My parents visit on a busy day after a troubled night with Daniella being hot and loose and we watch videos of our visit to Freda and Creation of the Hayling View and then sit out on a hot evening as Thatcher smarts from her party’s rebellion on Top People’s pay and rejects the Duke of Edinburgh’s report on housing finance
Awake to my morning tea after hearing various sounds in the night. The baby had kept Diana up for all of it, bar an hour, and both were exhausted this morning with Della running a temperature and suffering diarrhoea. Breakfast of cereal, top of the milk and fruit juice and then a little reading before having to break off at 8.30am for a wash. As I did, I listened to ‘Yesterday in Parliament’ on the BBC Radio 4 and heard of the close call for the government in the early hours of yesterday morning. They retained a majority of only 18 over the vote on the top peoples pay award and may well have been defeated if the Labour Party whips had mastered its vote. Over 50 Conservative back benchers voted against a grey-faced Thatcher and as many more abstained. Out to the birds. The doves seem more frisky with lots of billing and cooing and will soon be nesting again now that I have cleared out the dovecote. The ducks were hungry, but managed only 4 eggs – although that is twice yesterday’s total.
To the office until the ducks at 10.00am, but time only to finish reading the paper and catch up on the computer journals. Over £5000 of income in cheques from government stocks in the post and so, after a nice coffee break sitting on our steamer chairs on the front lawn, I set off to town to pay them in. I also delivered 2 doz duck eggs to the auction and looked round on what was now a hot, sunny, and humid day. Home after at least two ice creams and in time for lunch. Diana had cooked pie for lunch and we had to insist that the children ate it, although they were not keen. After lunch, my parents phone and asked if it was all right to pop over in an hour and there followed a hectic scramble to do the washing up (me), get some shopping (Daniel) and look after a screaming baby. I managed a half-hour of office work only before they arrived, when we spent the afternoon and evening sitting out, chatting, eating and enjoying drinks. Very relaxing, but not very productive with all my work to do. We also listened and watched our videos of ‘Creating the Hailing View’ and our Bude holiday. Eventually they went and, it still being unbearably hot, I sat out, read, updated my journal, and overlooked the river and supervised my garden sprinkler, which was watering our new turf lawn. In to the TV news then, where we hear that Andrew Neil has had a life sentence for murdering his 21 month-old daughter, Tara, by negligence and battering. It seems she had brain damage, fractured skull, bites and bruises. Another trial in Liverpool continues where a 4 year old boy was bitten and battered as well. The Duke of Edinburgh’s enquiry reported today recommended the end to mortgage tax relief, but Thatcher already rules it out in her typically arrogant way. Parliament breaks for the summer recess with the government smarting from its recent reverses. The balance of trade in June was negative, with only invisible exports saving the day. The stock exchange was down 15 points today as ICL reported disappointing results and the City worry about industrial distress from a high exchange rate and interest rate policy. More warm weather forecast for tomorrow, but with less humidity, which must be better.