A boating and political month taking The Paxton Princess a good confidence-boosting trip down the Great Ouse from The Wash to The Humber and on up this tidal estuary added greatly to my experience of the East Coast waters and proved the boat's capabilities once more.
I managed to put the Liberal Democrat's fortunes to rights in preparing the ground for the Eaton Socon by-election; even though I never going to be there for the final election day. Debbie and Della had both finished school for the summer on a positive note and Daniel had joined us for our boating holiday. I had not seen that much of Mum this month and nothing of Freda, but they seem to be seeing a bit more of one-another. It has been Di's Mum and Dad that were the cause for concern with his eye troubles and her illness with a chill that refused to go away.
This month also saw my classic cars being sorted out with the Reliant getting its MOT and being re-taxed and put back on the road and the Rolls Royce going back into P & A Wood for its annual service where it would be made fully serviceable again. I also put in appearances at both Little Paxton Fetes and was always being called upon to chair meetings but was pleased that my own village hall work was succeeding.
The news is of virtual civil war in Yugoslavia as the government tanks are surrounded by rebel forces and must fight their way out. The national news at home lately has been of a bank failure and worsening industrial and employment statistics and of the economy where the ramifications of the recent bank failure are still sinking in.
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July's weather was suitable enough for us but has been wetter than the last couple of years. It might have been hot and muggy, but the Easterly winds delayed our boat trip until moderate South-Easterly winds arrived for our season, but I was making trials monitoring the weather systems with Weatherfax. There were fine days in between showery ones prevailed and we had sufficient fine weather for our trip to Grimsby after a calm and restful night with winds forecast of only force 2-3 and very slight and calm seas which suited us. We were hoping for a fine August for the rest of our boating summer.
The Paxton Princess occupied most of my time during this month of July. Trips to Norfolk with Steve Bloom and Daniel to work on the boat and make it ready and then to bring it round to Cambridgeshire for the start of our holiday. We had prepared The Paxton Princess for our sea voyage and cruised to Great Yarmouth to moor up at The Town Hall Quay for the night ready to leave in the morning. Then my sea trip with Daniel and Steve on The Paxton Princess out of Yarmouth, around the North Norfolk coast and the inshore passage from Blakeney into the Lynn Channel in the spray before cruising straight up the New Bedford to Erith to moor up at Westview Marina after dark. Leaving Erith afterwards and cruising upriver on The Paxton Princess to arrive at The Hayling View after a late breakfast time at the St Ives Harvest Bakery.
We had stopped at Buckden Marina for fuel and water on the way. After washing down the boat I drove to White House Marina to arrange them to investigate the noises emanating from the port shaft. Then the most delightful hair wash and shower followed, after feeling tired mentally and physically with aches and pains to go with it. Then taking The Paxton Princess back to Paxton which enabled me to learn lessons by writing up the ship’s log for the recent trip. This also gave me time and opportunity to receive cruising information and maps from the Chambers to prepare for start of our Summer Cruise. We could then just drop downstream to the Riverside Park to stay overnight and eat out at The Bridge in St Neots before we cruised on to The Anchor in Tempsford where Daniel joined us with Angela for the night. After a full English breakfast there, we cruised up to Willington Lock and then took a taxi to go shopping and to the library and cinema in Bedford for a break. Once we resumed, we called in to our Hayling View moorings for Daniel to drop off Angela and the rest of us to complete our preparations for a long cruise and collect things we would need whilst catching up with some laundry.
Finally, we set off downstream to St Ives where we walked into the town and visited the market on a very hot day after buying a take-away lunch. After the family spent some private time and shopping in St Ives as I planned our cruise to Boston and Grimsby, we enjoyed a trip roller skating at the St Ivo Centre, before we took off along The Old West to arrive at The Twenty Pence Inn in early evening for a meal out. From the Twenty Pence Inn along the rest of the Old West River to Ely, negotiating shallows and weeds on the way. Daniel set off by train and car to see Angela as I worked at my charts and computer for most of the afternoon whilst the girls went swimming and roller-skating. Daniel was ashore visiting Angela as the family stayed with me in Ely and we serviced the Paxton Princess and tender and prepared for or forthcoming trip out of King Lynn to Grimsby. A nice lunch in Bonnets and then the girls went swimming as I caught up with my logs and journal. Leaving Ely after some leisure time visiting the cathedral and shop and then passing the Little Ouse junction and arriving at Denver and locking through Denver Sluice to spend the night on the seaward pontoon ready for our sea trip to Grimsby. Rafts of weed from the Wissey chocked the water intakes which had to be blown clear
We then managed a good confidence-boosting trip from The Wash to The Humber and on up this tidal estuary added greatly to my experience of the East Coast waters and proved the boat's capabilities once more. The sea voyage from Denver to Grimsby passing under the Great Ouse bridges with good headroom and then Skegness in poor visibility and Mablethorpe where people thronged the beach and round the spit guarding the Humber estuary before cruising through the gates to Grimsby Royal Dock and the Marina. Just Di felt ill with the trip and the rest of the crew were fine. Day trip from Grimsby by Taxi to Cleethorpes, a good old-fashioned English seaside resort with donkey-rides on the beach and the sands full of holidaymakers and day-trippers, which was lovely. Amusements and rides for the girls in Fantasyland followed until rendezvousing with Daniel at the station for a train ride back to Grimsby where, tired after our exertions, we retired early to bed. Seeing more of Grimsby and Cleethorpes as the wind easterly force 4 to 5, becoming 6 did not seem suitable to sail in our open Humber aspect.
Some shopping in Grimsby, lunch at The Pizza Hut and a visit to The Heritage Centre after which I got some Humber charts and guides from the chandlers and planned our trip to York for the following night. We took our last look at Cleethorpes before leaving Grimsby docks and setting off for Hull. We visited "The Silver Shoe" riding stables where Diana had arranged for the girls to hire ponies for an hour's beach hack. Diana and I had morning coffee in "Meggie’s Tea Room" before the family had a swim at the Cleethorpes leisure centre where the swimming pool had a big wave machine. Then we set off and the sea was moderate at first and then slight for the rest of the trip before negotiating the entrance cross-current but then we were in and safely moored at Hull Marina Waiting at Hull Marina for the right conditions to cruise up to York which gave a chance for some laundry and some more work maintaining the Paxton Princess and planning my trip. I felt that Hull had lost the unique presence of boats right in the city centre as a result and, in my view, is therefore struggling to find its new identity now that its days as a fishing port are nearly over and I think that its character has been lost in the process.
In between all these boating trips, I had updated my journal articles before booking my Reliant into Ellsworth where it passed its MOT test. I was looking after the conservatory as Daniel was due to maintain the swimming pool for his new paying job. We celebrated Della's actual Birthday, opening presents and cards after which I drive Della with Naomi the Reliant for a ride to the playing fields. Mt hectic life working for the Liberal Democrats made me enjoy my swimming pool for leisure. Being short of time, I had typically stayed up late finishing off my financial affairs and correspondence before going to bed close to midnight with just brief spells of rest to eat and listen to test cricket on the radio as England struggling against the West Indies at The Lords Cricket Ground. After a lay in, I would spend time watering outside and conservatory plants as well as the hanging baskets.
Di helped at Little Paxton School, and we cycled to Paxton School hall to see Della's enrolment as a new Brownie with her friend Naomi. Chrisula had been a visitor, arriving with her girls to use the pool not wanting to go; resulting in my dinner being too late to eat before my meetings! I spent time working on my journal as Daniel and Angela hosted friends swimming, watching satellite TV and playing croquet on the Games Lawn. After the girls were off to school, we drove to Cambridge to find Di’s parents struggling with health issues, which was a worry. When leaving The Hayling View for other locations, I had to complete my paperwork and my accounts.
My Council colleagues struggled with their plans and we heard of the Eaton Socon by-election being called for August 8th we had a party meeting one evening which I chaired and another constituency meeting in the evening about plans for the forthcoming Liberal Democrat conference, but I spent time starting the process of by-election planning for Eaton Socon identifying people not away on August 8th. This whilst Huntingdon political friends were Hayling View as visitors using my computer for the Huntingdon Liberal Democrats plans. Before a good evening Parish Council Meeting. I spent the day on Political Election work as Sandie came over with Ross McKay and Derek Giles joined us later as we were setting out a collage of his press cuttings for the leaflet. I had also to spend some fielding queries from John Roscoe who had been struggling with the EARS election computer system. I then spent all day working on Ross McKay’s Eaton Socon Election FOCUS requiring rework until 2am in the morning before everybody was satisfied with the final result.
In the meanwhile, two of our other recently elected councillors were at cross purposes and I phoned Sally and Michael to ask them to get the problem in hand as I had really lost patience with them. A Cambridge visit with our daughters as well as meetings galore, dropping off the Focus copy, frenetically updated before leaving a Glisson Road election campaign meeting to eat before my HDC Policy Committee in the evening. I then had to officiate at the Village Hall Fete and help John Roscoe with a computer printing problem. This before writing up a plan for the current Eaton Socon by-election and then meeting the other Liberal Democrats to brief them. I then had a better parliamentary campaign meeting at Glisson Road, before off to a Village Hall management meeting that evening where Alan Cromack again failed to turn up so I had to take the chair before I attended the Southoe Parish Council meeting!
The news is of virtual civil war in Yugoslavia as the government tanks are surrounded by rebel forces and have to fight their way out. The national news lately has been of a bank failure and worsening industrial and employment statistics and of the economy where the ramifications of the recent bank failure are still sinking in and as Bank of England reduced the interest rates again as they try to keep the pound on parity in the EMS. The London meeting of the G7 group of the seven largest world economies invited USSR President Michael Gorbachev for the first time as Europe wanted to help him move towards openness and democracy and the Anglo/American alliance did not. John Major's "Citizens' Charter" which seems to be fifty ways of trying to avoid spending the money necessary to really improve government services. A rail crash in Glasgow had two trains colliding head-on and five people being killed.