Wednesday 25th April 1984

Another fine day, negotiating with 3i to try and dissuade Brammer from bidding for Comart and then some great news from the DTI and then late home to hear of the Libyan Embassy evacuations

Up and awake on time to another fine morning, the sound of the woodland birds mingling with Daniel’s computer music experiments. Diana had slept lightly last night with a temperature and cold caught from the children. Breakfast together and then off to the factory to a succession of meetings and the morning post before Tony Diment of 3i arrived to research the company’s activity for Brammer PLC. I spent all of the morning and early afternoon briefing him on my plans and persuading him to recommend Brammer to forgo any thoughts of acquisition and negotiating, viz the alternative, for the disposal of their share option. Late afternoon returning Tony Keston’s call to find out that DTI support for both the BMMG LAN proposal and the Comart SFI bid are looking very successful and we should have both confirmed within a couple of weeks.

More meetings with Carlton Lowe over the direct cost budgets, and a tour of the factory and offices to touch base with sales, support, purchasing and accounts departments and see what was going on. Manufactured product is beginning to replenish stocks and the IBM dealers are desperate for certain deliveries to offset the PC shortages. Peter King was today at IBM in his Byte Shop and Computer Retailers Association Chairman role and we will see the result tomorrow. The Dealer/OEM Sales Manager (Ian Smith) was second interviewed by John Lamb today and subject to satisfactory references will be starting at the end of May. A late evening signing the payroll, writing the Byte Shop Agenda and clearing my desk before I arrived home at 9.00pm to hear news of the Libyan Embassy evacuations. The Home Secretary’s House of Commons statement calling for international action to deplore flagrant exploitation of diplomatic immunities, and the latest on the miners strike where Nottingham pitman are still passing official picket lines. Another fine, sunny and hot day and I hear that The Anchor had run out of beer over the weekend in the hottest Easter period for years. Poor Diana’s cough returned today as bad as ever.