Debbie enjoying the pub gardens
Debbie enjoying the pub gardens

Very little time on my office on a warm and clammy Cup Final day that reached 20 deg C before a family lunch in The Anchor and more time reading to them after a frustrating FA Cup match where Man United won with ten men as Dr David Owen refuses to join a slagging match with Neil Kinnock

 

Awake feeling rather clammy on a humid morning and to read the Saturday Financial Times with my morning tea. An interesting article on croquet whereby I see that we have been playing it wrongly and resolve to correct it. Down to a breakfast of dry toast, but refused to eat it and boiled myself a duck egg instead. More reading afterwards and the morning post brought a further burden in the form of the Economist and Investors Chronicle. The weather was fine, warm and sunny again this morning and so, up quickly to shower and dress after which, out to the birds (11 eggs) until safely fed. A little time at the office scanning the mail. No mentions in Computer Weekly, but a couple of invitations to computer industry events. All out together by car (except Daniel, who is at school each Saturday morning) and, dropping Diana and Debbie off at the Co-op to do some shopping, I drove off to Biggleswade Mills with the baby and bought two bags of layers pellets. The cashier treated me to a long story about his hobby of caravanning and how his son-in-law had copied a key to deceive him, which was rather strange. Back to St Neots to give Di the car and take Debbie to buy her sweets. No luck in finding the items I needed to effect some boat repairs and renovation of my butlers tray however.

We rendezvous with Daniel at the news agents, Readwells, and all to the Anchor at Tempsford to make a change for our Saturday lunch. A fair wait for the food and argument with others in the queue, but we enjoyed it in the end and ate outside in the sun so that Debbie could play in the ‘Old Boat House’. Home and to watch the FA Cup Final. A frustrating match between Everton (the new league champions) and Manchester United. For the first half and most of the second it was 0-0 and then the referee sent off a Man Utd player for a bad foul. The remaining 10 men, after a bitter argument with the referee and much enraged, then ran Everton into the ground and won 1-0! It was the first time a player had been sent off in an FA Cup Final. I thought the referee was justified, but the TV commentators condemned him for ‘ruining the game’. How wrong they were. Out afterwards to light the barbecue and we all enjoyed burgers and sausages as the sun set. The children raced around playing ‘It’ and, as Di put Debbie and Della to bed, Daniel and I set up the croquet and played it to our new rules. In afterwards to read two more Aesop’s Fables to Debbie at her bedside and then out into the summerhouse to catch up on my journal. The birdlife is even more active lately. Turtle doves now feed on the bird table and other visitors include greenfinches and hedge sparrows. The cuckoo is still a noisy visitor to the meadow opposite and the local thrushes sing out their territories as darkness falls. We can also hear the calls of the peacocks at Heron’s Acre. The neighbour at the bottom of our garden prised off the house martin’s nest today because it had been taken over by house sparrows. The late spring and delayed house martin arrivals let the sparrows establish their nests, but the martins will soon return. The news tonight headlined the football at Wembley and then the fact that the Bradford fire fund had reached £1 million, with a fair proportion collected at today’s match. The tube train strike still looks likely for Monday, but last minute talks are taking place tomorrow. An opinion poll for tomorrow’s paper puts Labour ahead again but, unlike the Gallup poll during the week, the Tories are second to the Alliance third. Dr David Owen today refused to be drawn in to a like response to the personal abuse from Neil Kinnock and interprets this attack as the start of a long and divisive election campaign. Weather temperatures reported up to 23*c in Southampton today. Cloud and showers are forecast for tomorrow in the South East, with temperatures slightly cooler at the seasonable average at 17degC.