Working outside varnishing The Lady on a warm and sunny day before taking a break with Di and Della swimming in the pool before joined there by Daniel and his friends later as my £ ¼ million cheques for the sale of our Kode shares arrived today and were quickly paid in! At last Britain is acting against South African apartheid atrocities but is also secretly planning the sale of British Leyland
A late night and paid the price this morning. Still, down to a cereal breakfast on time and checked that Daniel was ready for his next day’s exams. I had forgotten to put the ducks away last night and they roamed the river, quacking, as I fed the doves. Then to The Lady and a tough time preparing the for’d cabin for varnishing. A few breaks in the existing coats and I also dug out and replaced a section of the cabin-to-deck coving. A warm day and I had to change into shorts to keep comfortable. In for coffee and, as I sat relaxing, the River Bailiffs came by and queried Daniel’s boat registration – which was OK, but concealed. A coat of varnish before lunch of meat pie and another after.
Before lunch I persuaded Di and Della to join me in the pool, which was nice after its clean last night. The air temperature was 85degF and the pool 81degF. Worked hard this afternoon on the yacht enamel white undercoat and then Daniel came home and I revised some geography with him - all about climates. We had our rolls and cakes for tea, as the girls were off to Bedford for a swimming lesson. The £ ¼ million cheques for the sale of Kode shares arrived today and Diana paid them into the building societies on her way. Later, Daniel’s friends came round and we all went swimming again, now that Daniel’s sinus trouble has mostly cleared up. Later, to clear up and tend the ducks and doves, before watering the flower baskets that had got a bit dry and limp. The news today is of the murderer of Leoni Keating getting four life sentences, after she was found drowned in a dyke, with her hands tied behind her back. Gary Hopkins will get a minimum 25 years. On the eve of tomorrow’s European Summit, the government has pledged to agree effective measures to make the South African government negotiate. The SA Ambassador was today summoned to the Foreign Office and given a diplomatic protest about the scale of detentions of trade unionists, clergymen, lawyers etc. the SA regime has cancelled the daily press briefings and implemented an even more draconian system of censoring international press reports. Dennis Healey was there seeing Winnie Mandela and ignoring the restrictions. A Labour MP has alleged that the government has reopened negotiations with General Motors over the sale of BL, including Land Rover and a row is in the making. Another warm and dry day is forecast for tomorrow.