A very busy and productive day researching my Harraden paintings in Cambridge Reference Library with Charles Jackson’s help, back to supervise the children, varnish The Lady (twice) and clean the swimming pool thoroughly as Britain starts talks with Oliver Tambo of the ANC, poor Barry McGuigan loses his title boxing in unfairly hot Santa Cruz conditions and Ulster Unionist MPs are ‘up in arms’ (literally) for being ejected from Stormont
Early to rise and, drinking my tea quickly, soon to get washed and dressed for breakfast. I put on my new sports jacket, white shirt and tie and reasonable trousers for today’s planned visit to Cambridge. Breakfast of croissants with the children, then time to feed the doves and scan the paper, whilst Diana took Debbie to school. I made sure that Daniel had a working pen and sharp pencils for his examinations today. A little look round the garden and pleased to see the showers of yesterday had freshened up the place.
Also surprised to see how well the shrubs were growing that we planted last year. A fir died in the frosts of last winter and will need replacement. Pete and the boy were already at work on the earth moving and managed to nearly finish the ‘causeway’ and smooth out a lot of the land behind the sheds. Di and Della returned and so we set off in good mood for Cambridge, Della chortling at a trip in ‘Daddy’s car’. Roadworks and traffic delays getting there, but we parked in Round Church car park and made our way to Eaden Lilleys to meet Di’s parents for coffee. Then Charles and I left the ladies, who went shopping, and walked across Cambridge to the Reference Library. Charles Jackson used to work there for 8 years and seemed to know everybody there. He had kindly offered to help me trace the books that published my Harraden pictures. I was photographed, given a readers ticket for the day and we soon found George Gorham’s book of St Neots and The Antiquarian Itinerary by James Sergeant Storer in the catalogue and also details of other publications, including Harraden’s Work. We put in a request slip and soon had Gorham’s book, which included the one painting as a frontispiece. Then Harraden’s Cantabrigia Depicta, 1809, came forward and we were interested to see the range of drawings of Cambridge colleges drawn by him. Drawn by them, in fact, as it seems that R Harraden had a son, Richard Banks Harraden, who was even more prolific in the same material. From the reference library I found that R Harraden, painter, of 2 Great Newport Street, exhibited at The Royal Academy in 1779 and that R B Harraden at the British Institution in 1823 and at the Royal Society of British Artists from 1824 to 1830 and left that latter society in 1849. Time for lunch at the Copper Kettle with Di’s parents again and we enjoyed roast beef and strawberries and cream to follow. Home to manage to collect Debbie in time from school and then I managed also to get a coat of varnish on The Lady before tea. Time with Daniel prompting his revision, tea of sole (grilled), then another coat of varnish and the last hour of daylight cleaning out the swimming pool. A big job, but handled it quickly and well. In after dark to my journal and the TV teletext news. ANC leader, Oliver Tambo, met Lynda Chalker, a Minister at the Foreign Office, today and defended the use of violence to bring power to the blacks in South Africa. In Johannesburg, 19 people (black and white) were injured by two bomb blasts, 30 minutes apart, to make the point. Amnesty International has reported that a second entire church congregation has been arrested for falling foul of the security laws. Barry McGuigan lost his World Feather-weight boxing title to Steve Cruz of the US in a torrid 100degF cauldron at Las Vegas. He was ahead on points until the later rounds, when exhaustion took over and he lost after being knocked down three times in the last round. A poor week for British sport, what with England’s exit from the World Cup, the test defeat vs India and now this! The restrictions on lamb movement have now been extended to Scotland and there is rising alarm about the long-term effects of the Chernobyl radiation releases. The Ulster Unionist MPs were physically ejected from Stormont, after its closure and their refusal to leave. Rev. Ian Paisley threatened attacks on the policemen’s homes and claimed that Ulster was on the verge of a civil war. A warmer day today and it is forecast to be warmer still tomorrow.