VE Day Events commemorating the 40th anniversary of VE day dominate the news with the Royal family circulating unrecognised amongst near millions in the streets but fighting and arson in the South African townships is worrying as was the Legionnaire’s Disease outbreak on the South Coast and a family row at home with the children and our new baby
Awake to morning tea and then The Financial Times and a rather long lay in bed reading as the breakfast is delayed. A boiled duck egg for breakfast and then back up to finish reading, but ducked out as the girls troop in noisily! Washed, dressed and out. 12 eggs today and the doves are well. To the office and the morning updating my electronic diary and then the Prestel Stockwatch portfolio record of my share holdings. Lunch of ham rolls and cream doughnut and ice cream to follow before back to finish my catching up and reading today’s computer journals, but nothing of interest. In late afternoon I scaled the ladder again. The squab is growing fast, but has shed its ring and I’ll have to put another on in the morning. Calls from John Lamb (and I exchanged greetings with Peter Smith for the first time in a while), Bill Barrett and Martin Isherwood, I also spoke to Nigel Smith, who will be calling this weekend (he says). Tea at 5.00pm and after, time with Daniel, pressing him to some maths, history and biology prep. Then Debbie reading a story. All this followed an incredible trauma after tea with all the kids playing up. Diana smacked the baby to make it lay still, which worries me.
Television stories tonight about the events commemorating the 40th anniversary of Victory-in-Europe day. Hostilities in Europe ceased at 1 minute past midnight that time ago. Both USA President Reagan and USSR Mikhail Gorbachev made statements voicing conciliation, but applying their own politics to it. The Queen led a 2000 person service at Westminster Abbey with representatives of world churchmen and allied military men. The Queen described her own personal memories of VE Day and it seems that she and Princess Elizabeth joined the street crowds anonymously in the celebrations. Archive pictures show London’s streets thronged with 100s of thousands of people and the street parties followed. Other news today is of fighting in South Africa and a township in flames following the arrest and release of a black union official. In Brittain there are two more deaths of legionnaires disease in Bristol and in Portsmouth seven wards and an operating theatre at St Mary’s Hospital are closed after another patient died from the disease there. A mild night forecast and a variable day tomorrow, with another cold breeze.