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Planning my forestry acquisitions and management plans and pleased that PITCOM is debating my IT strategy paper on a day when The Great Ouse is frozen solid and the forecast is for colder weather still as several people die today falling through the ice and drowning and Clive Ponting resigns
Late to bed and so reluctant to wake this morning to my cup of tea. The night bitterly cold again and there has been unbroken frost for a couple of weeks now, freezing the Great Ouse opposite more completely than we have seen in all the 10 or more years we have seen whilst living here. The river downstream still has a patch of water on the band where the ground water seeping keeps it warmer, but it gets smaller day by day. Breakfast as usual and then back to bed to finish todays FT and the Economist, which arrived in today’s post. Up, quickly washed, and out to the ducks. From the 8/9 housed last night, only a single egg. Then the doves, strangely reluctant to fly down to the table to feed. The sun is warmer today and melts the snow gradually, icicles forming on the roof eaves in the process. All to St Neots and we take Deborah to the last ballet lesson before next week’s exam – and she seems quite proficient as I watch her for the first time. Then alone, off to the fish shop for herrings and shrimps and to the post office to post my dinner application for the PITCOM evening (I received PITCOM papers today and was pleased to see my IT Strategy paper on the agenda for that day’s Council Meeting, and copies of it circulated to the Council today).
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Thinking of last night’s visit to the Molesworth Peace Camp before my visit to Grove House to find some very poor Kode company administration and then to set up my Scottish forestry investment and view some other riverside houses as we consider alternatives to expanding our house before some TV cup football whilst I also watch Daniel’s poor homework attempts as the Pit talks break down again , MOD police hassle Clive Ponting again and the Commons votes to ban tests on human embryos
Later last night I had driven over to the Grafham Water car park and talked to some of the peace campers evicted from Molesworth. There had been a rise in the security temperature last night with a concern that the crane at Molesworth had been brought in to destroy the Peace Chapel – which was not true. At Perry, the police were staked out in 6-10 vehicles and were switching on and off headlights to log the movements to and from the car park. The campers, in buses and caravans, were close to the public conveniences, which had been opened by the local authority to prevent, I suppose, the fouling of the area. Both police and peace demonstrators alike were very suspicious of my presence in a Jaguar, and I was eventually challenged by the frightened campers who asked me to leave – they are very defensive and bitter after former evictions and what they report as persecution and ‘beating up’ in the past. To bed late after watching Steve Davis win another snooker tournament on the television and then awake on time to the paper and a cup of tea. A slow start to the day and, after breakfast, and with my private mail, a long time in bed reading the Fountain Forestry contracts and the Investors Chronicle.
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Travelling home from London and returning many press and industry phone calls before arranging meetings and disciplining Daniel who misbehaves when his friend Jonathan Bloom visits: This as Kinnock wars with Thatcher over the Clive Ponting whistle-blowing affair and we first hear of £3bn of planned social security cuts
A lay in reading both The Financial Times (which I had ordered) and the Telegraph, which had been delivered with the complements of the Savoy. Also to listen to the radio. Yet more developments in the commons row and now Thatcher has written a long letter of explanation on the events that ran up to the Ponting prosecution and she has now asked that Kinnock accept her assurances, which I think he should now do. Much intervention now from David Steel and Dr David Owen of the alliance to good effect. The opinion polls in The Telegraph put the Tories and Labour Party at a much more even par and the Alliance has gained markedly. The pollees seem to give the Alliance leaders a lot more praise as well. Washed and changed and down to a full English breakfast in the Savoy restaurant. Excellent food, presentation and service, even at their busiest time. Out then to Moss Bros to return the dinner suit and back to call for the car, pack my bags and phone the office again. Several messages and calls then to Bill Unsworth, Owles Hall and COMPETA. No luck with DMS yet. Downstairs to check out, but find my car not ready and being washed and so I bought a Guardian and read the Valentine pages. James Edwards of Plessey chanced by for a chat and reaffirmed his lunch invitation while I waited.
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Disappointed with Archer’s Wood as an acquisition prospect and then off to stay at The Strand after hiring a dinner suite from Moss Bros and the ECIF dinner where the minister disappointed also
Up on another cold morning and no sign yet of a thaw. Down for breakfast and up again to finish my paper by 8.30am; and then to wash and dress whilst listening to Yesterday in Parliament as usual. No chance to feed the ducks this morning – they are still far upstream with the river opposite frozen completely. The clear patch of water downstream is far too tempting. The doves will also only come to the bird table when it is placed directly under the dovecote. An interesting phone-in radio programme on this morning with fancy pigeons as the subject. To the office and to do a few things, reading mail and making a few phone calls. Then I hear that Fountain Forestry are inspecting my Huntingdon wood and learn that a young forester, Mr Tim Shardlow, will be there. The wood is Archer’s Wood near Coppingford and Sawtry. I finish packing my suitcase for tonight’s stay at the savoy Hotel, load wellington boots and warm socks and take off at about 10.00 to the site.