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Lively day with John Lamb and Nigel Smith attending the Parliamentary IT Committee House of Lords reception in my brand new Saville Row suit, and meeting lots of industry leaders and politicians after Alan Ball had dropped round and I had been ‘playing doves’ and trying to get some work done. Nigel liked the shooting opportunities of my woodland investment idea and the news is of a flood of miners returning to work
A slight lay in, morning tea, and to find that Diana is up and preparing the children for school. The Financial Times, and then breakfast of toast (1 slice) and honey and I return to finish most of the paper. Up, dressed and a restricted wash following last night’s bath and hair shampoo and then dressed rough to go out to the birds. A merry game with the doves as I insist that they feed from the bird table and so little seed taken this morning. Six eggs from the ducks again who are now laying regularly. A busy morning in the office trying to catch up on all manner of work and correspondence. I complete letters to RML and others and end up with a fair bundle for posting later on. Many phone calls to disturb the process, but many problems ironed out as a result. I arrange to collect Nigel and John on the way down to London this afternoon and ascertain that my new suit will be ready from Huntsman’s.
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A day working outside on my Riverside gardens tending my nest boxes, doves and ducks whilst the first cruiser of the season passes by as Thatcher upsets the Libyan releases of hostages and 69 USAF airmen are injured in the Athens bomb
A better lay in this morning and I spurred Diana to make the morning tea when I woke at 7.45am. She had already been up in the middle of the night to feed the baby. Breakfast of fried egg, bacon and bread and then up to read The Sunday Times and the Investors Chronicle. Up eventually at 10.45am and until 11.10am washing, shaving and dressing. Out to the doves and an hour or so trying to get them to feed from a bird table. Eventually, I enlarged it with a plywood cap and got them to venture down. I managed this by catching the grizzle hen in the end, and using her as a decoy on the table. Then to the ducks and, by 11.30am, a total of 6 eggs – the best so far this season. A long process then of looking at the nest boxes as I replaced the plywood robin box on the old plot with a pottery model, took down the large box from near the dovecote and cleaned out the tit box on the large oak tree, resting it higher and out of the water streams on the trunk.
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A successful day finding my lost dove, reading up on the Battle of St Neots and dropping off Daniel for an all-American trip with his girlfriend Christine to USAF Alconbury as a thousand men march in Wales in solidarity with the miners
Woken at 6.45am for morning tea again and not too happy at this for the weekend. I scanned last week’s Investors Chronicle until The Financial Times arrived and read it before and after my usual breakfast of fruit juice, toast and honey. Up at 10.00am, washed, shaved and dressed and then to feed the ducks and doves. 5 eggs today and the doves hungry – but only 5 of them with the Blonde Qualmond missing! I was soon to find out why because, whilst closing up the house doors in preparation for leaving, I spotted the dove in the fireplace and behind the fire screen. It had fluttered down the chimney and was imprisoned, with feathers full of old grey wood ash. I released it and it flew well to the roof and its Blue mate and so no harm done; but what a strange thing to happen and thank goodness there were no hot cinders. Out with the girls to St Neots and to park in my favourite Huntingdon Street place, just beyond the double yellow line zone. I to pay a cheque into the building society and to purchase cockles and shrimps for tea, whilst Diana took Deborah to the ballet lesson in the church hall. I missed her on my return and so I went on to the new public library in the Priory Centre and looked round the reference section. I read again of the fate of the Earl of Holland and Colonel Dolbier in 1648/9 at the Cross Keys Inn during the civil war.
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Combining press interviews about the declining prospects of British Microcomputer companies with consideration about buying some woodland and I think I am convinced it is a good idea as battles with the Yorkshire Miners flare up again and, in Ulster, the last of three UDR brothers to survive assassination is shot dead but even that is eclipsed by the worst African famine in memory
Diana leaves me to lay in a little this morning, but I still wake up and wander downstairs to collect my tea. Up with The Financial Times and most of it read before a breakfast of hot toast and marmalade. The paper finished and up at 8.30am to hear Yesterday in Parliament on the radio whilst getting washed and dressed. The concerted attempts of the back bench conservative MPs to interrupt and disrupt Neil Kinnock’s speech seem to have succeeded and the government made light of the censure debate – even when record unemployment was announced the same day. Out to feed the ducks and no eggs, for they had not been put away last night. The doves were very hungry this morning on a warm sunny day for the time of year. To the office and to return my phone calls of yesterday. I missed Martin Isherwood, but recorded my advice on his answering machine. Attempts to contact Management Today, my accountants and forestry advisors, and Graham Clifton of Transam, were totally unsuccessful. At 11.00am, back to the house for coffee and was delayed by me having to play back my televised appearance to Joan, our cleaner, who insisted on seeing it!