Family recovering on a warm and sunny day as Pete and Joan help us in the house and the builders and architect attend to help plan the building work as the Soviets make major concessions in the arms talks and the third biggest hurricane this century is landing on the US Long Island coast
A better night’s sleep and I did not need the bowl kept by my bed as a precaution against catching the general malaise. Diana got the morning drinks and then collapsed again, feeling sick. Although Daniel could probably have managed school, he was too late by this time to go and it was probably wiser to keep him at home, which he did. Debbie and I made the breakfast and managed to tempt Diana into half a slice of bread and some orange juice. Debbie was all right and got herself ready and then I fed the doves before taking her for a short walk to school. We joined Pat & Annie and got there quite early and Debbie kissed me and then went off. Back home and in Diana’s car to St Neots. There to a 9.15am appointment with Dr Osborne, the dentist, who examined them quite a bit later, pronounced them fit, but arranged a visit with his hygienist to descale the back of the large molars in three weeks’ time. On then to do a round of shopping; the building society, the bank for my statement, Readwells for some more colouring pens, the Co-op for grocery and then Sketchley to collect my suit from its cleaning.
As it was not quite ready, I popped into the newsagent and bought two magazines each on interior design and kitchens for us to read and study. Home to find both Diana and Daniel up and dressed expecting the architect’s visit, which was changed, of course, to the afternoon. Diana and Joan were working on the house, Pete in the garden, and the builders had arrived in force again and were demolishing another wall. Another hot and sunny day with the barometer at this year’s peak of 1027 and the sun already shining in mid-morning. I settled into the dining room, brought my Hayling View plan and all my pens across, and resumed my efforts, this time on the riverside gardens. Coffee outside on the front lawn and later I took the invalids out to the Little Chef for lunch, whilst Joan looked after Daniella. They managed some soup and half of their lunches, which was not too bad. All afternoon at my colouring until 3.00pm, when the head of the building firm, Mr Cheeseman, arrived and also David Stokes the architect. Much discussion on the timescales for the works and it was estimated that they should finish in the first week of December, after 10 weeks, to give us three weeks to settle down for Christmas. First they are building the central divide, then the works on the new house, to leave an awkward week, after about a month and a half, when they will do the kitchen conversion and we have to get the kitchen contractors in to fit the new kitchen. This means we should decide on a range next week and order/schedule it to be done on time. After they left, back to my plan and by 5.30pm I had finished it at last and everybody thinks it looks splendid and I can only agree. Then tea and everybody eats a little, out after to put away the ducks and then a long time with the hose and pistol-grip attachment, watering all of the shrub and rose beds to protect them against this dry spell. Inside and outside to tidy and lock up doors and windows and then the daunting task of updating two days of journal before settling to the TV news. Main news tonight is of major USSR concessions to the US at the first meeting of the Russian Foreign Minister with US President Reagan. It seems that major arms reductions are proposed in return for a curtailment of the US star wars research. USSR Prime Minister, Nikolai Tikhonov, 80, was replaced today by Nikolai Ryzhkov (who is 55 and a member of the Politburo) for health reasons. Hurricane Gloria has come ashore in Long Island and thirteen states are in a state of emergency. More than 200,000 beach dwellers have been evacuated. 750 miles of coastline are under threat and 40ft waves are damaging installations. Schools and casinos, businesses and shops were closed and the New York stock exchange was also closed. Only two hurricanes this century have been as strong. The pound sterling had its steepest fall ever on the foreign exchanges today on rumours of an EMS entry. The Liverpool battles go on, but more warm weather will continue.