- Details
A quiet Sunday without a newspaper but lots of other reading before some time nurturing my new landscaped lawns and recording the names of my new plants before some late night love making as Gales hit the Fastnet race, Acorn loses money bigtime and trouble continues in both South Africa and Ulster
A sound night’s sleep and awake rather groggy from the experience. No Sunday paper, which made me wonder around lost for a while, but plenty of other reading material, which kept me busy thereafter. A pleasant start to the day before the windy rain spread later and so I got the sprinkler out again and kept the turves moist. A day spent between reading my papers (of which there are many unattended) and braving the cold wind to go out and catalogue the shrub garden. By the day’s end I had worked out what all of the shrubs were and painstakingly recorded their names and positions before the markings were obscured by the wind and rain. Time playing with Debbie and Daniella today as Daniel made up for lost time with his friends that he had missed all week. Tired this evening, watching a TV film with Di and the evening’s news.
- Details
Mixed day of weather for us in St Ives where we study the photo history in The Norris Museum and then the cruise home to release one of our trapped ducks and news of the South African and Irish troubles with the news ban on the IRA now causing trouble and the possible release of Nelson Mandela is now being discussed
A sound night’s sleep at last and the girls were both well for once. We did have to cope with the noise of a few drunken louts at 1.00am until the police dispersed them. A more relaxed routine this morning, but we consider going home today and, when we find that there is no Ekins general auction today, we are resolved in it. The weather is a mixture of sun, breeze and rain showers today, but fine enough for our journey back. I had only shopped for a paper and some cash from the building society in St Ives, but I did get a chance to take Diana to the Norris Museum where we looked at the library photographs of Old St Ives. They showed the old cattle markets, animals and tethering rails in Market Hill before the market was moved off of the road to the specially enclosed area. Of course even this is now finished and used as a bus station and car park.
- Details
From Erith back to the St Ives Waits Quay after Debbie was ill in the night too in more poor weather and then a rest and some takeaway food aboard as 50 more die in South African riots, overwhelming Durban hospitals and an IRA show funeral takes place in Ulster. Clive Sinclair loses his backing from Maxwell and tries to go it alone
Yet another poor night. This time Debbie’s cold turned into an attack of her asthma during the night and she had to come and sleep with Diana from 4.00am onwards and we all suffered the disturbance. At least Della gave last night a miss. As it was a rather dewy morning we gave the twenty-pence playground a miss and set off fairly early for the start of our long trek across the Old West River. The air was warm, but the conditions cloudy and breezy and I was a bit too brave in deciding to cruise with the sliding canopy back. We saw three Herons in our cruise today, two having just caught fish, and this was very reassuring. The first lock was the Hermitage at Erith and we were lucky to go straight in.
- Details
From Clayhithe to Cambridge after a poor night with Daniella and then some business with solicitors and some book purchases as The Lady is recognised from its origins there, we tow another boat with a disabled sterndrive and at last the BBC restores its authority and undertakes to broadcast the disputed documentary on the IRA
Another unsettled night as Della stays awake and screams for some of it. This morning I am woken first by the arrival of Della for a nappy change and only later by my morning tea, which gets me off to a poor start. Breakfast and then to make an early start from Clayhithe on our cruise up the Cam to Cambridge. I chat to the lockkeeper, who tells me that there have been very few boats about this holiday and only about 13/18 per day through his lock, which is 1/3rd of the normal level. I also chat to another local who remembers Banhams building The Lady, being owned by one of the Barham’s people, and then spending some time in Denver. On to Cambridge on a fine and sunny day and we moor up by the playground and let the children play, while we put up The Lady’s curtains and unloaded. First to Belinda’s for our morning drink at 10.30am and then to Vinters, where we sign the new Barclays mortgage document and chat to them about our new purchase of riverside land. They cannot represent Bill Clark as well as me, but advise me on a course of action to follow.