Day in Cambridge shopping and seeking refreshment amongst hordes of American tourists before struggling to complete the house purchase and then home to work on my steamer chairs as servicemen fall foul of the law in Cyprus and starvation continues in Africa but Britain is ending the aid soon
A good night’s sleep and awake to my morning tea and another bright morning. Breakfast of cornflakes and milk, with apple juice, brought to my bedside and this allowed me to finish reading the paper before rising. Up to wash, shave and dress at 9.00 and not out to the birds until 9.45. The 13th duck seems to be recovering slightly and now feeds with the others, but stays close to the slipway during the day. Only 9 duck eggs today, which is not too good. A little time at the office, first phoning David Tebbut of PCW magazine to discuss writing a chapter for a book with my theme ‘Why Buy British’, countering another chapter on ‘Why buy IBM’. I agree to do it and will get a fee to pass on to the BMMG. Then to update my bank statements and work out my balances, before collecting Diana and Della and setting off to town. I was due to meet them in half an hour after they had been to the library and I had completed a few transactions, but the Abbey National gave such poor service that I was at least a quarter of an hour late. It seems they had not updated their computers for the new transaction rules and have to do my business over two days and keep the pass books in the meantime! Eventually, off to Cambridge and we park at a meter for an hour and go to the Copper Kettle for our normal lunch of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
As a luxury, we have strawberries (and cream for me) to follow. I off to a bookshop until after 2.00pm and then by car to Marshalls who repair the windscreen wipers, which is a relief as it had started to rain again. After, I left for town, but could not park in time to meet Diana at the Belinda’s coffee shop and so collected her by car and parked at Lion Yard. A terrible problem getting served for afternoon drinks at the Lion Yard and also at ‘Grandma’s Tea Room’ and so we eventually get a coffee and tea in the Mall off of the Market Square, before buying some pears in the market. Cambridge was packed with American tourists – every shop, coaches of tours with walks in procession. It really makes everything very busy on top of the normal trade of visitors to the city and is quite intolerable. It will only get worse in late June and July/August as well. I drop off the cheque for £59,000 odd to Vinters for the house purchase, taking care to deliver it after the banks close to save a day’s interest. We set off home and fill up with petrol at our favourite filling station on the way, where the price is still just under £2 per gallon. Home at 5.00pm and just time to check for messages at the office before back for tea of tomato soup, bread rolls and strawberries. Time after to start repairing the second two steamer chairs and finish sanding off the first one ready for a final two coats of varnish. I tightened the rivets on one chair in particular and took apart a poorly repaired arm and prepared it for gluing soon. In the middle of this Diana arrived back with her parents, having collected them from the station. We gave them tea and then chatted pleasantly for the evening, drinking and nibbling cashew nuts. They were most interested in our antique collecting and plans for the new house and retired rather late to their rooms in 39 Gordon Road. Diana made the drinks, I made up my journal and we turned in rather late at 11.30pm. News today of 7 servicemen arrested on 28 charges of spying in Cyprus, being hooked on a cocktail of drugs, money and homosexual sex. Also of a similarly weird case of a Syrian diplomat abusing the benefit of diplomatic immunity from the law to avoid eviction from somebodies West Kensington flat. The starvation is continuing in Africa, but Britain is to end the Hercules transport flights in September. The weather ended cool, but quite fine today and is forecast to continue changeable and cool tomorrow.