USS Vincennes shoots down Iranian Airbus A300 flight 655 by mistake
USS Vincennes shoots down Iranian Airbus A300 flight 655 by mistake

A practical day cleaning the Rolls Royce and then the Range Rover, staying at home with a ham salad as the family went out to lunch. Some time mending the kitchen door and then to rest and write this journal this evening. The US Air Force admits to shooting down an Iranian airliner, with 290 people on board, in a ‘target mistake’ as ships in the Gulf flee after clashes with Iranian gunboats and Britain’s airports experience huge delays as they now lack summer holiday capacity

Awoke in the middle of the night to find Diana not having her period for a change. Laid in this morning and did not have my special fried breakfast until after 8.00am. Went out to clean the cars all morning. First the Rolls Royce and then the Range Rover – vacuumed, sponged, rinsed and leathered. Ran out of time this morning, so that I could not get everything away, change clothes, and lock the house up in time to join the family for their trip out to lunch. I stayed at home and made myself a ham salad instead. Rested a while after lunch. The rain had started to fall after a fine morning. Then I leathered the Range Rover down again (as Di had been out in it) and carried on mending the kitchen door.

It has been detached for a few months and I had to let in a new piece of wood and re-cut the upper lunge support. Was a bit too tired to do much this evening, except to clear away and write up my journal. After a day of denial and prevarication, the US Air Force admits to shooting down an Iranian airliner, with 290 people on board, in a ‘target mistake’. US cruiser, Vincennes, believed it was being approached by hostile aircraft. Throughout the Gulf, merchant ships are fleeing to port after clashes also sunk Iranian gunboats. A West German helicopter has crashed in the Bavarian Alps, killing seven, with two others missing. The season of airport delays is upon us, with holidaymakers at Manchester waiting up to 20 hours. There is just not enough air space for all the flights that are needed to take Britons towards the sun these days. The rain continued to fall all evening.