- Details
Time divided between working on my inheritance administration and spending time with the children whilst the builders undertake necessary demolition and the Tottenham riots account for 230 police injuries ahead of the Tory conference
I awake to my morning tea and seem falling victim to my poor back as I tried to sit up in bed. A cold morning and rather chilly as I take a shower and contested the occupancy of the bathroom with other members of the family. Breakfast as usual and then out to the doves. The birds appreciated the more substantial offering of pigeon mix and ate enthusiastically and well. In then to the office and I managed to connect up the computer after finishing my written notes of guidance to the Heritage Trustees. After coffee with Diana, I managed to use the word processor and made a start on typing it in. Across to lunch of salad and ice cream after and, declining Diana’s offer of the baby to play with, I went back and had finished my typing and printing by 4.45pm. In mid-afternoon with the builders percussion hammers breaking bricks from the wall, I did take a break and walked Daniella around the garden.
- Details
Better day for my back with Diana helping in bed for an early start for Steve to arrive and help Daniel clean my car in return for the money to buy paint for Aquabean before much of the day painting my weather vane and then the afternoon’s peace shattered when another boat had crashed into Jason’s dinghy holing and sinking it with their outdrives and throwing Jason and Paul into the Paper Mill lock. This as violence erupted in Tottenham and Nigel Mansell won a Grand Prix as the first British driver to do so for two years
A sound night’s sleep after an energetic start to the night now that my back is healing. Diana did all the work just to make sure! A lay in and Debbie gave up waiting and went down to watch Breakfast TV. Morning tea and then down to wait for breakfast as Diana cooked my fried meal, remembering the mushrooms as well. Daniel’s friend Steve came again and was waiting outside at 9.00am. Washed, shaved and shampooed and the boys had washed my car by the time I emerged. It was a condition of giving them some money for paint and they then cruised into St Neots on Aquabean to buy it. It was a very windy day today, but the doves just managed to settle on the bird table for their seed. I had bought a couple of pounds of pigeon mix from St Neots yesterday and by mixing this larger grain with my mixed seed it should give them more lasting nourishment now that the poorer weather is closing in. Then to my weather vane and to spend most of the day painting it. In our inner garage, I was well away from the wind and rain.
- Details
Preparing and painting my antique weather vane in time for mounting on the new chimney stack and trapping the first of Marilyn’s rabbits which have been destroying many of our young plants as Gorbachev is admired for his outgoing and adventurous press conferences and Kinnock, of Labour, surges ahead of the Tories in opinion polls after his party conference
Awake to my morning tea and sat in my chair again drinking it. My back improves a little with each day and I tried doing a few things today and keeping it moving. Down to breakfast and, it being early, washed and dressed before going out to the doves. The builders were working this morning and continued with the new chimney breast and also finished the blockwork for the internals dining room/playroom wall. The doves fed well and I managed to note down the ring number of the stray racing pigeon, a 1985 cock bird. I will try to contact the pigeon associations to try to find the owner. Then to my office meaning to do some work, but there were so many computer journals delivered this morning, and also the Economist, that it took me until 10.30am to read them all. Thirsty for coffee, I returned to the house and, after refreshment, went out to look at my weather vane. Now that the builders are pressing on with the new chimney stack, it has lent urgency to the task of preparing the vane for the honour of its erection. It has been a poor yellow and green colour since it was purchased at auction and I had a mind to paint it blue and silver in line with my coat of arms colours. Diana disagreed and asserted that weather vanes should be black and gold and, after asking a neighbour and the girls, I had to agree. But I insisted on the idea of putting my coat of arms on the ‘flag’ of the pointer – after all I am entitled to an armorial standard!
- Details
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.