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A day of improved family health whilst I catch up on my reading of the financial and business press, take a long walk around Paxton Pits and then cleaning out the ducks before going in to agree BMMG press launch kitsas the most expensive and divisive strike in British history draws messily to a close
Awake in the early hours when I managed to assist Diana by stopping Daniella crying, but otherwise she slept until morning. Awake to a cup of tea and I finished reading yesterday’s Investors Chronicle and Economist before The Sunday Times arrived. Up to another fine Sunday fried breakfast and back to finish the Sunday paper. Then by 11.00 to dress, wash and shave and out to feed the doves and let the ducks out – 8 eggs today. Morning coffee and then an hour’s walk until 1.00pm, over to the gravel pits to see the Heronry. No sign of the herons and I fear that the extra activity of the sailing club is putting them off. The pit it overlooks is planted with small white willow saplings, studded with racing marker buoys, and they were today using a noisy mechanical excavator to improve the road and site drainage. Back in time and a fine lunch of pork and after, the football on television. At three I decided to work a couple of hours or so in the office and found Martin Isherwood urgently trying to contact me, having finished the task of putting the BMMG press kit together and wanting me to approve its contents. We are well satisfied, but I call Nigel Smith, back from his Austrian skiing holiday, to add his views as well.
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A day starting with domestic friction and ending with domestic calm as we drive to Biggleswade for grain and on to Cambridge for herrings to eat and prints to admire before gathering up my ducks and watching TV with Diana as the troops seal off the capital in Zimbabwe and Virgin Video publishes the banned TV programme about MI5 spying on the CND and NUM
A fair lay in after another unsettled night and eventually woken by a fair old row. Daniel and Deborah were together in Daniel’s room waiting for Popeye to come on the television. Rumbustious as usual, Diana thought the noise they were making had woken the baby! Daniel brings up some weak and milky tea as his punishment and I set to reading the paper. Up for a toast breakfast and washed and dressed by 9am. Out to the birds and to feed the doves, before collecting 6 eggs from an even more mucky duck house. Across to the office to collect the post and a host of computer journals to read; once I had just got up to date! A small mention in Computer Weekly of my criticism of the governments Inward Investment sponsorship again. By coincidence, a letter today from Foster of IBM asking for a meeting on the same subject and a tricky decision on how to respond. I scan the journals and by 11.00am we are all ready to leave. First to St Neots to collect my latest bank statement and then down to Biggleswade to purchase layers pellets and mixed corn grain from Holme Mills. Lunch at The Happy Eater and we are pleased to note how well Daniella is improving. Then to the Sandy Lodge of the RSPB and we buy a whole host of goodies and enjoy the stay. On to Cambridge and two hours shopping in the town centre. I collected my 1662 print of Huntingdonshire, double glazed and framed for protection and admiration of both sides. A fine pair of herrings also from Cambridge market and the rest of time looking at bookshops and computer shops with Daniel.
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A morning in the office making arrangements and writing speeches as the rain pours down until lunchtime when the doves are dry enough to feed and then together with the family at tea and Daniel and Debbie happy but Daniella full of cold with puffy eyes as the miners prepare to call off their strike and the Tories fall well behind labour in the polls with a minister needing a police escort
A settled night’s sleep and awake to morning tea and the paper as the rain pours down outside. Up to breakfast and all down together for the first time in a while with us all a little better. Up to get washed and dressed and out briefly to the ducks where five eggs in a duck hose becoming very mucky with the droppings. I leave the doves as they seem too wet to fly down and walk along to the office to start a full day’s work. No telephone messages of note and so down to the task of sending off securities to complete the sale transactions that Hoare Garett and de Zoete & Bevan undertook for me. Also to send back a recently issued Barclaycard that was surplus to my requirements. Then to call Martin Isherwood and the best part of an hour helping him correct my dictated BMMG Press Statement script, with some impatience on my part. Then to call Geoff Lynch to ask him to record my forthcoming TV South interview and to hear at length also of his fears about the Kode reorganisation and groan over the poor 1985 sales performance and chances of hitting targets. I cannot agree that Peter Smith really sees John Lamb’s promotion as a way of compromising him. Then over to Di for a morning coffee, only to find her in town with Daniella and Daniel to look after her in the car whilst she does the weeks shopping. Joan therefore gets a good chance to do the housework. I make myself a coffee and then back to deal with a few items of correspondence, typing up a biographical summary and write to accept the NCC speaking engagement in September. Home for lunch and then back to it and the afternoon writing to the SDP High-Tech (nology) Chairman and printing out the PITCOM paper to accompany it and also be the model for my Industry Policy speeches. By dark the task at last completed and I clear up the office and go back to the house. I had fed the doves at lunchtime as it had been dry for an hour or two so that they were now quite able to fly down. I got the ducks away tonight quite happily, but had to use the last of the food and we will have to go to Biggleswade tomorrow. All together to tea. Debbie had a good day at school and Daniel is full of fun again – even too rumbustious. Daniella is still very full of cold with puffy eyes and nose streaming. At least she is now lively with it and sits up in her cot grabbing at Diana’s food as she tries to bring it from bowl to mouth. After tea, back to the office for a bit more work until all complete. I now have to write my speeches and prepare the notes, which both COMPETA and the NCC would like to have.