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Cruising downstream and stopping at our Paxton moorings to see the new landscaping taking place and then on to Godmanchester for the night as there are disastrous crashes in France and the US and the Queen Mother celebrates her 85th birthday
First awake after a fairly restless night. The meal and wine had made me quite hot and it is difficult in these sleeping bags to adjust the insulation like a normal bed. I made the drinks and surprised everybody by the early time. The normal routine, but managing to prevent Daniella being given biscuits before her breakfast, which is good training for her. I let the children play a while on The Anchor’s swings whilst we cleared up and then unmoored The Lady for the start of our journey downstream. A journey market by high winds and squally showers that defied the weathermen’s forecast, as the sunny spells were few and far between. Through Eaton Socon lock and then I managed to moor at St Neots Town Quay so that we could do some shopping for an hour or two. I took Debbie and bought her some sweets, me a Financial Times, and then left her to eat them on a bench beside Barclays bank whilst I obtained my statement and then went to the Abbey National to get some money. We rendezvoused in the café with Daniel and later, Mum & Della, and had a morning coffee and chocolate fudge cake, which the children enjoyed immensely. Back to The Lady and past St Neots Bridge where the rowing club had a regatta fully underway.
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Boating in the rain as we give up on Peacocks Auction in Bedford and lock down four locks to Barford and The Anchor Pub for the night as The City is watching interest rises, TV journalists plan to strike against government censorship next Wednesday and Bishop Tutu is outspoken on Apartheid
Was late to bed watching the nuclear war film, ‘Threads,’ about the city of Sheffield succumbing to the problems and aftermath of nuclear weapons. Diana was ratty about the lost sleep, but we were fine this morning after sleeping soundly through what time we had. Diana made the drinks and we then reverted to our, by now, normal boating routine. We kept Daniella happy whilst Diana got the boat and herself ready and I also started and ran The Lady’s engine to recharge the battery. All out together at 9.30am and, after crossing the town backwater by the Chinese Bridge, we went up Newnham Road to Peacocks the auctioneers. A good look around the general auction on its viewing day, but nothing we could not do without and so the family left me alone to the antiques auction, having just missed the opening of the refreshments room at 10.30am. A poor antiques auction with contemporary leather handbags, magazines etc., quite rightly going for nothing and the very few quality lots being very overbid by an unfortunately large public. I left in disappointment before the end and walked to WH Smiths to find a Financial Times. I then knew why the equities had moved up and the gilts down. The pound sterling was falling rapidly yesterday and interest rates on the money market creeping up. It still seems to have been a good decision to sell my longs yesterday and I may have avoided the whole ½ point that many of them lost at close of business.
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From Barford to Bedford on The Great Ouse cruising on The Lady as pressure mounts on the South African regime with the UK withdrawing our Ambassador and the Rand collapsing and Reagan has more cancer tests and Ulster makes the news with more IRA bomb attacks
A little restless, but overall a fair night’s sleep and I wake first to read some chapters before Diana stirs and makes the morning drinks. Debbie & I then look after the baby whilst Diana washes and then we take turns about. Breakfast for all and then we get Daniel to walk round with the baby in her pushchair, which lets us clear up. I check the fuel and water tanks, but cannot fill up the water tank from the riverside tap because it does not have a screw fitting. Straight off with the canopy back on a reasonably fine morning. We negotiate Barford Bridge before the breeze gets up and then cruise through three locks to Bedford. At the last, the lock width is barely enough to ease The Lady through but, with one side higher than the other by us all standing on it, we just scrape through. A helmsman from another boat takes a ride with us up to our mooring at Mill Meadow and we push our sliding canopy right back to get under the old Railway Bridge.