Daniel was in constant contact with Angela
Daniel was in constant contact with Angela

A well-deserved lay-in this morning left me feeling groggy but more rested in time for a family Sunday breakfast with Daniel, who is in constant contact with Angela. Della was recovering and Debbie a lot better but now Di was deteriorating.

A session for me clearing the gutters before a fine roast beef lunch and then I put up our Christmas lights and cleared more leaves from the lawn until dusk. Then to prepare my speech for tomorrow against the Poll Tax.

Diana left me to have quite a lay in this morning and, although it gave me a bit of a headache, I was very much rested as a result. After my cup of tea, I got up and dressed quite quickly and managed to wash my hair before breakfast. It was a nice fried breakfast, and all of the family were at the table to enjoy it. Daniel has had five cards from his girlfriend, Angela, and sent nearly as many and he had a telephone call from her today as well! They seem well smitten and I hope that it does not end in tears. Della has quite recovered apart from her cough and even Debbie seems to be a lot better and smiling again between her coughing and sneezing fits. I thought she could have gone to the Christmas Show at Staughton today, but both she and Di thought otherwise and they were probably right. Now Diana is starting to show some symptoms of this terrible cold as well and is a bit depressed about it.

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I was out for the first time for a while and clearing the gutters this morning. By using the step-ladder from the balcony, I could shovel out the leaves and dove mess from the gutters and also disassemble and clear out the down pipes. I broke off for coffee and then resumed to just about finish the job by lunch. A nice meal of Roast Beef and Daniel was home for it. He had been washing and vacuuming the cars for money which sounds very impressive until it is revealed that he actually put the Range Rover through the car wash!

This afternoon, I put up the multi-coloured Christmas Lights around the balconies and I noticed that two other houses in Willow Close had put lights on trees outside. Also Mill House and the farm opposite by Priory Hill had already got their lights up and so either they were earlier or me later than last year. It is nice to see two other large buildings lit up from our balconies as you only really see the others and not your own. I think that we have started another craze here and this is all to the good as it makes us take even more pride in our communities. By afternoon tea at 3.00pm, I had finished that task and was trying to gather up a considerable accumulation of leaves from the front lawn.

I paid Daniel £20 for his help today and then went back to finish the front lawn, working on by the light of my decorations until it was quite dark. This was a bit of a mistake, as I felt a bit chilled afterwards. Tea in the lounge with the girls and Daniel and then stayed long enough to see their "Road to Avonlea" serial. Later I wrote up this weekend's journal and then prepared my speech for tomorrow night in Huntingdon where I am going to not only demolish the Poll Tax but win the argument on what to put in its place!