Starting the day with a birthday treat and presents for Diana and then the ‘bird-feeding walk’ with Della before the builders arrive in force as both Diana’s parents and my own visit her as she goes to help organise the local Keep Fit class with children’s’ toys as Victoria Gillick loses the Lords appeal on supervising daughter’s contraception advice and the Italian government resigns after the Achille Lauro attack
Awake fairly early and, it being Diana’s birthday, I got up first and made the drinks. Then I went upstairs to Diana with the drinks, the family, and a tray of her presents for her to open in bed. A happy half hour with Diana enjoying the occasion and the children joining in the fun. I showered early and, after the normal breakfast, was outside rather early for the doves at 8.30am. An hour or two then in the office calculating this year’s investment capital gains and then I had to take Della out for a walk to both the doves and ducks. This time the doves were hungrier, but no eggs from the ducks today. The ‘bird feeding’ walks are getting longer and longer as Della keeps insisting on making detours up and down steps, stones and banks for walking practice. The builders arrived in force today. Six of them were occupied blocking up our existing kitchen door, building the new rear wall on our link building, erecting scaffolding and building up the chimney stack quite a bit more. They also stripped more plaster off of the new sitting room wall between the new window and fire place to make for a smoother future plaster finish and then the glazier called later to fit glass to our new windows.
At about 10.30am off to St Neots and a look around Shaws auction rooms. I saw a couple of items of interest – a country sports cricket bat, made in Little Paxton and an antique mahogany side table. I put in written bids of £10 and £50 maximum for each of them and I will have to await the result as I will not be there to see. On to the doctor’s surgery, but this time they did not keep me waiting. I had my anti-tetanus booster within 15 mins and was on my way home. Time for a coffee with Diana’s parents, who were visiting, before we set off for the Little Chef as I treated them all to lunch. By the time we had returned they had finished blocking up the old kitchen door and it was strange to see the door gone from the inside. Di then set off for the keep fit club where she took a car load of toys and organised a crèche to look after the babies whilst the mothers exercised. I had another cup of tea and made the builders some. They were drilling again with that percussion drill on the wall by my office and so I could do little else. Norma took the baby for a walk, then collected Debbie from school. Charles set to cleaning our brassware, but it was very strange that we could not find our coal scuttle, which has mysteriously gone missing. I had a half hour or so in my office after the noise stopped and then my Mum & Dad arrived and our two sets of parents met together for the first time since we were married! How odd that they should have avoided each other for this length of time. We showed them our building works, chatted, and then after the Jacksons left, we had tea. After, I showed them my new edited video of the creation of the Hayling View, which we all enjoyed. After Mum & Dad left, up late checking and correcting Daniel’s school work, my journal and watching the TV news. Sad news of Mrs Gillick losing the House of Lords appeal by the government over parental rights to supervise contraception advice. The Italian government resigns in the wake of disagreements over the Achille Lauro hijack affair and a Sunday Times photographer dies from the delayed effects of being hit on the head by a stone during the Brixton riots. Better news as England win their way into the finals of the 1985 European Football Championship.