The year started stormy and wet with our moorings flooded, it continued cold and windy and then wet and miserable before a warm and muggy start to the summer followed and then the record wet month of July before a warm and sunny August heralded an unseasonably mild autumn before the mildest December in more than 50 years.
Daniel and Debbie were doing well at school and Della was settling into Playschool. Debbie was enjoying her horse-riding, and Daniel enjoying his own boat and taking good career advice and both taking part in their Kimbolton School events. After I had spent a lot of time working on The Lady, renovating the sliding roof and fitting new glass windows, we were enjoying blissful times cruising on The Great Ouse and Cam. The swimming pool was very popular, and the new games lawn was in use in time for the Spring and later, the new conservatory and fish pond provided sheltered amenity as the year closed. My father’s ear cancer and my mother’s shingles were a worry and Diana was often under the weather but the children were normally in good health and I was unfazed by a nasty fall. My highlights and accomplishments for the year included my election as Paxton Ward District Councillor, my Little Paxton History authorship and contrasting purchases of a new Raleigh bicycle, an old historic Reliant and my Rolls Royce Corniche convertible, which together with my Range Rover, brought much more style once I also purchased the VXD-1 and YXD-1 number plates. We took the Range Rover to Blackpool for a family visit and enjoyed their Pleasure Beach amusement park.
Following my landslide election win, my influence in local public affairs grew with attendance at all three Parish Councils Meetings in my Ward, actions following, and with my contributions to all the key committees of HDC; progressing dog fouling controls, grass cutting, planning controls and elector grievances. Also working with my Cambridge Liberal colleagues regarding FOCUS leaflet printing by use of Apple Macintosh’s and with local SLD colleagues for distribution. I eventually swapped my trusty Comart micro-computer for an Apple Mac to work on this and my history book. Daniel loved it this new computer, but I had little time to use it for my Local History project; working instead with the St Neots Museum and LHS committees and organising slide shows and talks; the first being for the Little Paxton Friendship Club.
This was a big year form Margaret Thatcher as she started the year losing the Spycatcher case, suppressing the mis-deeds of the security services after promoting a ‘shoot to kill’ Irish policy and then suffered an unprecedented level of industrial unrest with Thatcherism becomes daily more extreme. Prescription charges soared by 8%; even the suppliers of electricity were being sold off and the ILEA was controversially abolished amongst worsening economic news. Nurses were demonstrating and striking over their pay reduction and the parlous state of the NHS and were joined across industry in a TUC day of action, The Pit Deputies shut down the coal industry, Fords and Vauxhall workers do the same for the motor industry and the NUS seamen halt the ferries until they had to back down and negotiate after their union is fined. There are unprecedented strikes and protests from NHS professionals and three presidents of Royal Colleges but Thatcher refuses to allow increased funding or an investigation into NHS finances. Chancellor Lawson’s ‘give-away budget’ favoured the rich with no more money for the NHS, which was judged to be struggling for funds by the health service unions, Royal College of Surgeons, an All Party parliamentary committee, with even the Queen Mother expressed distress at hospital closures. The Lords defeated the government over child benefit levels and the government were also in trouble over their new benefits system where some elderly, sick and poorer people were made worse off. Thatcher kept talking about her planned Poll Tax, and wanted to increase, not reduce, nuclear weapons. Doubts were growing about the standards of safety on board the cross-channel ferries. A raft of poor economic statistics and factory closures are blows to the UK economy and interest rates rose to a dizzy 11 ½ with a record trade deficit of £1.2 billion which had sterling falling sharply.
The main domestic news of the summer was of the North Sea oil terminal tragedy, where Echo Bravo, an older oil rig, exploded killing 1-200 people, with only 60/70 surviving as a hundred and fifty men were trapped screaming and roasting to death with no means of escape. Texan Red Adair’s team finally put out the fires and stemmed the leaks. The Tory Government was presiding over an over-heating economy causing a record trade deficit and falls on share and property prices. Their battle with the IRA escalated to a new level, with an effective bombing campaign at home and abroad killing a dozen British soldiers and injuring many others, Also, after the Government lost its ‘Spycatcher’ case, it was revealed just how the security services plotted to undermine Harold Wilson’s Prime Ministership. The Ulster troubles continue with the 2700th victim killed after the Northern Ireland troubles had been exacerbated by the government’s ‘Shoot-to-Kill’ policy. IRA suspects cannot now be extradited to the UK because of our contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights for detention without trial and now Welsh extremists are suspected of fire-bombing five London Estate offices over second English homes there. As the year ends with a month of disasters, namely, The PanAm Lockerbie crash, and the Clapham Junction rail crash, the aftermath of which was poorly handled by government ministers.
The threat of an EEC/US trade war increases. Better news as the USSR are withdrawing missiles from East Germany and in Brussels the NATO Summit seeks a fudged compromise concerning nuclear weapons. The outgoing USSR leader, Gorbachev visits the US to say his goodbyes and announces huge Soviet conventional arms cuts and the US agrees to support direct talks with Yasser Arafat of the PLO as positive developments. The government of Israel are now in even worse odour over the suppression of Palestinians, Significantly for Middle East affairs, the right-wing Likud party in Israel under Jitshijk Shamir wins the national election after their recent violent excesses with the Orthodox Jews sustaining them in government. Reagan was causing havoc with his interventions in South America, Hurricane Gilbert, at Force 5, is the worst Caribbean storm in history but George Bush wins the US presidential election, as the US venue of the UN comes into question with united condemnation from all other United Nations countries after The US bans Yasser Arafat from entering to speak in the Middle East debate.
The Gulf War is continuing as the oil tanker, The Haven, was shelled and set on fire and Iran claims Iraq used mustard gas. Man-made disasters include the Amoco oil spill off Brittany which costs them $85.2 million of damages and then a giant 4.5million gallon fuel spill on a river 16 miles long in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh forced 1,000 people to evacuate their homes. August was a month for airplane crashes; one killing Pakistan President, Rajiv Zia, together with 5 Brigadiers and 5 Generals, and the Ramstein Air Crash Show disaster, in Germany, killing 70 spectators and injuring 500 when three Italian Air force display planes collided. Even these disasters are overshadowed by the massive flooding in Bangladesh, which killed over 500 with 20million made homeless and the human disaster in China followed where the toll has risen to nearly 1000 dead after large earthquake on their border with Burma. The Armenian earthquake tragedy left 40 to 45,000 dead. South African police shoot dead a young man accusing them of torture and then tear-gas his church funeral but arch-bishop Tutu lead an anti-apartheid services in heroic defiance.
By month …
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January 1988 – Stormy wet and miserable month flooding the moorings, family fine with Daniel making some school progress and enjoying a school narrow-boating holiday and a Boat Show trip with me. Di and I a stay in London without the children. Debbie widening her taste for food, riding well and elegantly in her new kit and Della started Playschool happily. Regular meals out, church family services with the Rev Peter Lewis having the same ‘flock’ as I for my forthcoming Paxton Ward election, where my party is gradually getting its act together after merger pains. My Little Paxton History project grinds on through its editing stage, I am managing investments, turning down a Non-Executive Director position with Compsoft PLC and supervising work on my riverside Games lawn and gardens, surviving high flood-water in the process. Bought an old Reliant and was zeroing in on a Rolls Royce convertible to buy as a leisure vehicle. Thatcher roundly condemned for trying to supress the dirty deeds of the security services and the ‘Shoot to Kill’ policy in Northern Ireland, but loses a Bill on ‘Whistle Blowing’; her visit to Africa is marred by anti-Apartheid demonstrations, she has a whole month of industrial unrest in the coal, motor and ferry industries but, even worse, unprecedented strikes and protests from NHS professionals and three presidents of Royal Colleges but refuses to allow increased funding or an investigation into NHS finances. She loses her key ally, Willie Whitelaw, her Tories rebel on the planned child benefit freeze. The government of Israel are in even worse odour; the UN Security Council voting 14 to 0 to insist that Israel repatriates Palestinians illegally expelled from their country, UK ministers visiting Tel Aviv roundly condemn the shooting and beating of demonstrators, as Arabs stage a 3,500-strong torchlight procession. The Amoco oils spill of Brittany costs them $85.2 million of damages and now a giant 4.5million gallon fuel spill on a river 16 miles long in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh has forced 1,000 people to evacuate their homes. The world economy is a study. Most chartists have the present slight recovery in the run up to a deeper depression and give the system 2/3 months to run before the big drop happens. Reagan and Gorbachev exchange pledges and hopes for their future negotiations in New Year’s Day resolutions which also aim to garner their citizens’ support.
February 1988 A busy and eventful month of stormy weather with natural tragedies in Brazil and the UK and oil rigs being cast adrift as I weathered a chesty cold to take the family on a number of outings and progress a number of projects. I take delivery of my historic 1939 Reliant van and worked on it, also arranged the acquisition of a 1972 Rolls Royce Convertible and updated my Range Rover, buying the registration marks VXD-1 and YXD-1 for them to look good. Debbie was riding well, Daniel is enjoying his own boat and getting good career advice after some satisfactory mock GCE results and Della was playing tricks and annoying Di. The games lawn was completed and we have changed our conservatory plans slightly, to appease the local planners, and now hope to get approval and this project underway. I was progressing my boating plans before getting too embroiled in the Council elections but my history project had slowed and needed a conclusion but I gleaned information about two former important riverside properties. The government loses the latest Spycatcher case and now that John Stalker has revealed details of a ‘Shoot to Kill’ policy in Ulster they are accused of murder by the Roman Catholic Primate of Ireland. The Lords, banned the promotion of homosexuality despite ‘lesbians abseiling from the balcony’, as the House of Commons votes to televise Parliament. Iran and Iraq trade missile attacks at one another’s capital cities and terrible atrocities being perpetrated by Israel over their occupied Palestinian citizens are filmed and broadcast.
March 1988 A cold and windy month with some flooding is gradually yielding to Spring but the family is well. Some fun with my ‘new’ Reliant van for local trips in its new livery as a change from our normal forays and the delivery of my Rolls Royce Corniche convertible bringing much more style. The start of my Paxton Ward election campaign is going well with lots of support accompanied by publicity for my Little Paxton history book, where I completed interviews with many local stalwarts and personalities. The government’s ‘shoot to kill’ policy with regard to the IRA backfired with violence and mutual killings marring funerals, Chancellor Lawson’s ‘give-away budget’ favoured the rich with no more money for the NHS, which was judged to be struggling for funds by the health service unions, Royal College of Surgeons, an All Party parliamentary committee, with even the Queen Mother distressed at hospital closures. The Lords defeated the government over child benefit levels and the government were also in trouble over their new benefits system where some elderly, sick and poorer people are worse off. Then the Thatcher government launches an ‘Inner City’ programme with no new money and strikes and industrial unrest dominated the news with ferry and train strikes and a new Fords factory plan lost and British Leyland cars virtually given away but Thatcher keeps talking about her planned Poll Tax, wants to increase, not reduce, nuclear weapons. The Prince of Wales narrowly avoiding death from an avalanche, his friends killed and badly injured, and his own leadership is blamed for it. Repressive clamp-downs of upon liberty and free expression take place in South Africa and Israel with South African president Botha is ruling out any clemency for the ‘Sharpeville Six’ and Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear scientist who revealed details of their efforts to make a bomb, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment as Arab gunmen also hijacked a bus full of passengers being driven to a secret nuclear plant and died along with three passengers when the Israeli troops attacked. The Gulf War is continuing as the oil tanker, The Haven, was shelled and set on fire and Iran claims Iraq used mustard gas. In Brussels the NATO Summit seeing a fudged compromise concerning nuclear weapons, Reagan is causing havoc with his interventions in South America.
April 1988 A month dominated by my Paxton Ward District Council Election Campaign as I was unfazed by a nasty fall and my paperwork and boat suffered but not my new Games lawn, which was bedding in nicely, and my swimming pool, which was by now in good use. Some good use of my cars in hosting family visits and trips. Thatcher in all sorts of political trouble over Poll Tax, unfair and underfunded Social Security ’Reforms’, a damaging Ferry Strike and her ulster ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy. The foreign news dominated by the Kuwaiti Airline hijacking and the violent Israeli suppression of Palestinian dissent but also more violent protest in Tripoli, South Africa and Pakistan.
May 1988 A mixed month of weather but a great election victory for me, an equally enjoyable birthday party for Debbie, and then time catching up with personal and family matters and getting deeply involved in Huntingdonshire District Council and local matters as the duly-elected local councillor. There were many meetings and events that were soon taking up my time and work on electors’ issues but there was still time for family outings and events as well as a little time for The Lady, cleaning it off and painting the cabin roof. The domestic economy has been deteriorating, Thatcher is dividing her party on exchange rate policy and the Poll Tax and she suffers House of Lords defeats on academic freedom and ending Local Authority control of schools. , Swiss companies take over Rowntree chocolate makers and industrial strife as continued at P&O Ferries, and the media are crying ‘foul’ for press freedom as they become subject to a court order to hand over tapes of the Wapping demonstrations. Roy Jenkins leads a House of Lords rebellion over academic freedom in universities, and there was also a defeat for the government in the House of Lords over the Education Reform Bill that would allow schools to opt out of Local Authority Control. The IRA has extended its campaign against UK serviceman into Germany and England’s football hooliganism is still preventing European games for our teams. The P&O Ferries dispute dominated the domestic industrial news this month and a propaganda war develops as other P&O ferries and ports are drawn into the strike. ACAS talks start and then fail talks, lorry drivers then blockade Dover and Calais and Sealink offers to take back half of the sacked P&O strikers with P&O Ferries emerging as the problem. News of a serious engine room fire in the, Seafreight Freeway, which killed one officer and critically injured another raises doubts about the standards of safety on board the cross channel ferries. There are big strikes and demonstrations for reform in Poland and East/West arms summit is struggling on but the US Senate is now backing the nuclear arms treaty and the USSR Presidium has ratified it. The Lebanon is another flashpoint; with both Syria and Israel sending in troops and there is more fighting there between rival Muslim groups, supported by Iran and Syria. Iraqi attacks the world’s biggest supertanker in the Gulf. President, Francois Mitterrand, is re-elected and Ms Michel Rocard, the socialist, is duly announced as the new Prime Minister of France
June 1988 This was a warm and muggy month, with the odd thunderstorm, that was dominated for me by my Council work as I both spoke out at meetings and worked behind the scenes to make progress on a number of my campaigning issues, having only a little time for my little Paxton history with talks also being given to the St Neots Rotaracts and the Little Paxton Ladies. I tried to take opportunities to be with the family and to meet up with friends whilst also attending the lawns and cars at the Hayling View. A busy time with our swimming pool being a popular venue for the Little Paxton brownies and others. UK interest rates rose to 9% with a record trade deficit of £1.2 billion which had sterling falling sharply. Thatcher is still carrying all before her as the opposition parties start leadership elections, though suffering criticism from religious leaders. More IRA bombs and the downing of a British army helicopter. A restricted nuclear arms agreement at the Reagan Gorbachev Moscow summit then Gorbachev returns home for a new style Soviet party conference and to hear of a huge Russian train explosion which killed scores and injures and makes homeless hundreds more. Both France and Germany have their train and mine accidents and The UK Iran stand-off continues, the Turkish Prime Minister escapes an assassination attempt and hundreds die there in a landslide near the Black Sea.
July 1988 This record wet month still allowed us to have two blissful weeks cruising on The Lady; upstream to start with and then downstream through Godmanchester, Huntington, Houghton, Hemingford, and on to St Ives where I recovered from a bad cold and then Holywell, to chat to the eel fisherman, the walk to Needingworth, and then on to Ely to find pubs, Morris dancers and a swim in Paradise Pool. The next leg took us up the River Lark to Prickwillow and then via Littleport up the River Wissey to Hilgay before ending up at Denver Sluice. After this, The Cam to Clayhithe and the Bridge Hotel and on to Cambridge and back from that base with a walk to Waterbeach. We then re-traced our route back up the Great Ouse and home to Paxton. Debbie is now accomplished at her recorder-playing and horse-riding and Della enjoyed the party we laid on for her birthday this month and is growing and quite the little lady now. A few church and other visits with the family but the holiday interrupted my council, history and financial work but I was doing well as a councillor and persuaded Peter Wilmer to stand for the County Council. The main domestic news was of the North Sea oil terminal tragedy, where Echo Bravo, an older oil rig, exploded killing 1-200 people, with only 60/70 surviving as a hundred and fifty men were trapped screaming and roasting to death with no means of escape. Texan Red Adair’s team finally put out the fires and stemmed the leaks. Thatcher ploughs ahead with all manner of controversial changes to the DHSS, the Education System and the economic management of the country as interest rates rose to a dizzy 11 ½ %. Huge delays for air travellers highlight the lack of UK capacity and the British prison system is in a mess. The US Air Force admits to shooting down an Iranian airliner, with 290 people on board, in a ‘target mistake’, which causes Ayatollah Khomeini to declare an all-out war with peace talks stalling. Amongst bombings in South Africa, the 70th birthday of Nelson Mandela was marked by an appeal for Archbishop Tutu for his release from jail, Seve Ballesteros won the Open Golf Championship in the ‘best performance of his life’
August 1988 – A generally warm and sunny month for us to enjoy our swimming pool, games lawn and outings which was accompanied by good news as Daniel did well at his GCSE exams, Debbie at her horse-riding and both girls at their swimming as all the children hosted friends for day visits and overnight stays and had reciprocal invitations for parties. Our regular trips to Diana’s and my own parents continued to find my mother in pain from shingles and Di was also in pain from time to time. My Rolls-Royce proved troublesome but presented a nice backdrop for Linda Nagle’s wedding. We took the Range Rover to Blackpool for a stay and visit to their Pleasure Beach amusement park. A lot of time spent on The Lady, renovating the sliding roof and fitting new glass windows, a new Raleigh bicycle and fitted accessories for me. Back to local government and politics, helping recruit more candidates for the SLD, holding a village meeting with Redland over their future plans, leading a campaign for dog-fouling by-laws for the playing field whilst trying to progress my village history project. The Tory Government is presiding over an over-heating economy causing a record trade deficit and falls on share and property prices. Their battle with the IRA escalates to a new level, with an effective bombing campaign at home and abroad killing a dozen British soldiers and injuring many others, the black-and-white German/Belgian number plates being a crazy dead giveaway before they were abandoned. The SAS reprisals under a scarcely-veiled shoot-to-kill policy and their illegal supply of firearms to others plus extradition proceedings inflamed tensions with hundreds of attacks on security forces, buses and cars. Thatcher’s planned Australian walkabout was cancelled over protests about her support for repression in Ulster and South Africa, she came back to nurses, postal worker and prison officers’ striking at home. Severe world tragedies kill 250 in Chinese floods and nearly 1000 in a Nepalise earthquake and the Sudan faces destitution after droughts give way to torrential rain with the Nile flooding huge areas. 300 pilgrims die as a boat capsizes on The Ganges and now Burma has become a flash point with more than 1,000 protesters shot dead by security forces until President Sein Lwin is forced to resign. It was a month for airplane crashes; one killing Pakistan President, Rajiv Zia, together with 5 Brigadiers and 5 Generals, The Ramstein Air Crash Show disaster killed 70 spectators and injuring 500 when three Italian Air force display planes collided. Negotiations for peace between Iraq and Iran and the release of western hostages are slow and tortuous. Nelson Mandela’s illness and other protests in South Africa may yet lead to his release
September 1988 – A month starting wet and windy but improving later but it was mixed in Blackpool, with gales and rain, yet we still enjoyed the family holiday. The family mostly well and settling into the new school and play-school year. Daniel, Debbie and Della were all fine, apart from Daniel and his Sinus problem, and my mother was recovering from her shingle attack. Social activities included a riverside BBQ with neighbours, Catherine’s Greek-style birthday and the Kimbolton ‘Statty’ Fayre as family outings now that our swimming pool was closed for the winter. My contribution to public affairs grew with attendance at all three Parish Councils Meetings in my Ward, actions following, and with my contributions to all of the key committees of HDC; progressing dog fouling controls, grass cutting, planning controls and elector grievances. Also working with my Cambridge Liberal colleagues regarding FOCUS leaflet printing by use of Apple Macintosh’s and with local SLD colleagues for distribution. I little time my Local History project; working with the St Neots Museum and LHS committees and organising slide shows and talks; the first being for the Little Paxton Friendship Club. Back home, the foundations for the new conservatory pond created and construction work starts soon, and I top dress the games lawn and tend to The Lady and her moorings prior to the winter floods. Public Service cuts were upsetting workers unions, with Nurses and Postal Workers in the front line but the TUC also falls out with and expels, the EETPU. The Gibraltar IRA inquest confirms the army killings were ‘unlawful’, Thatcher was visiting Spain and alienating European colleagues as back home the UK RPI is up by 5.7% and the UK balance of trade deficit falls to ‘only’ £1.31 billion. Another North Sea rig fire and a chemical waste ship incident leads to more death and disaster. Expulsions of Czech and Cuban diplomats follow shooting incidents in London, another air display crash kills two more pilots and the Olympics is marred by drug taking revelations. Massive flooding in Bangladesh kills over 500 with 20million made homeless and Hurricane Gilbert, at Force 5, is the worst Caribbean storm in history. Israel and the US hone their space skills. The USSR withdraws from Afghanistan and troubles in Burma kill 66 after a military coup is resisted and Japan’s Emperor Hirohito is gravely ill after 62 years in power
October 1988 – October was a month of unseasonably fine UK weather and the family were well this month as we celebrated Di’s 40th Birthday, Daniel loved my new Apple Mac and the children had outings and friends to stay. It was time to protect the swimming pool and The Lady from frost, and to take her to her winter flood mooring and the cars were cared for too. The conservatory base-work was progressed without too much mess and difficulty and I did a lot of work on the Games Lawn this month. Still time to progress my Little Paxton History and to give my first two public talks accordingly. Time also on my investments, vehicle history enquiries and planning my 1989 diary. I was still spending lots of time on local politics and amenities and helped local intuitions to survive planned extinction and got approval for my new suggested Byelaws for The Playing Field to combat dog fouling, but the Tories voted down my proposal to increase grass-cutting cuts from 10 to 15 per year. I witnessed St Neots Tory Mayor Bill Longford going against Town Council resolutions in voting for a Tory financier Twigden’s development proposal and ensured the local press were then castigating him. I had also been rejuvenating the local SLD party for the forthcoming election campaign. The Labour Party Conference went fairly well, with surprising unity displayed but the Tory Conference has to be held in strict security and their plans for freezing Child Benefits, banning GCHQ unions and their energy, education and health policies were even being opposed by their own party members. Also, a raft of poor economic statistics and factory closures are blows as is the Government loses its ‘Spycatcher’ case which reveals how the surety services plotted to undermine Harold Wilson’s Prime Ministership. The Ulster troubles continue with the 2700th victim killed. The Greek ship Jupiter sinks with British school parties aboard, air crashes kill dozens and protests in Yugoslavia and Pakistan kill hundreds more but the greatest casualties are in the Philippines hurricane.
November 1988 – Our children made good progress at school and we had a few outings with the Kimbolton Fireworks being the highlight. I progressed my conservatory/koi carp pond and games lawn top-dressing during some very variable and strange weather. I swapped my trusty Comart micro-computer for an Apple Mac to work on my Little Paxton History book. A busy month for dealing with financial matters and winterising our boats. Much time on political matters, FOCUS newsletters and Parish and District Council meetings whilst publicising my campaigns and holding the Tories to account, enlisting the help of Labour colleagues. I encouraged three new Parish Councillors to volunteer and responded with help and sympathy for some of my constituents’ problems, being the prime mover in ‘saving’ the Little Paxton Village Hall from a crisis of governance and driving forward my own St Neots SLD colleagues to campaign for election. The UK economy is suffering, a raft of controversial and extreme measures is introduced by Thatcher’s government. Britain’s nurses, miners and now TV technicians and journalists are all on strike as Thatcher plays on the world stage in Poland, the US and Russia. Many public safety issues are highlighted with chemical spillages, the Kings Cross Fire report, the Pipe Alpha Inquiry and widespread deaths from AIDS. The Northern Ireland troubles have been exacerbated by the governments ‘Shoot to Kill’ policy, IRA suspects cannot be extradited to the UK because of our contravening the European Convention on Human Rights for detention without trial and now Welsh extremists are suspected of fire-bombing five London Estate offices over second English homes there. Significantly, for Middle East affairs the right-wing Likud party in Israel under Jitshijk Shamir wins the national election after their recent violent excesses with the Orthodox Jews sustaining them in government. George Bush wins the US presidential election, as the US venue of the UN comes into question and united condemnation from all other United Nations countries after The US bans Yasser Arafat from entering to speak in the Middle East debate. The biggest human disaster is in China where the toll has risen to nearly 1000 dead after large earthquake on their border with Burma. Benazir Bhutto is re-elected in Pakistan. Nelson Mandela is giving more liberalised conditions for his South African political imprisonment as ANC anti-apartheid activists and bombers face death sentences each side of the border with Zimbabwe
December 1988 – The mildest December for more than 50 years allowed our conservatory to be built, fitted out and stocked with its first Koi Carp and to then become our dining room, with me providing some of the skills alongside the builders and specialist Avenue Fisheries Koi experts. There was still the shower room fan and tiles to install, and the annual Christmas lights to erect and gutters to clear out. I recovered from a chest infection this month, Diana was ill with soreness and coughing and was slower to recover; my mother was coping with her shingles and my father had his operation for ear cancer. The children were fine and doing well at school and enjoying friends to stay and many outings and school activities. We celebrated Christmas with my parents staying and Di’s visiting. The first year of my Council work is gone very well, as I already tackled many local issues, saved the village hall from disaster and encouraged colleagues onto the Parish Council and to get elected for the County Council next spring but progress on my history book has been slow as a result, although I have had my Apple Mac upgraded and a scanner installed to help this project. Thatcher unwisely continues her row with Belgium/Ireland, refusing to accept defeat over the IRA extradition despite widespread European opposition and her new Anti-Terrorism Bill contains provisions for detention without trial, flying in the face of the European Court of Human Rights. This was a month of disasters, The Clapham Junction rail crash and the PanAm Lockerbie crash, the aftermath of which was poorly handled by government ministers. Elsewhere, The Armenian earthquake tragedy left 40 to 45,000 dead, Outgoing USSR leader, Gorbachev visits the US to say his goodbyes and announces huge Soviet conventional arms cuts and the US agrees to support direct talks with Yasser Arafat of the PLO as positive developments, but the threat of an EEC/US trade war increases.