First a Portsmouth TV South and then secondly a BBC Radio Brighton interview before an evening talk as the key note speaker to the IDPM association meeting and then to bed after a steak and ale discussion with four of their leaders completed a very tiring day!
Up on time and early to make the morning drinks, wash and dress. I skipped breakfast. Diana is still ill, but struggled up to comb Debbie’s hair so that she could return to school after her illness. Daniel gets himself off as usual and then Di helps me to pack my brown suitcase for my trip to the south coast. Out briefly to feed the doves and let the ducks out. The grizzle hen is still sticking to the dovecote and I think an egg will soon be laid. All packed, out then to the car after opening my mail and finding Fountain Forestry details of both Archers Wood and Upton Wood – but the latter is a 999year lease, which does not much appeal. A fine sunny day as I drive down through London and onward across Kew Bridge and down the M3 to Southampton. Out to the Portsmouth road and I soon find the TV South Studio and meet up with the presenter for the 6.00pm Coast to Coast television show. We meet at 12.00noon, talk for 10 mins about the interview, allow the makeup lady to powder my forehead, and then have a 2 ½ min interview in one take and without intention of editing. Farewells, the powder washed off, and then back to Southampton city centre. No luck in finding the Ordnance Survey maps that I wanted. The OS office no longer sell them direct and a good local stockist is out at lunch. Back out of Southampton and along the coast as the day continues mild and sunny. I am just managing to contain my cold and ticklish throat with lozenges. I stop for lunch at a nice pub in a seaside village and eat a large plate of steak and kidney pie to make up for breakfast and put me in good stead for a late dinner this evening.
I check for messages and phone Jim Burt about this evening’s arrangements. Onward to Worthing, a prim but quiet seaside town full of retired people and a smattering of insurance and electronics firms. I find the Beach Hotel easily and check in to my room on the 3rd floor. More checks for messages and I call home to find the family improved, then Owles Hall, then Fountain Forestry and one or two others. I ask Barry Gamble to submit low bids for both Huntingdon Woods, but for freehold in both cases. A shower and shave then down to meet Jim Burt at 5.45pm. He arrives late and harassed and we proceed to Worthing Town Hall and the BBC Radio Brighton Studio. The caretaker lets us in and we operate the equipment remotely to the main station in Brighton. The interviewer takes me through my paces and a long piece on my plans for the IT Industry will be broadcast at 11.00am on Sunday in a specialist computer radio programme. On to the MGM Assurance building and the Institute of Data Processing Managers Association Meeting. Few people there as they played back my TV South interview, but eventually a fair sized contingent as the meeting got off to a very late start. I struggled a bit with the long and complicated subject, gabbling a little, but eventually brought all of the audience in to it and entertained them well. A full range of questions and a bit of a fight against one or two IBM users over indigenous technological advantage. By 10.00pm away to a steak bar with four of them and there to continue the discussion until midnight. Hoarse, tired and with cold symptoms upon me, to bed after a full day.