Recovery day for the family with Daniel back to school and me to the St Ives auction and then the garden centre until later when I help Daniel fix his outboard and plant some new wisteria as another ‘ accidental’ police shooting sparks a Brixton march, demonstration and riot and another 50sec tremor strikes Mexico and Barry McGuigan retains his featherweight title in Belfast
A fair night for me, but Diana could not sleep and had to spend the night in the lounge – not surprising in view of the time she was in bed yesterday. Awake to morning tea, but quickly out of bed to ease my back. It seems to uncomfortable bent at right angles when sitting in bed. My back is a bit better today and eased further as the day went on. Toast and fruit juice breakfast and then I opened up the house next door at 8.00am and, as expected, the builders arrived to continue their work. They cleared away the rubble from yesterday’s demolition and removed another path. On Monday they should dig the footings. To the doves, who feed well and then the ducks, but only three eggs. Daniel was back at school this morning and so I took the girls to St Ives for the general auction and also the viewing for Tuesday’s antique auction.
I missed a couple of items in the general sale today as they were grouped together with some others and I was not prepared to bid sufficient for the lots. Inside, I was particularly impressed with a cutlery canteen and there were some other items that I may bid for. A rendezvous at 12.—and then all back to St Neots to collect Daniel to go off to the Happy Eater for lunch. The family’s appetites were now back to normal and Debbie enjoyed the treat after several weeks away. Back home and to take a walk round the garden on another beautiful day. By now the temperature was well up after early fog and there was hardly a breeze to cool us down. A similar day is forecast for tomorrow and I hope the weather lasts for most of next week to give the builders a good start. I agreed to take Daniel round to Gary’s and drove off afterwards to Willington Garden Centre to find two blue wisteria for Diana, who is unhappy with the pink ones that I had previously planted. A browse through the books on greenhouses tells me that we had best site ours on an east-west axis and ensure that there is some shelter from the north and east. The proximity of the river could help, however, with the reflected rays of light. Home in time to plant the wisteria before tea and time also to give Daniel a hand to fix his boat engine. He had swapped over the spark plug leads by accident and the fuel mixture was also out of adjustment. After a tea of grilled trout we went out to secure the control box, and adjust the engine during a test run. Nice to be on the water again and see the riverside gardens from a boat. The rest of the light watering the garden before an ever earlier dusk and the cue to secure everything and tidy up. In to watch TV, do my journal, and read my shrub books. Main news story today is the accidental police shooting of a woman and then a riot in Brixton with petrol bombs being thrown. 200 people marched on the police station, then 30 petrol bombs were thrown, cars and shops were then burning later in the evening. There will be a full enquiry, but it is the second time in 5 weeks that accidental shootings have happened during police arrest. Neil Kinnock, the Labour leader, has deemed to speak in the miner’s debate at the Party Conference and risks defeat on the issue of a future Labour government reimbursing the miners. Another 50 second earth tremor has struck Mexico City, but more survivors from the first have been found. A couple were located by remote cameras and rescued and in an amazing escape, a patient on an operating theatre table survived, whilst two doctors and three nurses were killed in the same room. They are having to cease rescue operations now and start bulldozing the buildings. Barry McGuigan retained his world featherweight title today in Belfast as he beat Bernard Taylor by a cascade of body blows.