Starting the day surveying my Hayling View gardens and then a meeting with my accountants before on to Shaw’s auctions and then continuing my financial planning on-line before resuming my steamer chair renovation with Debbie as the surviving Japanese stewardess relates its doomed last moment, the British train strike creates disruption and more violence and deaths in South Africa today ahead of the President’s speech tomorrow
A good night’s sleep, but awake groggily again and I put it down to a head cold that takes a while to clear each morning. I read the FT quickly and Daniella is brought to join me and points at the pictures squealing, which is rather fun, but quite off putting. To breakfast, where each of us (except Diana) has a boiled duck egg and bread & butter fingers to dip in. It is the first time for Della and she really enjoys it and may not take to ordinary bread hereafter. The kids occupy the upstairs bathroom after and so I take a shower downstairs and shampoo my hair under it at the same time. Dressed and then outside to feed the doves and look round the gardens. To my horror I see another mole has been pushing the corners of the turves up, which is a blow. When the turves are new they can just crawl underneath, eating the worms as they go, and do not have to throw up great mounds of earth. On to the ducks and the 13th one arrives quacking loudly rather late and I do not feed her so that I can get her in tonight.
To the office then and I write cheques for all outstanding and overdue bills before it is 11.00am and time for my accountant’s meeting. Quickly by car to Church Street, St Neots, where I find Whitmarsh Sterland have moved in to the new office block next door a week ago. A rather modern and horrid thing rather impersonal in comparison with the old building. A good session for an hour agreeing my income tax return and finalising the capital gains declarations etc. My affairs are on the right road and we are well prepared for the tax payment of £1/2 million in December. I walk through St Neots after, paying in some money to Barclays and balancing my building society accounts. Also to Shaws auction room, where I see a few old tools that are of interest – a sythe, axe, as well as a bicycle and briefcase for Daniel and so shall return tomorrow. Home for lunch of salad rolls and nothing to follow as I still follow my diet. An afternoon working on my affairs and balancing funds by electronic transfer before out at 5.30pm to feed the doves again, who are now becoming quite tame. Tea of grilled herrings and then out again to the garden to water a few of the drier turves with river water and then tour the shrub beds, dead-heading the roses. I drench the cob-nut plant, which had looked like being the only casualty from the planting with a number of dead leaves. Then to put away the ducks and my morning’s ploy works as I manage to feed all 13 ducks tonight. Then to return to the renovation of my steamer chairs after several weeks and Debbie and I strip the varnish from most of the second one. Inside after to update my journal and see the TV news. News tonight of the last 30 minutes flight of the doomed Jumbo as a stewardess tells of the ordeal. The tail fin disintegrated, the ceiling collapsed and there were two or three crashes on landing. The honourable man who is President of Japan airlines has offered his resignation to the Prime Minister, as is the custom when a crisis occurs to a corporation. In Britain there was widespread disruption today to British Rail as the dispute over train manning continues. In South Africa 5 more black people died today in more violence ahead of the President’s speech tomorrow, but there is some caution at the extent of the reform announcement expected. Barclays are cutting their stake in the SA affiliate from 50% to 40%. A huge bomb has destroyed a whole street in Beirut. A showery, sunny and blustery day today and more rain forecast tomorrow.