A morning of Pepys and  factory heating traumas before a better day organising the Export IT symposium and UKITO Conference. Then an evening with Daniel as I hear of the government struggles with GCHQ traumas,  inappropriate MOD and Hungarian visits, but at least the tobacco manufacturers take a hit at last.

Up on time and half an hour reading Pepys before breakfast as usual. Slightly early to the office to find the office heating controls tampered with and so a busy ten minutes rectifying them to keep people happy. Several interesting trade journals to read and more tales of industry bankruptcies and failures.  It seems that the time is ripe for competition to take its toll and the shake out is taking many quite good companies with it. All my speakers for Export IT, apart from Bill Unsworth, will be attending my speakers conference and I was able to satisfy the Export IT Chairman today that my choice of speakers was sound. Also the arrangements for the UKITO conference are well advanced  and so things are progressing well.

A quick review of the mail and then straight down to a Quality Steering Committee Meeting. Good progress on matters of concern and I am happy that our quality will go up and up. A quick lunch of sandwiches and chicken soup from our new vending machine and then an afternoon interview with a Southern Sales Exec candidate who was not really suitable. Then a trying meeting with John who I am sure is the worse for his frustrations before a few minutes at the end of the day. A couple of hours this evening sorting out my desk and papers before home to find Diana in bed and Daniel watching the television.  A tea of pie salad and sweet of pear halves as Daniel brewed tea and I joined him to watch the “A” Team TV Adventure Series. News today of further pressure on Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe over the confusion on GCHQ redundancy payments. It now emerges that staff at remote stations are also affected. Meanwhile Mrs Thatcher is tied up in Hungary in a confusing mission of mediation after hawkish past events. A row today in Dublin as The Duke of Edinburgh visits a Northern Ireland base on the MOD’s initiative. The tobacco companies are announcing redundancies as sales have dropped more than a quarter in the last two years.