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To Ekins Auction, St Ives, on a wet day but on to St Neots for some more garden plants and planters before home to resume drawing my overall landscape gardening Hayling View plan and to welcome Bill Clark to complete the boat and river plot transfer as Russian expels 25 British diplomats in retaliation for our expulsion of 25 of their spies and Asians in Handsworth protest over lack of West Indian condemnation of the police violence and Europe take control over the US in the Ryder Cup
A good night’s sleep and awake to my morning tea, but no paper as the paper boy lays in today, being a non-school day. Down to breakfast as usual and then, as my back was hurting sitting in bed, I sat in my bedroom chair to finish reading the FT. Up then, washed and shaved and out quickly to the birds such as to be ready to leave with the rest of the family by 9.15am. We set off, but the rain had started and by the time we had arrived in St Ives it was pouring. Diana had forgotten the baby’s plastic pushchair cover and we had to improvise. I left the girls to shop in town whilst I went to the Ekins general auction. Nothing of interest and, as it was pouring with rain still, I went to the shops also, meeting Diana as she was on her way to her favourite shop – Jackdaw, for second-hand children’s clothes. I helped her with the girls and then took Debbie to Tooks to get her an orange and jam doughnut (her favourite) whilst I had a coffee. Diana had already taken her elevenses, which was a disappointment and so she did some more shopping. Off then by car and to stop on the way at the Brompton Garden Centre, where I showed Di the stone manhole cover planters and we decided to buy one to try and took a bale of peat as well.
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Working in my office after a warm night fielding calls wanting my help with events before taking Daniella for a garden walk and popping in to Peacock’s auction in Bedford and then Willington Garden Centre for some Box plants and planting them later after helping Daniel for an hour with his homework. This as a report emerges of aircraft failures that prevented some of the Manchester Air-plane disaster escaping in time
A very warm night and therefore difficulty in sleeping and then it got cold in early morning and so I twice suffered as a result. Awake with my morning tea and paper, but soon called down to breakfast and so I read in the lounge afterwards until the children were clear of the bathroom. Shaved, showered and dressed and out to the birds, but only four duck eggs. Later today our neighbours found a lot of duck eggs and so we will keep them in a lot later in future. I feed the doves also and, after picking up my cordless telephone, take Daniella for a walk round with me. She enjoyed recognising the ducks particularly and I pleased Diana by taking her away and managing to wear her out. To the office and this morning attending to my accounts for household expenses.
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To The Old Bailey and the office of Export IT on a hot and humid day for unsatisfactory AGM and Council meetings as their government funding was ended and then back to my cooler gardens to find Daniel had been promoted to the top Physics and Chemistry sets at school, Daniella wanting walks around my new garden paths and Debbie wanting to play. This as Gordievsky, a top KGB spymaster defects to the UK and 25 Soviet ‘diplomats’ are expelled after he exposed them and South Africa seems set to end the notorious ‘Pass laws’ but it is only Botha’s recommendation at the moment
A sound night’s sleep in spite of the closeness of the night and then awake to my tea and paper and time to enjoy them for once. Breakfast of toast and fruit juice before showering and only using the bathroom when the children were clear. Today I was on my way out as well and I made my way to St Neots station just in time for the 9.00am train. I had taken a large quantity of reading matter with me – with plenty of magazines from the summer break to catch up on. By the time of arrival at Kings Cross I had finished a fair amount of it and then, being early, I walked across to the Great Northern Hotel and read a great deal more in their lounge. No satisfactory service of coffee unfortunately, but at least I could discard the carrier bag by this stage, as I could get the remaining items in my brief case. On then by tube to St Pauls and the short walk to the Old Bailey and the offices of Export IT.
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Returning to our routine with the children back to school on a warm and still day. much of which was spent writing and consulting upon my speech for the Financial Times conference before an evening spent with the family and watering the gardens as the Handworth unrest continues with the discovery of the bodies of the postmaster and his brother and Thatcher visits Newscastle after comments about ‘moaning minnies’ in response to the unemployment hardship. ‘Homeland’ Blacks in South Africa are getting some land reforms but they want Nelson Mandela released who is now suffering from prostate and liver/kidney complaints.
A good night for once and awake to both my morning tea and paper. Now that the children are back at school, the paperboy comes early again. A good chance to read the headlines before down to a breakfast of cereal – Debbie had laid the table and chosen the dishes for us all! Up again to finish my paper afterwards and I tuned into the radio at 9.00am to get the latest information on the Handsworth riots. It seems that there was more trouble late last night, with nearly a hundred youths arrested and 15 police injured as they broke up gathering crowds of coloured youths that had massed for another attack. Interesting to see in the paper how the pound has lost quite a few cents against the dollar in recent days. It is now about $1.30 again, which gives British manufacturers some chance of overseas sales and earnings, which is a blessed relief. Up at 9.20am and quickly showered, shaved and dressed. I washed my hair under the shower to further save time before quickly dressing and getting my cordless telephone from the office.