SNIFFS - Whisky.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50THEY LAUGH
0:16:50 > 0:16:53So they were labelled in the local shops as Whisky Toms.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Whisky Toms.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- Sounds like my kind of tomato, to be honest.- Well, right enough!
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Well, I've drunk plenty of whisky and I've eaten plenty of tomatoes,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04but I never knew there was such a tight link between the two.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Well, in my life there has been,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08because, obviously, we made our life here,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10and we've just loved it.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Hello, and welcome to the Beechgrove Garden in Aberdeen.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18But how did Jim McColl become the longest serving, best loved,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20weelest-kent gardener on the telly?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23I spent 14 years south of the border.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26I saw the way that the gardens worked there,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29I saw the climate, different soils, all the rest of it,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32and the facilities that were available for the amateur gardener
0:17:32 > 0:17:35to help that person, you know, get better
0:17:35 > 0:17:38and I came back to Scotland a lot maturer than when I left
0:17:38 > 0:17:41and realised that it wasn't quite the same up here.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I came to work at the north college
0:17:43 > 0:17:46and quite soon I was invited to participate
0:17:46 > 0:17:48on a weekly radio programme
0:17:48 > 0:17:51and it was about helping people to garden better.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Eventually, I finished up chairing that programme
0:17:54 > 0:17:55and then, lo and behold,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58we're talking about doing a television programme.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Hello there, and welcome once again to the Beechgrove Garden.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10When we laid out the Beechgrove, it was laid out
0:18:10 > 0:18:13in a series of cameos of a back garden.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16No pretensions, just a back garden, a front garden,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19a few tubs and troughs, a few wee conifers and all that sort of stuff,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23'because that's where I knew for a fact
0:18:23 > 0:18:25'that people needed more information.'
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Now, we're fair enjoying this stroll...
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Oh, yes, we'll go in and see what Brian's doing at the...
0:18:29 > 0:18:33- No, we're going to look at the fruit house first.- Oh, yes of course, aye.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34You're nae getting away with that.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36The ethos was very much
0:18:36 > 0:18:41to keep feet on the ground and to keep contact with real gardeners.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45People respond because it's not beyond their comprehension,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47it couldn't be if it was coming from me,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51'or dare I say it, my late pal, George, who was a countryman,'
0:18:51 > 0:18:53a gardener all his days
0:18:53 > 0:18:56and he just got success by trial and error.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00There's a wee bit of detergent amongst the water, that will probably help to...
0:19:00 > 0:19:02That's an awful big word for you, George.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Aye, I swallowed a dictionary this morning.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- How does that taste, then? - Like a radish.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09JIM LAUGHS
0:19:09 > 0:19:12You can't create partnerships, successful partnerships.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15- They grow.- They happen. Like you and Aly.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19I mean, it happens and with George, a different generation.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22There was a generation between us, but most important,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25we complemented each other, we didn't compete.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27This is what we need to go with a cup of tea.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Well, exactly, yes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31And isn't that a magnificent cake?
0:19:31 > 0:19:32Aye, gosh, it's a beauty.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- You would just love to get... - Oh, just a half each.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39George Barron, of course, had the roof up when he was,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42when he left me to go and do a wee jobbie in the potting shed.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45The children were always waiting for George Barron to say...
0:19:45 > 0:19:48"I'm just off to the greenhouse to do a wee jobbie."
0:19:48 > 0:19:50A wee jobbie cracked them up,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52because it was because it was sort of family code for,
0:19:52 > 0:19:53for you know what.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55- You got anything?- I'm sure I have.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59There was George Barron speaking this very, very
0:19:59 > 0:20:00broad north-east accent,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03which at times to other parts of the country
0:20:03 > 0:20:04might have needed subtitles,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06and Jim McColl, very much an Ayrshire lad,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09also with a fine Scottish accent
0:20:09 > 0:20:13and again, it made for great viewing entertainment and listening.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17- You reckon there's going to be plenty of stuff in here?- Well, I'm prepared for a complete...
0:20:17 > 0:20:19- For a disaster.- Again, yep.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23People have asked me, "What makes you think you know?"
0:20:23 > 0:20:26On that day one, when George Barron and I stood in front of a camera
0:20:26 > 0:20:30'for the first time, he brought 50 years' experience to that spot
0:20:30 > 0:20:33'and I brought 25, 30 years' experience.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35'Now, if between us,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39'we couldn't talk for three minutes about how to plant tatties,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41'it's a bad show, isn't it?'
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- Let's go and do something sensible, George.- I think so.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46'George, of course, was numero uno
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'and then we've got Carole who's been with the programme'
0:20:49 > 0:20:51for 30-odd years as well.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Now, I suggested to the bosses,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56I says, "When George goes, I think we should have the quine".
0:20:58 > 0:20:59- What?- What?
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I said, "Well, not only would you then have the male-female,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05er, angle, but I said, she's English.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08'Now that'll get them talking. You see, well, it's worked!'
0:21:08 > 0:21:12- Welcome, Carole.- Hello, Jim.- But that really is a false thing
0:21:12 > 0:21:16- because you've been here for quite a while, haven't you? - I've been here three years now.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18You've really been the petticoat government
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- keeping us right for the last three years.- Something like that.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25But I never had a television, I only went there
0:21:25 > 0:21:28for the gardening post, not to be a presenter.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31The failures were equally, if not more important,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34but equally as important as the successes.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36I think we'll go for the big tip over, shall we?
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- We'd better not muddle them up... - THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER
0:21:39 > 0:21:40Watch this.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44THEY LAUGH
0:21:44 > 0:21:46There's nothing here!
0:21:46 > 0:21:49It's not weight, it's numbers we're going for, right, boys?
0:21:49 > 0:21:50THEY LAUGH
0:21:50 > 0:21:52We'll see you! Ta-ra!
0:21:52 > 0:21:54You'd better run!
0:21:54 > 0:21:56That's a disgrace, that.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57In recent years, Jim and Carole
0:21:57 > 0:22:00have been joined by fellow gardeners, George Anderson
0:22:00 > 0:22:01and Chris Beardshaw.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04He is one of those rare individuals
0:22:04 > 0:22:07who touches plants and touches the earth
0:22:07 > 0:22:09and is never more content
0:22:09 > 0:22:13than when he's got a trowel, or a spade, or seeds,
0:22:13 > 0:22:18or the produce that he's gained from the garden, in his hands.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Working with Jim has been absolutely magical.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28He and I share the same sense of humour.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- Off we go...- You keep your eye on the road, George.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35- You watch for speed cameras.- Yes, yes, a bit of time travel, eh?
0:22:35 > 0:22:36Absolutely.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38- Stop! - CAR SKIDS
0:22:38 > 0:22:40I've been down in the south now for, oh, many years,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44and it's an underprivileged life down here,
0:22:44 > 0:22:45but one of the great things is
0:22:45 > 0:22:47there is still a civilising influence
0:22:47 > 0:22:52in that we get the Beechgrove Garden on our tellies from time to time.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55We have...quite a few people are in touch with us nowadays
0:22:55 > 0:22:57because we're broadcasting south of the border
0:22:57 > 0:22:59and the interesting thing is they're not
0:22:59 > 0:23:03so concerned about the timing, which I was.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06It's not the when, it's the how and the why.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09So, it's like that old suit of mine with turn-ups,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12if I keep it long enough, it will come into fashion again.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Jim, I cannot believe that you're 80.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19I am such a fan, I have been all my life.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Have a fantastic birthday.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22Happy birthday!
0:23:22 > 0:23:24He's one of those rare things on television,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26somebody who's both entertaining
0:23:26 > 0:23:31and knowledgeable, and long may he continue doing that.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34The great Jim McColl, happy birthday and many happy returns.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Birthday greetings to Jim McColl
0:23:36 > 0:23:38from one little Essex sunflower.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Happy birthday, mannie.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Jim and his lovely wife Billie have been together for 56 years,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47or would that be 57?
0:23:47 > 0:23:5056? Fifty...
0:23:50 > 0:23:55- 57 years.- Ah. - But this is our 56th...
0:23:55 > 0:23:56- married.- It's a long time.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- We met at a nurses' dance. - Did you?
0:23:59 > 0:24:01In a maternity hospital.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Not many men meet their wife in a maternity hospital, that's for sure.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06That is true.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08So, would you consider yourself to be the head gardener?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Yes, very much so.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12And what would Jim's role be?
0:24:12 > 0:24:14- Assistant.- Yeah.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17I get the job of being a consultant every now and again.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19THEY LAUGH
0:24:19 > 0:24:21I remember watching the Beechgrove programme
0:24:21 > 0:24:23when I was involved in other projects, thinking,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27do you know what, that's the garden I'd like to work in.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Happy birthday.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31I really can't believe that after all these years
0:24:31 > 0:24:34I'm actually standing in the Beechgrove Garden.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35It's magic.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38These guys are absolutely incredible,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41all that knowledge and passion rolled into one.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42I'm kind of wondering
0:24:42 > 0:24:46if it's their equivalent of getting together for a tune.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50I'm having wee shivers watching this, it's great.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Jim, this has been your whole life, you've been involved in this
0:24:53 > 0:24:57- and you're 80 years old.- Yes! - What is your secret?
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Well, I think as I've said before, I started into it very early on,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04even when...on the farm, when I was a kid,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and keeping you out of mischief was simple, I'll give you a job to do.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09And you move on through horticulture,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12the job has to be done regardless of the weather,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16you know, plants grow seven days a week, they need tending.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18It all has an effect on you
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and at the end of the day, the results are just stunning.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25So, apart from the self-satisfaction of growing a crop,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29or pruning a rose and seeing it come into flower next year,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31all that sort of thing, it's the effect it has.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34And you've managed to share that passion though,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37- with the rest of the world. - Yeah.- How does that make you feel?
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Humble, because I don't see I'm doing anything wrong!
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Or anything different, for that matter.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45It's just the way you want to be, isn't it?
0:25:45 > 0:25:47You want to be happy when you go to bed at night
0:25:47 > 0:25:51and sleep the night and when you go into company with people
0:25:51 > 0:25:52and start talking about gardening,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56it starts relationships and it builds confidence
0:25:56 > 0:25:58and you get really good friends.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00I was watching yourself and Carole and Chris
0:26:00 > 0:26:03down below there working away and it's just a total joy to watch
0:26:03 > 0:26:08the three of you enjoying this common passion together.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10And if you had one piece of advice to give to someone
0:26:10 > 0:26:15about to embark on the hobby of gardening, what would you tell them?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Well, you know how I repeat myself very often, it's not just age...
0:26:18 > 0:26:20- Every day is a school day.- Yeah.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Always be prepared to learn a new way of doing it,
0:26:23 > 0:26:25or a better way or doing it, or whatever.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27And having an open mind, I suppose.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30There are one or two things where I'm...
0:26:30 > 0:26:32don't ask me.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35- How's my picking doing? - I might change character a bit. - How's my berry picking?
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Well, we're not getting much if we're only getting paid a tanner a punnet, are we?
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Jim, you're a horticultural treasure,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46I so loved working for you.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Happy, happy birthday and many more.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52It seems wholly appropriate to raise a glass to you, Jim,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54the ambassador for Scottish horticulture
0:26:54 > 0:26:58and not just the daddy, but the granddaddy of our industry.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Cheers, Jim. Many, many happy returns.
0:27:01 > 0:27:02Happy birthday.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Can I have another take?
0:27:07 > 0:27:09I know how old you are,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11and by jings, I'm only months behind you.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15I wish you a very, very happy 80th birthday
0:27:15 > 0:27:17and I hope indeed you're nae thinking of retiring,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19you're far too young!
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Yee!
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Hello, Jim. 80 years old, what a milestone.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32Mind, I'm not far behind you, but happy birthday from Phil and I.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Yeah, Jim, happy birthday. All the best, man.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37MUSIC: The First Train To Kyle by Phil and Johnny Cunningham
0:27:40 > 0:27:42I know it so well!
0:27:42 > 0:27:43But I don't know the name of it.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Well, it's actually called The First Train to Kyle.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49And why is it so special to you?
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Well, it was written by my late brother, Johnny Cunningham.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55- Fiddler extraordinaire. - He was amazing,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58he was a very fine fiddle player and a great tunesmith,
0:27:58 > 0:27:59he wrote loads of good tunes,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02and that tune was written in the Flodigarry Hotel
0:28:02 > 0:28:06and he had just travelled from Inverness to Kyle.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08It's so well-known, and I didn't know that story, you see,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12so there we are, I'm turning the tables on you.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Jim, I'd just like to say, without doubt,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18you are one of my favourite hardy perennials.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19Please keep gardening
0:28:19 > 0:28:24and I wish you a very happy and a very special 80th birthday.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Play us out.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27- Yeah, same tune?- Yes. Of course.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51Bye-bye.
0:28:51 > 0:28:52THEY LAUGH
0:28:52 > 0:28:53See you next week.
0:28:53 > 0:28:54JIM LAUGHS