Some time in my office completing important industry correspondence and resigning memberships of some unimportant and unproductive committees before advising Peter King on his Kode share sales after he had resigned as Daniel helps me with some surveying ahead of our house alterations before going to the Kimbolton Statute Fair and the Russians are accused of stealing Western industrial secrets as Thatcher calls a halt to mutual expulsions
I slept well with my jaw not giving me too much trouble and awoke to my morning tea and paper as usual. Breakfast, the paper, and then showered and dressed so as to be able to go out to the doves, who were very hungry this morning. They are showing signs of courtship and I wonder if they will lay more eggs, but I do not think so. A dull start to the day, but warm and sunny later so as not to be too bad. I noticed that the riverside lawn was looking a bit dry in places – particularly under the trees – and so I rigged up two hoses and started what was to be an all-day effort to stop these turves shrinking in places. To my office and several phone calls; first sorting out BMMG representation in Esprit, then querying our conveyance document for Bill’s riverside plot, which was indeed wrong, touching base with the BMMG secretariat to resolve a few matters and lastly chasing the architects over the start of the building work. They now confirm a start next Wednesday and we will meet on site on Friday morning to review the work plan.
Lunch of meat pie and runner beans with ice cream to follow and then back to the office for an afternoon’s work. I did consider leaving the office so as to work outside measuring the back garden, but I did the dutiful thing and typed a range of BMMG correspondence. A letter to Apricot asking them to join the BMMG; one to Export IT proposing John Marshall in place of myself for Council Membership and the last to the Federation of Microsystems Centres resigning the BMMG advisory committee places. A chore doing the letters, but they will save much work in the long run – particularly the Export IT activity after that wasted day recently. I received a call from Peter King this afternoon and advised him on how to buy and sell shares and get appropriate advice and service. He is still out of a job after resigning from Kode and I think Peter Smith’s plans were foolish giving the executives negotiable shares in hand and enabling them to ‘retire.’ At 5pm Daniel arrives home and we have tea of cheese rolls and doughnuts together before I run through his school work with him. I then go out until 7.30pm taking measurements of the back gardens with Daniel helping after he had finished his prep. I agreed he could go to the Kimbolton Statute Fair this evening and gave him £2 for rides and entertainment. Diana went out to a Ladies selling party and so I was alone to look after the girls as I read the local papers. Then to update my journal, put away the ducks and watering equipment and then settle down to the evening’s news. The Russians expelled a further 6 Britons in retaliation, but Thatcher calls it quits and wants the whole business finished. After the UK and W Germany, the Americans now complain that 5000 Soviet projects are benefiting from information stolen from the US research programmes. The 3 year old girl, taken from a Great Yarmouth holiday camp was found 50 miles away, drowned after being thrown in a dyke alive with her hands tied behind her back. She had been sexually assaulted and there is widespread outrage at this callous murder. Neil Kinnock, leader of the opposition, had talks today with Argentina’s President insisting that talks are essential in spite of Thatcher’s criticisms. Unless some contact takes place, the stalemate will continue. David Owen receives a warm welcome at the Liberal conference as the latest opinion poll gives the Alliance a 10 point lead over the others. An English nurse has won a judgement in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg that condemns the UK practice of forced retirement for women at 60. More trouble and repression in South Africa and news has leaked out the Plessey UK has sold an air defence system to Pretoria in defiance of UN embargo’s on arms sales. The weather is forecast muggy for tonight and then warm tomorrow, but becoming rainy later. More fine weather could be on the way for the weekend.