Kode rising as we sell their shares as we drive to St Ives via Godmanchester for the Ekins art and antique auction and then on to the Kimbolton Castle antique fair and the evening sorting new silver as a bomb blast kills 18 in Madrid, Thatcher fluffs her Indian speech when taking sides against the Sikhs, and in South Africa 50,000 blacks attend a funeral of 26 and three more are killed today
Another sound sleep, but awoken by the baby crying as Diana had forgotten to prepare a bottle and Daniella had to wait whilst the kettle was boiled. Morning tea with the paper and I note that Kode had risen to 215p even though I had sold those shares and so we managed to handle the matter well. Down to breakfast of toast and fruit juice and quickly showered and dressed. The doves start to feed with more confidence and the ducks lay 10 eggs. Out to the car together and we load up to go to St Ives. A pleasant drive via Godmanchester, pleased that we had done the week’s shopping yesterday. A bit of trouble parking in St Ives, but eventually found a space in the back streets – the moorings were free, but the town congested with cars! The Ekins Fine Art and Antiques showroom was open and I spent a couple of hours looking at the lots for Tuesday’s auction. To my dismay and as a pleasant surprise, there were 12 old English style, 1909, silver-handled table knives there and I will now turn up to bid for them. New, they would be £6-800 and, as they are in good condition, they could easily fetch £400 if the bidding is competitive, or £250 if I am lucky.
A long time looking at a number of other interesting lots and then to meet the girls back at the car. It was too late to go to Biggleswade for duck food and so I took the family home via the Little Paxton Little Chef for lunch. After, I set off for the antique fair at Kimbolton Castle and arrive in driving rain and hail. A good selection of stands, but most of the silver was Victorian rather than Georgian. In fact I spent over an hour and a half in the Lewes Hall before I realised there were more exhibits in the Orangery. I made offers and bought a range of teaspoons and table spoons, averaging some £6-8 and £20-23 respectively. In particular I managed to get another couple of Exeter spoons to match some others; three more George Adams table spoons; and some other matching tea and salt spoons, which are very welcome. In the car cataloguing my purchases and then home in time for a tea of bread and honey. After to put the birds away, read Debbie some more poetry, and then the evening polishing and matching my silver. After, to my bedtime drink and to watch Luton FC lose 2-1 to Everton in a televised FA Cup semi-final. News tonight of a bomb blast killing eighteen in Madrid, but three separate terrorist groups claim responsibility as many Americans are injured. In Sri Lanka, Mrs Thatcher suffers from a cold and dries up during a speech and onto India, where she sides against Sikh extremists taking refuge in Britain – both incidents will only act to fuel criticism at home. In South Africa 50,000 blacks attend a funeral of 26 and three more are killed today. They retrace the footsteps of those killed last time, peacefully, but with resolve. The space shuttle, carrying a US Senator, has launched a US Navy satellite, which has again failed.