Della’s Birthday and 2nd Year – Cuddly toys for Della on her 2nd Birthday, also the anniversary of the sale of Comart on a warm and humid day during which I work hard on The Lady and then swim with Debbie and her friends to recover. The government receives the Peacock report on the future of the BBC, British Rail’s Advanced Passenger Train is scrapped and the new Hawk fighter crashes, killing the test pilot
Today was the second anniversary of that golden day when Della was born and I also signed the contract to sell Comart to Kode for £2 ½ million. Another fine morning as I got up and washed and shaved before breakfast. Della was given several of her toys at the table – two more cuddly dolls and a fluffy dog that walked and barked when you clapped your hands and stopped when you clapped them again. Letters from Alf Butterfield and Mr Watson, Daniel’s chemistry teacher. Alf responded in reasonably calm vein to my letter, but was still insisting on Stacey’s independence and the purchase of the house. Mr Watson was defensive about Daniel’s lack of a textbook and not very convincing in my view; and I shall have to reply to both when I get the time.
The paper and the rest of the mail and computer magazines to read, before out to restart work on The Lady on a warm, but fresher morning after the heat and humidity of recent days. I shaped the new 2”x1”x6ft insert for the cabin side to replace the volume removed with dry rot and it was time for a lunchtime salad with Di and her mother. Out again after, gluing the member in place and then stripping off the remainder of the support and sanding down the woodwork. Later in the afternoon, I planed down the surface to fit, before taking a swim with Debbie and her friends Amy and Briana, who can each swim and dive very well. Di then took Debbie horse riding and, after tea on her return, I cleared up and covered the work on The Lady, before watering all of the flower and shrub beds and tending the birds. News today of the Peacock report on Broadcasting, which called for no advertising on the BBC, the indexing of the TV license to inflation for 10 years, and a new £10 car radio license. They also want Radio 1 and 2 to be sold off and the ITV franchise sold by auction to the highest bidder next time round. Significantly, the government have not committed to implementing the proposals and Thatcher is no doubt disappointed at the rejection of advertising on the BBC. The government announced, to a surprised House of Commons, that they have put off plans to privatise the water industry. They were criticised as cowards for using a written reply as the means of revealing the decision and so avoiding questions and ridicule. British Rail’s APT (Advanced Passenger Train) with its tilting mechanism to negotiate corners faster, has been abandoned as a project and its fourth and final prototype sent to the scrapheap. Yesterday, British Aerospace’s new Hawk trainer/fighter had a serious setback, when the prototype crashed and killed the test pilot. The death toll for the three weeks of the South African emergency has risen to over 100 and in the latest of a spate of bomb attacks, a police station was hit and two white police officers injured.