Working in my office after a warm night fielding calls wanting my help with events before taking Daniella for a garden walk and popping in to Peacock’s auction in Bedford and then Willington Garden Centre for some Box plants and planting them later after helping Daniel for an hour with his homework. This as a report emerges of aircraft failures that prevented some of the Manchester Air-plane disaster escaping in time
A very warm night and therefore difficulty in sleeping and then it got cold in early morning and so I twice suffered as a result. Awake with my morning tea and paper, but soon called down to breakfast and so I read in the lounge afterwards until the children were clear of the bathroom. Shaved, showered and dressed and out to the birds, but only four duck eggs. Later today our neighbours found a lot of duck eggs and so we will keep them in a lot later in future. I feed the doves also and, after picking up my cordless telephone, take Daniella for a walk round with me. She enjoyed recognising the ducks particularly and I pleased Diana by taking her away and managing to wear her out. To the office and this morning attending to my accounts for household expenses.
Several bills paid, money returned to de Zoete & Bevan and Daniel’s school fees as well as gas and electricity bills paid. I received back at last my garden plan and will work on it this weekend to extend it to cover the new riverside gardens. Lunch of pink salmon salad and plums to follow and then back to work for an hour or two. I returned phone calls to Apricot User Magazine (who wanted my photograph) the EEC Esprit secretariat (who wanted me to join them for a conference in two weeks time) and spoke also to Chris Shelton and Martin Isherwood. We seem all set for our Tuesday meetings now. By 2.30pm I had done enough and so left for St Neots to post my letters, collect a bank statement, and attend to Abbey National transfers. These small matters lead to problems as usual and I was somewhat delayed. Then on by car to Bedford and to look around the Peacock showrooms, but nothing in particular of interest for me. Then to the Willington garden centre, where I buy a new watering can, some more mole smokes, a new hose reel and nine Box plants. I have decided to introduce Box into the thin sections of hedge and gradually prune the Leylandii so that the Box can take over. A little time after tea before dark planting three of them; taking care to dig out a foot cube, sever any other roots, and then plant the Box with plenty of peat and bone meal. In to spend an hour with Daniel on his schoolwork and then the TV news, my journal and to bed. News today of a fault in the door of the 737 that burnt in Manchester killing 55 people. Vital seconds were lost as the chute jammed in the emergency door, but details have only just been revealed with the publishing of the investigation report. Alarm today also at the discovery at Pangbourne of a part of the flap of a 747, but officials are trying to make light of it. Statistics show inflation slightly down today, but still over 6%. A group of South African industrialists met leaders of the ANC in discussions today, despite the condemnation of President Botha, and find them useful. 10,000 people lined the streets of Glasgow today for the funeral of Jock Stein, after he died at the end of a drawn football international with Wales on Tuesday. The Americans run a test in space today to destroy a satellite and thereby start another arms race. To bed tonight thinking of doing my garden planning tomorrow.