Meetings with executives and duck economics as the dissolution honours list is named

A warm but pleasant sunny day and first to the office to review the mail and then to write a job specification for Peter King. Peter arrives on time and we spend most of the day reviewing his responsibilities, remuneration and relocation package and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each branch manager. I offer Peter a £11.9K net profit based commission package on top of his salary to total about £27/28K. Also to buy back the Manchester Shares for £5K and allow a second option on shares in The Byte Shop Ltd after UEH. Peter is wary of the commission because of the unknown assumptions of The Byte Shop Budget but realises that a huge salary element will reduce the gearing and hence the reward of doing very well.

A good session and after a brief meeting with Ian Nickson to agree a personnel review and check the status of some technical problems we are experiencing with the new Multi-Processing Systems. Then an early evening with David Fear reading another secretarial review and evaluating space requirements for the sales department. It seems my suggestion of a hatch instead of the interconnecting door could create space for two people.

Home to tea with brief contact with Debbie and Daniel with whom I put the ducks to bed. Then to set The Lady’s batteries to charging because we may well be taking out the boat this weekend. I have now been able to calculate the full costs of expanding the Duck Flock. The ducklings cost 95 pence each or a total of £11.40 for twelve of which 11 have survived. The costs of the new duck house expansion were timber (cut to size) £57and 62pence, Roofing felt bolts nails hinges etc £20and90pence – together a total of £78.52p. At 5p per egg it will take 1570 eggs to repay this housing or 1/3 of a full year’s laying!

Today the dissolution honours list is announced and (Barons) Gerry Fitt and Harold Wilson are named with a peerage also for Jo Grimond. About 25 people are killed in another coach crash in Germany and the election debates for the Labour Leadership are hotting up