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Warm and slightly showery day tackling the activities of the Kode advisors and the greed of my colleagues as they run amok on budgeting, share transfers and consultancy contracts on the 40th anniversary of ‘D-Day’
Up and to the office early and on time, at 8.15am, to be let in by Lesley. I settled into the ground floor office and, between completing my expenses for the last two months, conduct a number of phone calls to Ashursts, Kode and conversations with Peter King, John Lamb and Derek Weatherby. It seems that conversations carried on until the early hours and two/three o’clock in the morning and eventual agreement was reached to transfer Peter and Geoff’s shares into Comart shares and then transfer half of all Comart Limited shares into Kode shares at the rate of 3 for 1 and then complete the rest over two years, dependent upon Comart group performance.
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Annoyed by staff, media and company sale problems with Kode wanting to delay the deal to buy my company but I am firm with them all as Saudi Arabia join the Gulf War hostilities
On time to Grove House after the normal breakfast and to my office to sort out the outstanding work for action. Our normal coffee break and then twenty minutes with Leslie passing over and delegating various action items before the arrival of John Lamb to discuss personnel matters. Then to rush off to Little End Road for an 11.00am press interview with Oliver Tucker of Computing International to find he was late and, on arrival, less than familiar with Computer Industry structure and distribution channels. John Lamb was also struggling but I intervened often to make the meeting flow and bring some positive comments out. Quickly back home for my wallet and chequebook (which I had forgotten this morning) to St Neots for bank and building society transactions, and then to the office in Little Paxton to collect some papers. Afterwards by fast car to Eldon Street, London and my city solicitors Ashurst Morris and Crisp; half an hour late for a meeting with the Kode people.
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Settling in at Grove House and fielding media interviews with the Radio 4 Today programme and Computer Weekly about recent microcomputer company failures and IBM’s welcome into the Alvey initiative as ‘A good British Company’ as Kode’s Peter Smith returns from his honeymoon and we arrange to meet tomorrow
A good night’s sleep and up at the normal time and opportunity to read today’s newspaper before breakfast. Quickly to work at my new building – Grove House – and I unlocked the gates and front door and investigated the heating and lighting systems until the builders arrived at 9.00am. By 9.30am both furniture suppliers had arrived with lorries full of new furniture and the rest of the morning was spent lifting our goods about, unpacking and tidying up the place. Lunchtime together eating sandwiches and drinking coffee and then my own things arrived in early afternoon and I set my own office up by the evening.
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Sunday 3rd June 1984 Catching up on World Economic Summit and other affairs and hosting a family lunch and outing to the St Neots Riverside Park Fair and do some chores as a schooner is wrecked in the Tall Ships race and the Iraqis attack more Iranian tankers at Karg Island
A good lay in, waking at nearly 8.00am, and first to prepare the family’s drinks. Diana is having a hard time sleeping and only managed to drop off after 3.30. The final weeks of her pregnancy are most uncomfortable, but it will soon be over. A fine fried breakfast for the first time in a while and then back to bed for the full morning to read The Sunday Times and Economist. The news full of preparations for the Economic Summit in London later this week with security and political public relations paramount. Also of analysis of the world economic problems with the US deficit on balance of payments labelled as one of the main problems, although I put it down to lack of expansion and synchronised policies.