Driving along the south coast looking at garden furniture before on home via London, arriving to find Di much better for lunch with her parents before a meeting and tax planning session with my accountant and then home to help Daniel with his homework as two Ira terrorists are jailed and the Sizewell nuclear reactor enquiry ends
A poor night. First cold and then hot with my cold developing and a strange room to cope with. The morning tea was late, but afterwards to get quickly washed and dressed and then down to a fine breakfast. Both food and service good and the waiter spoiled me and I was recognised from yesterday’s TV – a new hazard! Packed and down to check out and off down the coast to Brighton, and north from there by the main motorway. Still bright, but with a cool wind. I stopped at Handcross, Sussex and looked at the Bulldog garden furniture in the Handcross Garden Centre. A splendid ‘Wendy House’ and octagonal garden chalet caught my eye and also a suntrap shed. Onward via London, eventually arriving home at 12.30pm to find Diana much better and eating lunch with her Mum and Dad. Over to the office to check the mail, but nothing too urgent and no further messages of note. Back to change into sports jacket and trousers and settle to lunch of white bread rolls and cheesecake to follow. Then to load the briefcase with tax papers and drive to the accountants, dropping off my Huntsman Saville Row suit at the cleaners on the way and tipping the girl to look after it quickly and safely for me. A good hour with Roger Brittain. I have reduced my marginal income tax rate down to 45% by way of Forestry and the Business Expansion Scheme. We also decide to transfer about £80K-odd to the girls and to put these funds on deposit for them to mature with the interest in three months’ time.
Back to the office and to phone Martin Isherwood and compare notes over publicity. Also to call back Melanie Williams of Procurement Weekly and to check with the Buckden Marina to find The Lady in the water and evidently completed. Being unwell, I contented myself with sorting papers against tomorrow until 5.00pm. Back home to change again and then out to feed some very hungry ducks. In for tea of sausages and then to help Daniel with his homework before catching up on these last two days’ journal. News tonight of two IRA terrorists, responsible for four bombings, being jailed for life. Quigley and Kavanagh are probably the most dangerous team that the IRA have ever had. Building society mortgage rates are set to rise by 1%. Yesterday’s Commons business was lost due to a Conservative back-bench filibuster over fluoridating water; and today’s row has been similarly lost over rate capping. In Liverpool 70,000 marchers closed on the Liverpool council to strengthen their resolve to resist rate capping. The NUM executive are organising a national ballot to raise a levy for the sacked miners. The overtime ban goes on and they are refusing to purge the court contempt by formal apology. The Sizewell nuclear reactor enquiry ended today after 16 million words of evidence and the CEGB are confident of government approval.