Some work on The Lady after a slower start today and then the Afternoon and evening on our front lawn on a cooler and more comfortable day as I spend time on a BMMG press release to steady the ship and the UN call for South African sanctions as over 1,000 have been detained without trial and a military coup overthrows Uganda president Milton Obote and, at last, Ian McGregor complains of government intervention in the NCB
A good night’s sleep, but Diana leaves us to lie in and both Daniel and I emerge at the same time to see what had happened to our morning tea. Breakfast of boiled duck egg, which we enjoyed, and then I spend a long time reading today’s papers and mail which takes me to after 10.30am. Up, then, and out to the birds – five duck eggs today – and no dove eggs yet. Perhaps they have been discouraged by the starvation of their last pair of chicks. Down to The Lady and I start to adjust the curtain rails to fit the existing curtains. I break off at 11.30am, collect the family and we all go off to the Little Paxton Little Chef for lunch. We let Daniel go off to play again after (having been kept in yesterday) and I spend all afternoon finishing off the vessel’s curtain rails. The upholsterers measured to the dimensions of the old curtains rather than the rails and, though they had to take several away for alteration, each of the others needed adjusting.
I also swapped over the hooks and eyes so that the wires would pass through the curtains more easily. Both afternoon tea and the evening meal on our front lawn, overlooking the river scene. It has been fine today, sunny, but cool, with only a little rain tonight to spoil it. After our meal we cleared out The Lady for Joan to clean on Monday and I also put the dinghy up on the davits and put the first battery on charge. This evening I spent a couple of hours on my BMMG press statements and felt better as a result. Time to update my journal and scan the TV Ceefax for news. South Africa makes the headlines again and is condemned by a UN Security Council resolution that calls for worldwide voluntary sanctions proposed by France, with the UK and US abstaining. By now over 1,000 people have been detained under the emergency powers. Crisis also in Uganda as Milton Obote is overthrown in an army coup, with Idi Amin welcoming the move and claiming to be in touch with its leaders. In a surprising statement in tomorrow’s Sunday Times, NCB Chairman, Ian McGregor, complains of government intervention and I guess he must be referring to the plans for reviewing the dismissal cases. On TV tonight I see Steve Cram beat Seb Coe into 3rd place in the dream mile and, in the process, break the world mile record by a full second.