An all-party Parliamentary Committee has come out in favour of subsidising the coal pits and so keeping open 21 of the 31 pits threatened
An all-party Parliamentary Committee has come out in favour of subsidising the coal pits and so keeping open 21 of the 31 pits threatened

On a cold morning after a very windy night with flurries of snow around all day, I worked inside Harnser, fitting cupboard doors and ordering a telephone connection. Sometime outside, training Sam and finding that the flood level was as high as I had experienced it.

At home, an all-party Parliamentary Committee has come out in favour of subsidising the coal pits and so keeping open 21 of the 31 pits threatened. All hell has broken out in the former Yugoslavia as now the Croats resume the fighting, and the peace talks go out of the window

It took me a while to get used to the Harnser bed, having been away from it for over a week but I slept during the later portion of the night. The Teasmade dispenser worked with a little coaxing and so, with cereal already to hand, I managed to have a complete breakfast in my bed. Up, shaved and dressed but still out a little late for Sam who seems to keep time more accurately than I. It was a cold morning after a very windy night and there were flurries of snow around all day; but not so much as to settle. I find Sam is improving on the lead with occasional relapses back to pulling but I was spending most time on getting him to sit and stay at a distance to a long whistle and raised hand - the "long drop". He gets the idea gradually and will learn with time. he spoilt things with yet more jumping up at Doris who met us in the lane with genuine pleasure to have company again.

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I turned my hand to trimming and then fitting the two upstairs cupboard doors today and that now completes all the doors that needed fitting. I had to go out to plane these and the weather was cold as the north-westerly wind brought more snow showers. This wind direction also raised the level of the broads again so that, when I walked Sam down Racing Reach this evening, I thought that the flood-water was just about as high as I had seen it. I also telephoned British Telecom today and ordered the installation of a proper telephone line for this coming Thursday and hope that they can use the existing telephone line that previously served Heronshaw and Mr Porter to save on the connection fee. That would allow the lesser re-connection charge to be levied instead of the full cost of about three times as much.

As I worked on today I listened to a number of very good programmes on Radio 4 until they started to come round again as repeats this evening. I had one call from Nigel who was tipsy with whisky and kept telling me about his philandering as well as his latest "Boatsafe" and "Gunsafe" moneymaking achievements. We shall meet up next weekend when I am back. I also telephoned Diana, but she did not sound unbelievably pleased to hear from me. My heart was not really in the work today but fitting the cupboard doors was a hard job well done and now I can either tackle the grounds (if the weather gets better tomorrow) or resume work on the fire and security alarm that I started late this evening.

All hell has broken out in the former Yugoslavia as now the Croats resume the fighting, and the peace talks go out of the window. The Prince of Wales has understandably declined to have his private telephone tape with Cammilla Parker-Bowles the subject of a Press Complaints Enquiry for fear of authenticating it and an all-party Parliamentary Committee has come out in favour of subsidising the coal pits and so keeping open 21 of the 31 pits threatened. It seems that there is enough Tory M.P.'s that will support the idea and so the government may have to back Hazeltine implement the scheme.