To Birmingham for a joint meeting with ACT directors, a Byte Shop supplier, and then back to the factory to review operations as The Times Newspaper group lose publications due to more union action and marches are banned in Ireland commemorating Bloody Sunday

A poor night with Diana snoring and the milder weather making me feel hot and sleepless. I awake to Di’s early morning tea when I could have used a lay in as well. No Times today as the NGA dispute continues so I scan The Economist before getting up. After breakfast, I make up my accounts and write Diana’s cheque. Then off by car to Birmingham to attend the Byte Shop/ACT ‘love in’ and lunch with the ACT Directors Peter Davies, David Hickman (ACT UK Ltd) David Tampey (ACT Computer Maintenance Ltd) and Brian Androlia, Barry Hughes and Peter Fornby (ACT Pulsar Ltd). Much discussion informally of future plans, standards and business news from which I learn that ACT is quite a close-coupled group with computer plans to introduce both low end and high end products. Also that their service policies are quite oriented to favour themselves and software distribution plans quite unsympathetic to Xitan. Nevertheless a good supplier to the Byte Shop for 1984 and a nice bunch of chaps who I shall undoubtedly cooperate with in future.

They are perhaps the nearest example in the marketplace to the Comart Group but two further years advanced as they started in 1965 and produced the Apricot and so more widely spread but we have since overtaken them. Returned home by car, dropping in at the factory to look through the mail. Tea of prawns and cakes and a quiet evening reading before early to bed to try to sleep better than yesterday. I hear tonight that the Sunday Times will be lost tomorrow and probably the Times the day after. The dispute, over the promotion of a man from the wrong union to the post of Library Manager, could see the papers being threatened and much money lost. More trouble with terrorists in Ireland and Chesterfield Marches banned for tomorrow’s anniversary of Bloody Sunday.