Day of busy leisure opening up The Hayling View balconies for a fine day, tending an escaping dove chick, easing sticking doors, losing at chess to Daniel and swimming with the family before rushing David Tomlin back to the railway station as ex-Nazi Kurt Waldheim is elected Austrian President, the nuclear armaments disputes continue and The Hippies plan to stay put on a disused new Forest airstrip
Slept better and had a lay in as the only day that Daniel does not go to school. Showered and dressed in time for a nice fried breakfast and Debbie also had some bacon and egg, which is new for her. The boys went out on Aquabean this morning and were also persuaded to give Debbie a trip round the Island. I went round the house opening up all of the balconies, as it promised to be a fine and warm day at last and then saw from our bedroom balcony that one of the dove chicks was out of the nest box and hiding next to the chimney stack.
I got the ladder round and put it back, before any of the numerous cats found it and it seemed to be very pleased to get back with its nest-mate. I took time and trouble feeding the rest of the doves and made sure that all chicks were being attended to, before letting the ducks out rather earlier than I’d planned. Only 7 eggs as a result. I have started using the mincer to use up our old kitchen scraps again and it is most successful at reducing the pellet consumption. Deb went off for her ballet practice this morning and I looked after Della, whilst reading the Observer in the sun on the southern balcony. When she returned, I started work easing the internal doors again and this time took sections off of the bottoms of my office door and that of the downstairs shower. Then I carved the roast beef for lunch and it was superb meat, cooked well. We all enjoyed it and Daniel had more and more. After lunch, I played Daniel at chess on the south balcony and he won for the first time ever. Then I brought round the barbeque to the swimming pool area and, when the girls came back from the ballet concert this afternoon, I cooked sausages and burgers for all. The air temperature had risen to 69degF and, by now, the pool was up to 84degF as a special concession. After tea we all swam, including Di and Della and our little girl eventually swam on her own (with arm bands and tummy band) and would not be cuddled. A rush for me and the boys to get out of the pool and dressed and then a dash to get David onto the 6.35pm train from Bedford to St Albans. This evening, I watched another British football team, Scotland, lose 2-1 to West Germany and we seem to have little chance of any team in the second round. At dusk, I closed up all of the balcony doors and went out to feed the ducks on more kitchen scraps. Then to usher Daniel into bed and update my journal. News today is of Kurt Waldheim being elected President of Austria by a large majority, in spite of the revelations about his Nazi background. The SDP/Liberal Alliance difference on nuclear defence threatens to become a public row and there are calls for David Owen to withdraw his recent public comments. Greenpeace protesters have boarded a nuclear reprocessing waste ship, in a publicity stunt. The Hippies seem not to be planning to move from the New Forest disused airstrip, despite the court injunction. They are tired of being hounded and say they have nowhere to go.