Dan and Angela enjoying a roast chicken lunch with us before leaving for Norwich.
Dan and Angela enjoying a roast chicken lunch with us before leaving for Norwich.

After the first cold night of the season, using our electric blankets, the family had breakfast, leaving Dan and Angela to have their later. Then a long morning session visiting colleagues and compiling our latest Focus edition, before all of us (except Debbie on a hack) enjoying a roast chicken lunch together. A restful afternoon watching TV after our guests had left for Norwich. The weather became bright again today after overnight mist here and fog elsewhere.           

We had our electric blankets switched on last night again for the first time this season and we really appreciated them, it being so cold. Slept well consequently and was rested and relaxed this morning when Diana brought me my morning tea at 7.00am. She had a lay in but called me at the usual time. It was another cold morning, and I was glad also of my hot shave and shower before breakfast. I would have preferred to have delayed the family breakfast to have had the company of Daniel and Angela, but Diana had not arranged that and so the rest of us ate alone, but still it was a fine fried meal which we enjoyed. My morning chores afterwards as the lovebirds ate and then I finished off my own FOCUS copy and set off on a morning of gathering up that of my colleagues.

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I took the transportable MAC round to Derek Giles and helped him input and edit his Eaton Socon copy and then visited Sally to collect hers and came home to do some printing and copying. Then across to Peter While to deliver copies for him to edit and improve before another circuit of Derek, Michael and Sally to deliver things back and forth. My visits ended in St Neots where I filled up with petrol and put my Range Rover through a car wash that rinsed, waxed, brushed, washed and dried it in an impressive sequence of operations for the price of £3. Home for lunch at 1.00pm where Daniel and Angela joined the rest of us (except Debbie) for a nice roast dish of chicken, although the pudding was a disappointing ice cream. Debbie had telephoned to say that she would be late back from her horse-riding as she had arranged to go on an especially long hack. This afternoon and early evening I sat in the lounge and watched the television.

Daniel and his girlfriend had left for Norwich and I first watched some interviews with the Tory leadership candidates, then a football match and rugby union highlights, before staying on and watching some children’s' adventure programmes with the girls. We had a nice tea in the lounge of buttered crumpets, and they were all eaten. Later, I went out to put the cars away in the garage and came back to my office to write up today's journal and do some filing. I did not manage to get out into the garden today to clear some more leaves or get much work done at all. I was back in the lounge for the second episode of a political drama about Prime Ministerial changes which is being televised coincidentally with the real live drama in the House of Commons. The weather became bright again today after overnight mist here and fog elsewhere.