A year of record UK unemployment, industrial collapse, divisiveness and hardship at home and abroad as the decline of the Thatcher years see her losing friends and supporters by her economic experiments and resolute political prejudice that ends in endemic violence, riots and then subsequent repression of any dissent and delays to the process of liberalising South Africa and freeing its black population from Apartheid, whilst welcoming deployment of nuclear arms on British soil. After a year of famine and deprivation in Ethiopia, it was left to pop musicians as Band Aid to provide some relief. A glimmer of hope ends the year as a USSR/USA nuclear arms limitation agreement seems on the cards. On the other hand, a successful year personally and for my family as I am recognised by the granting of my own Coat of Arms and achieve some computer industry goals early in the year, before retiring to spend some very enjoyable family holidays and cruises on our boat and massive progress in creating The Hayling View, our new riverside mansion and gardens.
A year that started with both icy weather and chilly economy with record unemployment against a background of industrial collapse as the misery of strike-torn and unemployed Britain eating away at Thatcher’s credibility as she faced widespread criticism but ended with some hope of world peace and even nuclear arms control as the US and USSR get close to agreement. Also some signs emerge that the oppressive regime in South Africa is weakening with apartheid has its future under challenge but it has yet to be reformed. It is left to the Band-Aid appeal to tackle the humanitarian crisis with the Ethiopians caught all year in a famine of biblical proportions that governments ignored.
February continued with the spotlight on civil rights with public policy issues dominating, attempts against the Miners being to be put down savagely and anti-nuclear demonstrations and whistle blowing not being tolerated as a Sterling crisis hits despite ever higher interest rates. African famines, Athens and Paris bombs, IRA killings and a tragic air crash all depress that month’s sentiment. In March, Thatcher’s government becomes every more unpopular and she faces equal criticism year from Bishops and her own senior members for the austerity and divisiveness. The miners march back to work after they are spied on illegally, starved and bullied into submission. Good talks commence between Ireland and the UK over Ulster and between East/West as Gorbachev looks set to succeed Gromyko but worrying developments in South Africa with escalating repression, the Iran/Iraq war and depressing deterioration in The Lebanon lead to deaths and mistrust. March continues a disappointingly cold, wet and wintry weather with a few better spells that reflected the degree of economic hardship, disputes, strikes, demonstrations and disruption caused by Thatcher’s adversarial policies at home and abroad. In the ‘merry’ month of May, the sporting, economic and political news on the home front is dispiriting with even Thatcher’s Tory colleagues now against her but the division and violence of the outside world is even worse as bombs, killings and fighting inflame sectarian divisions and spawn atrocities. The start of Summer, sees England suffering a European football ban for hooliganism and Thatcher ploughs on with more financial measures to cause divisiveness and hardship and lots of bombs and terrorist strikes rock the world but at home an IRA holiday bomb campaign is averted. In July, the apartheid unrest continues in a Ugandan and coup holds the headlines and in South Africa the UK declines to follow UN calls for sanctions and further more Thatcher loses Lords votes and even more friends. By late summer, South Africa was featuring most in the news as apartheid was in its death throes but there were lots of other crashes and disaster, with the French leading the way on train crashes, The Japanese with a huge air crash and Manchester with its plane fire. Still and the Ira was still bombing but an intransigent Thatcher government was turning conflict into an art form interfering with the BBC, encouraging union breaking and persecuting miners such that there was not much good news nor historical lessons learnt on this 40th anniversary of Hiroshima. The autumn continued with Thatcher government austerity and control of local government finance led to riots in Liverpool and the heavy-handed policing they encourage after the Miners’ strike caused further riots in Handsworth and then Brixton which Lord Scarman attributed to discrimination and poverty but eventually Thatcher agrees to Un sanctions against South Africa but only after a series of police state atrocities and violence towards civil rights demonstrators and saw allsorts of conflict with the PLO after they planned several terror incidents after their suffering at the hands of Israel and the crisis in South Africa deepens with ever more government repressive measures and resulting casualties. Back home Thatcher keeps Britain alone out of political and economic measures to respond to that and runs foul of Commonwealth and The Prince of Wales who is also concerned at the many unemployment riots that culminate in the murder of PC Blakelock in my old district of Tottenham where I was brought up. East/West nuclear arms talks shed a ray of hope but still Cruise missiles are deployed in Holland despite mass demonstrations and soon will be in the UK too. The USA/USSR arms talks suffer a roller coaster of expectations but end up with optimism. Anglo-Irish pact is ratified my parliament who are on the verge of admitting TV cameras for the first time but the headlines feature murders and assassinations along with the expected deterioration of South African stability as apartheid suffers its death throws. The biggest loss of life is in the mud and meltwater from the Columbian volcano eruption engulfing the complete village of Amero. The Band-Aid Ethiopian appeal was a positive highlight in a year when the USSR and USA struggled to agree nuclear arms control and the oppressive regime in South Africa is weakening but yet to be reformed From a personal standpoint, the year also starts with successful months for my family and computer industry leadership with seminars, meetings, committees and press and TV interviews and with the family riding health problems and illnesses but renovating The Lady and buying a Blue Peter dinghy for a new boating year. In February, I complete my property purchases, investments and trust/tax planning moves. March continues busy month with BMMG advocacy in between me spending more time with Daniel and Debbie as the duck eggs arrive in droves but we retrieve The Lady and start using her after her refit and renovations. Spring starts with the family recovering from nasty coughs, colds and flu and mother from her operation. Progress with the BMMG gaining members and influence and widening of my interests to include collecting silver, dove breeding as well as boating whilst I expand our property portfolio and diversify my investments. By May, the family do well as we enjoy a month with me working hard on industry and personal affairs before enjoying a boat holiday on our renovated boat, cruising the rivers and fens of Cambridgeshire. By June, I was marking the completion of two years of writing this diary and adjusting well to the outcome of selling Comart which was done at the right time now that the computer and electronics sector collapses in the UK. Also of moving on with my retirement and family priorities with Debbie and Della being lovely, Daniel overcoming his rebellious crisis to do well at exams and school work and I was working towards retiring from my industry role to enjoy more property management and boating now that I am enjoying a renovated boat and creating The Hayling View working with my architect and on the adjacent landscape gardens. We are celebrating Della’s first birthday in July and my first full year of retirement by visiting Freda and enjoying family holidays in Bude and on The Lady after concluding some good investments and visiting my new Scottish estate with Daniel after having completed a fair number of computer industry activities, plans and proposals. August was another wet and windy month but it did not stop us enjoying three holidays and of progress being made on The Hayling View house and gardens but Diana, Debbie and Della all suffered ill health. Family life and investments and work were going well apart from Daniel’s mis-behaviour. My new video recorder followed it all. September was a fine, warm but very busy month during which others might be suffering with natural catastrophes and other reverses, but my family overcame illness to enjoy our developing riverside gardens and leisure activities whilst watching the building plans being documented in detail and then starting to come to fruition. Progress made in computer industry affairs with network standards being developed and supported and personally I could collect my Grant of Arms from the College of Arms in recognition of this. October was a dry and mild month favouring the Hayling View building and landscaping during which we still find time for one last boat trip and a stay in a London hotel but I was suffering from a back injury for much of it and retired fully from Computer Industry affairs but could concentrate on my video filming and archiving as an outcome. November was a cold and disruptive month of house building work, which takes its toll on the health of our family, but one also of good progress with The Hayling View project, even though my computer industry work has tailed off. By December, I had completed a of enjoying my ‘retirement’ from the computer industry developing my Hayling View into a wonderful riverside mansion and helping to nurture our children who are growing up in this troubled world and our parents who are suffering in their later years of it. In 1986, we look forward to more cruising on The Lady and socialising at The Hayling View