Prince Charles appalled by Tower Hamlets slums in 1987
Prince Charles appalled by Tower Hamlets slums in 1987

Starting to build the new storm drain sump after a poor night from my sun burn of yesterday, managing the front concrete slab and then to excavate and find the true depth and scope of the requirement before swimming with Della and then taking Debbie for her horse-riding lesson and tending the pool, doves and ducks. The government approves the takeover of the ‘Today’ newspaper by Murdoch, which an outrage, is cutting back the NEDO committees without consent, London Policing is falling short of public expectations and Prince Charles is appalled by the run down slums in Tower Hamlets

An appalling night, hardly sleeping a wink. A combination of sunburn on my back, making me uncomfortable, and the worry over the shuttering for my sewer concrete job kept me wide awake and uncomfortably so. In the end I had enough by 5.30am and got up to shower and shave to make an early start. Spoke to Di in the kitchen during her early ‘alone time’, which she resented, then did some new-month bill-paying in my office until breakfast. Wheat flakes as usual, then set off for the Tool Hire shop and returned with a cement mixer and got Pete to help unload it and set it up. A hard morning’s work using it a half dozen times to lay the front concrete slab for the sump and was finished by lunchtime.

Took Daniella into the swimming pool and showed her how to swim ‘doggie paddle’ wearing a waist-float instead of arm bands. I intend to have her swimming alone soon in view of the hazards of the dredged river and coming month’s boat holiday. A salad lunch, then rested in the lounge, almost dozing off from my exertions and lack of sleep. Aroused myself to work out the plywood cutting list for the rest of the shutters to raise the sides of the sump and then shot off to The Handyman in St Neots to get them to cut it up in exact sizes. Rushed home to take a quick salad roll tea, then off to take Debbie to her horse riding in Offord. She rode quite well on Flint, which is becoming her favourite, but she seems to keep riding with quite inexperienced riders. Home and then the evening excavating the sump bottom, now that the pump had lowered the level so much. Discovered a bottom to it a foot further down and this gives me the dilemma of my new slab being off of a firm foundation and I should now excavate under it and concrete underneath (!!). This pig of a job gets worse, but I shall see it through if it kills me and costs a fortune. In at dark after tending the pool, doves and ducks. Today was fine, dry and warm and more good weather is expected for the next few days, which is good news for my project. The news is of Rupert Murdoch being given the ‘all clear’ by Lord Young to buy ‘Today’ newspaper, which is a scandal. The government is cutting back the NEDO committees in an ‘arrogant and uncivilised’ way, according to the union participants and Kenneth Newman, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, says London policing is ‘limited’ and falls short of public expectations. Prince Charles speaks out that he is appalled by what he sees in the slums in the run down area of Tower Hamlets. He was taking around businessmen to try to get City money injected into the inner city areas. The stock exchange drifts down again.