An early start on a cold day to allow the builders access and a discussion over the kitchen door position before off to the Physio about my back and then Smallbone arrive with the new kitchen components as the USSR/USA arms talks with no immediate guarantee of success, the Chancellor only raises expenditure on housing a little and two bombs are planted outside Chelsea Barracks
A sound night, but Diana was slow to awake, so I put the radio on for the news at 7.00am, which did the trick. Impatient with waiting after a quarter of an hour and so down at 7.15am for my morning tea to find all the rest of the family there already. Another wait whilst Di washed and dressed and then breakfast before finding a vacant slot for the bathroom between the children’s turns. Ready by 8.00am to let the builders in and then out to talk to the gardener and try to kill another mole. Our mole smokes only seam to deter them, rather than eradicate them and they keep coming back, regardless. The gardener is clearing away the heavy fall of leaves now daily and is abandoning the electrical rake to revert to the old trusty hand rake, which is more effective. A fair frost this morning and very cold, which freezes the water tap in Bill’s shed, but does not seem to have adversely affected the house’s exposed plumbing. Mr Cheesborough calls me over and I raise the question of the door positioning with him and the alternative options of dealing with the problem. It turns out that he has also been worrying about it as well and is quite prepared to move it over if necessary. Then to feed the doves and ducks and to watch as the builders put up my weather vane.
It was quite a task to orientate the compass points and we later decided that the pole was too low anyway and must be raised by welding another pole on the top of the other. Morning coffee and then changed and into town to the physiotherapist for my 10.45am appointment. She examined me and decided that I should do some exercises but, as the discomfort had ended, I did not need to go back, unless it came on again. A merry set of exercises. First tightening my bottom whilst on my stomach and raising my legs. Then on my back with my hands under my back arching and holding my spine and lastly raising my legs again. Home and, after checking my office for messages, to wait for Diana’s return. Lunch on her arrival of prawn sandwiches and then the Smallbone kitchen lorry arrived and I watched as they unloaded our kitchen and stacked it in the inner garage. Once complete, the architect had arrived and I spent the next hour reviewing the building work with him and discussing the problems of door positioning, radiator thermostats, and the new work we are planning to do. He goes away to consider the heating and whether the boilers can be made to heat the swimming pool; and also draft some designs for the conversion of the downstairs shower room into an outside toilet. Only time then to take some video of the building’s progress, tidy the house up before tea. The builders had been plastering the kitchen and upstairs jobs, clearing up, and starting to position the trestles for the carpenter to continue constructing the roof of the link building. Tea today at the Little Chef. It has ceased to be a treat as the service was slow and the children rather bad. Della had a measles injection today and was off her food and irritable. Back to the house, where Anglia Interiors had finished the moving of the bedroom furniture and our bedroom was in a mess with the remaining cabinets moved out and things everywhere. An hour with Daniel checking the last few days schoolwork and then upstairs so as to let him have an early night after yesterday’s excesses. To our journals and some tidying until time for the TV news. News tonight of the final positioning by the USA & USSR over their views on next week’s arms talks. There was caution by President Reagan on whether the talks would actually lead to an agreement. Chancellor Lawson was painting a rosy picture of the economy today, but was not persuading his political opponents. He is increasing public expenditure on Health and the Environment, but not by any significant amounts that can affect the economy or unemployment. More reports of the bad condition of the public and private housing stock and comments that about £20 billion needs to be spent on rehabilitation. A victory for TSB depositors today in the High Court as the Judge ruled that TSB assets belonged to them in Scotland. This could hold up Thatcher’s ‘privatisation’ drive. Two bombs planted and diffused outside Chelsea Barracks last night were planted by the Irish Liberation Army, according to their claims today. Security on all military bases was tightened up as a result. Tomorrow is forecast cold again and a bit more windy, but hopefully mainly dry for the building work.