To St Neots for white goods and then to Bedford and the antiques auction before calling at Jordan’s for duck food on a cooler and breezier day and then home to meet up with John Lamb who is not happy with Kode and to work on my Hayling View plans and supervise the builders who are constructing the link building and Daniel’s homework as Gorbachev dominates the first arms control conference
Awake first this morning and found Diana in her usual offish mood – she says that she cannot be human until her first cup of coffee in the morning. Out of bed for morning tea and managed to read my Financial Times before breakfast. Washed and dressed afterwards and out early to feed the doves on a bright but breezy day. It is cool these autumn mornings now, but the temperature is only the seasonal average. I chat to the gardener who is mowing the lawns today and see that the builders have already unloaded some sand, also some door frames and support timbers and are already laying the bricks up to the floor level of the link building. To the office a little while and managed to read today’s mail and journals before Diana called me to go out early for the morning. Once Joan arrived and we had paid her we set off for Bedford and, Daniella having dozed off, were able to park outside Homefit in St Neots to see the Moffat gas cooker and microwave oven and then, at Curry’s, the English electric fridge freezer and automatic dishwashing machines. We parked in the market square and looked into a couple of plumbing shops, which was ideal for identifying sinks, taps and tiles. After that we parted and I walked to the Peacocks auction room.
The antiques auction was today, but another pretty poor variety of lots and poor attendance. Downstairs I viewed the lots for tomorrow’s general auction and, although there was a folding mahogany chair, it was of the carpet back & seat type which I am less fond of. There are so many around anyway that if I bought them all we would be buried in them! To rendezvous with Diana in Debenhams, where we look around the electrical and pottery sections before a nice lunch. I was good and ate a poultry salad, but Diana fell for the lasagne, which is rather fattening. We set off for home and stopped on the way first to fill up with petrol (£37 worth) and then to Biggleswade to get two bags of layers pellets for the ducks. Home by 2.30pm and fortunately John Lamb (who phoned earlier) did not arrive until after that. We chatted for a while and I showed him the house and garden plans and he talked about the job. It is hard going and he seems quite a bit disillusioned with working for others. Also his investment, tied into Kode, is looking pretty dodgy. A little time to work after he left and I study the house plans and decide on locations for the fire and security safes and also on the layout for the dining room and play area. Some time discussing our plans with Di, after checking Daniel’s homework and feeding and putting away the ducks. More cool & breezy weather tomorrow. News today of the nuclear arms juxtapositioning with Russia’s Gorbachev taking the States first press conference over and quite an event it was too! Mitterrand is dubious about direct French negotiation, but Brittain is more welcoming and is prepared to consider the USSR proposals. Mexican rescuers are within feet of the 9 year old boy trapped for two weeks in the earthquake debris. They heard his voice today for the first time. An outbreak of recent rape cases in London and today the Home Secretary visits Brixton in the aftermath of the recent riots. Signs of progress in the teachers dispute as the employees consider making a pay offer without strings. The Labour Conference ends in Kinnock’s triumph and all eyes are now on the Tories next week at Blackpool. The Russians have pulled out of Beirut after recent kidnappings of diplomatic staff.