Collecting my new Jaguar and visiting ICL’s MD Rob Wilmot to discuss Industry affairs at his riverside home on the Thames as mortgage rates near 13%and Thatcher faces criticism in the House of Commons over her treatment of GCHQ staff
Up whist the children were laying the table and down for a breakfast of cereal, toast and apple juice. Eventually to get washed and dressed after Diana cut my hair and I shampooed it. Off to Grove House and a morning reviewing the mail, dictating my urgent correspondence and talking to the other principal executives. It seems that we should meet our end June Profit Forecasts to hold them at about £545K whilst building up the balance sheet with admirable reserves. The Rouge Dragon Persuivant reports that the Garter King of Arms has passed back the arms with acceptance of the shield but querying the similarity of the Heron holding a pheon to other arms with a Stork holding an anchor. I should hear in a couple of weeks and they would ask the heraldic artist to produce line drawings with colours if required.
Off home at lunchtime for a salad and chat with the family. The midwife is no longer calling and Diana is fine. She gives me a lift to St Neots and, after dropping in at the bank, I take the 1.20pm No 128 bus to Cambridge arriving at 2.05pm and then a taxi to Marshalls in Cherry Hinton Road to collect the Jaguar. My car is ready – a 4.3L Jaguar Sovereign in British Racing Green and doe skin leather seats – but we have to wait twenty minutes for the tax disc to arrive and the Sales Manager spends a long time going through the handbooks and documentation. Then even longer being shown all of the controls and being told of all the car’s peculiarities.
Eventually, 30mins late, off to the M11 and thence to London arriving at the slip road to the Tower Hotel about 4.30, and meeting my photographer from Electronic Times. He took a number of shots with a backdrop of Tower Bridge and then we took the new car to the city of London and parked it in front of the Nat West building and took some more shots of me sitting on the bonnet to the obvious interest of all manner of passers-by.
Eventually we finished at 5.00 and I had only an hour to find my way out west of London, along the M4, to Henley on Thames. In the event, of course, I was still 30mins late when arriving at Rob Wilmot’s riverside home at The White House. He took this in good grace, poured us each a lager, and told me of the strategy ICL was embarked upon with regard to standards and intercompany cooperation. Of how in 1981 a common pact of companies had supported Ethernet and also how more recently the 7 Layer Open Standard of Interconnection had been accepted. Lastly of how they had been resisting MSDOS in favour of CP/M but were finding themselves increasingly isolated. Up to 30% of Rob’s time had been spent in bilateral discussions with other companies and Great Britain Limited needed to be brought to bear.
Now that I was selling Comart and had announced my micro industry intentions it seemed I was in a unique position to lead this process without conflict of interest. I responded with my views and plans which were very compatible with his own and covered: IBM competitive strategy, DTI standards support, User and Government lobbying, creative public procurement and advocacy. I was more optimistic of success – it was all there to be achieved. We ended after an hour with a decision to cooperate and with ICL to decide whether or not to commission me as a consultant or just to support my activities for rationalising the UK trade associations and leading a campaign. I met his wife and talked to her about riverside houses. The White House is a superb riverside house on the River Thames and they have an old wooden launch with 17 coats of varnish. When with TI, Rob had a large house fronting the Great Ouse. I sought to persuade them that a flock of Khaki Campbells would complete the place!
Home in my air conditioned Jaguar taking the journey steadily to accommodate the running in process: I was averaging 20mp gallon today, which is very reasonable. To bed late for a thoughtful, warm and restless night planning the industries defeat of IBM.
News today of a House of Commons battering for Mrs Thatcher over the GCHQ union ban now proved illegal through lack of consultation. The governments appeal is to be heard in two weeks’ time and the Master of the Rolls disallowed a submission to ban union recruitment of members in the meantime. Abbey National’s mortgage increase in interest at 12 7/8% causes consternation and delay in the announced increase to others. The hunt for the Leighton Buzzard Rapist goes on with police called back from miners picket duty to conduct a manhunt.