- Details
Daniel’s Birthday - Calmer approach on a milder day to the Comart Board Meeting with agreed £3-400K of capital expenditure very acceptable sales and profit Three Year Plan outcomes as the family celebrated Daniel’s Birthday and EEC Foreign Ministers blame lack of agreement on Thatcher’s intransigence and NUM regions call for National Ballot on strikes
On time to the office having calmed down and decided that the meeting would go ahead but without the pre-circulated written draft. Considering that we are working at a time of record activity and shipments and also that we are at the end of the holiday year when all staff have to take remaining leave – we have not done too badly in at least agreeing in principle what our three year plans should be. June was quiet and upset today and completed the mail in record time and copied my slides. A good Directors meeting this morning but David had made little progress on client questionnaires and sales enquiry processing and Ian was smouldering as usual in disagreement with my budget economies and product policy. The meeting considered record results for February with high sales, slimming stocks and even higher forecasts for the month of March as a whole.
- Details
Frustratingly-busy day with June on a mountain of administration and meeting arrangements and then reconciling executives views to form a three-year business plan before tomorrow’s board meeting
On time to the office, a little weary after the adjustment to the new Summer Time. Also cold because the heating system time switches had yet to be changed accordingly. I spend time early briefing June on the priorities of the day which include redrafting the business plan, getting out job offers and finalising arrangements for the forthcoming BMMG meetings with the CCTA Director and Kenneth Baker, the new Information Technology Minister. Then to a busy morning of opening a large Monday mail and, in June’s case, taking a large number of telephoned enquiries for our Export, OEM and Dealer Sales Management appointments advertised in yesterday’s Sunday Times. In the afternoon to hold two meetings with Derek Morgan and Carlton Lowe and agree the outline to our three year operations strategy after reconciling the differences between them and overlapping ambitions and interests.
- Details
Leisurely day walking around Little Paxton and Little Paxton Wood, enjoying the bird life and then tea in front of our last coal fire of the season as King Hussein of Jorden assures the Prime Minister today by phone that the recent bomb attacks are not a source of danger to the Queen during her forthcoming visit
A less than productive day but good rest and chance to catch up on some reading and writing in bed this morning. Up a bit late, particularly in view of the fact that the clocks were moved forward at midnight for British Summer Time. My Sunday breakfast of fried egg, bacon, mushroom and bread and then out of bed at 10.15 to get showered and dressed. Daniel helped me to let out the ducks and scrape out the duck house and then to wash the car of three weeks dirt. I walked around Little Paxton a couple of times today, imagining the changes that have occurred since it was developed in 1960+.
- Details
Written on the 25th March 1984
I am writing these notes on Sunday morning whilst listening to the birds sing and watching the riverside activity through the bars of my new balcony window. This, plus the other building work, is now complete and all internal decoration finished. Diana has used the new automatic washing machine to catch up on the backlog and most domestic arrangements are back to normal. The family’s health is good and my Mother recovering from her operation for a replacement hip joint. Comart is beginning to flourish but how much of this is due to the government end-of-financial year I do not know. Yet I expect net profits of about £500k this year ending June 30th 1984 on sales turnover up to £12M+. I am presently negotiating the sale of the company to Kode International PLC whilst also negotiating the settlement of the share option with Branmer.