After a slow start to make the boat warm enough for Diana to rise (!), I cleaned the outside of Paxton Princess which made a great transformation. Then a meeting with RYA instructor Tom Phillips about a trip for my RYA Day Skipper Certificate, a visit from Jack Edwards and lunch with Di at the Wroxham Bridge Restaurant. A trip on the boat for fuel and a pump out and on to St Benedicts Church, Horning and back.
At a Cambridge meeting of Thatcher with West German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, they agreed to differ on the need for a closer form of European integration but found compromise in a plan for air-based nuclear weapons
We were up early but a little slow to start as I had to get up and put the heating on and boil the kettle before I could arouse Diana. I really wanted to finish off my shed today, but Diana wanted me to clean the outside of the Paxton Princess and so I relented. I went outside straight away and there was no doubt that the difference a good clean made was stunning. It was a great transformation. I had a telephone call from the Wroxham-based RYA Instructor, Tom Phillips, and when I had nearly finished cleaning the boat, he dropped in to visit me and we looked over the boat and discussed the question of a 4-day period of tuition on my boat to the syllabus of the RYA Day Skipper Certificate. The Jack Edwards, my caretaker, dropped by with the metal braces and nails for the shed and, by the time I had introduced him to Diana and had a chat, it was quite late for our trip to Wroxham for lunch. I still took Di to the Wroxham Bridge Restaurant where we thoroughly enjoyed a roast dinner cooked and presented impeccably as usual.
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Once back, I decided we should take advantage of the very fine and sunny day to cast off and cruise round to the boat-yard to buy more diesel fuel and get a pump-out. Once that was achieved, we cruised on further downstream and tied up at the St Benedicts Church, Horning, for a cup of tea and a bun. Thus refreshed, we took the walk up the hill to look at the church building. A magnificent and peaceful place which was well worth the visit. In the well-kept grounds were a number of goats, deer, donkeys and other animals that the incumbent appeared to be keeping as pets. We cruised slowly back to Heronshaw, moored up at dusk and had a proper tea of fresh bread and pate. Last night's Granada expose on the Birmingham Six has failed to impress either Geoffrey Dear, the West Midlands Chief Constable, or the government who are approaching the situation with typically closed minds. At a Cambridge meeting of Thatcher with West German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, they agreed to differ on the need for a closer form of European integration but found compromise in a plan for air-based nuclear weapons so as to reduce those based on land in West Germany and trained on East Germany (with which Kohl is seeking unification). The government is also in increasing dispute with the medical profession as the NHS review is faced with almost universal hostility.