St Ives Antique Auction – Better day for Diana but busy one for me responding to Alan Sugar taking over Clive Sinclair’s micro interests before off to St Ives for the antique auction where Lynne Smith was there but Nigel was ill and working again as the Ulster police attacks continue without the Unionists condemning them, a helicopter crashes taking a family to Alton towers and the US conveniently finds ‘technical reasons’ to delay its nuclear test in Nevada, allowing the USSR to continue its own ban
Awoke to find Di was still in the bed and had managed to control her coughing after an initial fit last night. Morning tea and then time to read half of the paper before breakfast. Down to my piece of toast and marmalade and then back to finish the other half. Full of Clive Sinclair and Alan Sugar and I was to spend a lot of the day responding to questions from all and sundry as to my views on the subject. For the record, it is an obvious and predictable end. Clive has never been a computer man, knew little of the business market and, by not confiding with and taking advice from others, was always due a fall. The C5 fiasco was a prime example with such close secrecy and personal domination of the project, that an obvious nonsense of product need and launch timing was perpetrated. Clive has always been a loner, a self-described boffin, and his business ventures always resulted in tears. Still, he has been (quite wrongly) dubbed the founder of the home micro industry (which others, including myself, pioneered five years earlier) and got his Knighthood as a result of that and being in favour with Thatcher. Alan Sugar will have to be very careful and have some very clear ideas for the future Sinclair/Amstrad business if he is not going to be dragged down by the demands of the micro manufacturing business.
All others think that he has done well to buy Sinclair’s Research for £5M (+£13M WIP etc.) and that his ‘marketing genius’ will solve all, but it needs an entrepreneur with computer manufacturing expertise to make a go of it. Unhappily, the best outcome is for him to strip the brand names and manufacture in Korea, like his other computers, and after a few stages that is how it will end up with all hobby and low-end micros, made offshore until UK economic and industrial policies change. Showered, dressed and (with a quick look in to see how the carpet fitters were doing) off to St Ives. Found Lynne Smith there, as Nigel had been taken with one of his turns yesterday and had to prepare for a speech in Birmingham anyway. A good and full day in St Ives. Lynne Smith bid for a variety of lots and I helped her as best I could, but she is a pretty independent and capable lady. I got two child’s arm chairs and the Georgian writing slope/box in brass-bound mahogany. As I left with it the previous owner came up and explained that he inherited it from his father, who was living in Cambridge and using it until his death. Also time to do some shopping in St Ives and St Neots for handicraft materials. Once home, I put together the box with Daniel and the secret compartment works well. The evening with Diana putting up curtains, lamp shades and wheeling our furniture into our bedroom now that the carpet is fitted. News tonight of a Thatcher appeal for public RUC support in Ulster, as she condemns the attacks as appalling. All British opposition parties united in support of this view, as a further 9 police homes are attacked, but all condemn the lack of condemnation from the Unionist politicians. A tragic helicopter crash took two sons, a mother and the pilot, as it took them towards Alton Towers. They were the family of a computer company director. It seems that mechanical engine problems were to blame. The Director of Public Prosecutions is investigating Alan Bristow’s claims of being offered a Knighthood for supporting the Sikorsky bid for Westland. Armed and masked men overpowered three prison guards with ammonia to ‘spring’ a violent prisoner from a hospital. High street banks cut the base rate by 1/2% today, helped by slightly better oil prices, the pound rose and gilts made good gains. The stock exchange fell again and it could be that the bull market is nearing an end. The US Nevada nuclear test was postponed today ‘for technical reasons’, which meant that the USSR did not have to end its self-imposed nuclear test ban, as it had sworn to do if the US held another test. We shall see if it heralds a positive response, but I fear it will not. The weather today was wet, windy, cold and unpleasant and is forecast to continue cold for the next few days.