Some successful financial planning as Stock Exchange bottoms and then a family trip to Cambridge where I resumed researching Little Paxton history before returning to take Debbie for her riding lesson as Daniel reluctantly welcomes his girlfriend Clare. News is of a bomb blast at an Iranian Kensington High Street shop, the Tory hierarchy taking the Young Tories to court and the fight between the British Nimrod and American Boeing is on for the new AWAC’s order. Anti-nuclear protesters are banned from test sites but are vindicated when Sellafield re-processing is halted due to radiation levels.
A better night after warming Diana’s feet first! A morning drink to bring me round, whilst I caught up on the last two day’s Financial Times. EHP, a company of whom I bought £10,000 worth of shares in a de Zoete private placement, is going public soon, which will make me a good return, and the stock exchange has recovered a little this account, which could mean this summer’s bottom, though danger of the Tories losing the next election will see it crashing again. Showered, shaved and dressed in time for breakfast, though the others had already started. Just wheat flakes and fruit juice. Out to feed the doves, as the rain moderated to a fine spray and deterred the Low’s cat in the process, then got Daniel and Pete to help me carry The Lady’s winter cover to the car for our trip to Cambridge today.
We set off and picked up Gary Skinner on the way, as he was to have the day with Daniel. Parked at the Round Church car park, then took morning coffee at Eaden Lilley’s, where we met Di’s mother who was to have the morning with her shopping. I took off alone for Cambridge University Library, leaving the boys to look around the electrical shops, and when I arrived I requested a couple of books and then looked around the reference books displayed on the shelves. Back to the Copper Kettle for roast beef with the others and then I took Di to the photographic shop for a new camera, and Dan to Cambridge Computer Store for a ‘Disc Doctor’ ROM to retrieve the programmes that Paul destroyed. £100 lighter on both counts. Then a couple of hours back at the Library, listing the last of Harraden’s drawings and then reading the letters of 1783 to 1815 from the Reynold’s family of Little Paxton to a city gentlemen named Frend. After, I managed to buy a copy of the book for £5 from the Cambridge Antiquarian Records Society, which was a remarkable stroke of good fortune. Late back to meet the others and a rush to find New Street and Simpers to drop off the winter cover for repair, then to get back in time to take Debbie to her riding lesson at Offord Cluny. She did quite well, and cantered for the first time on Patchy, but still holds on to her saddle whilst trotting, which is a pity. Home for a tea of grilled trout, then did a few odd jobs about the house, reducing my list by a few. Claire and Heather came round and swam until dusk, with the pool light on and, although Daniel now admits Claire to be his girlfriend, he only came out to say hello for 10 minutes, after some pressure from both Di and me. He was so tired after boggling over his computer. Nigel Smith phoned and roped us in for the Kimbolton Ball on September 5th and agreed to sort out a date to come over here for a day during the rest of August. Locked up and reset my automatic light switches again. News tonight is of a bomb blast in a Kensington High Street video shop, owned by Iranians. A man was killed and 13 other people were hurt. The Conservative Party has taken its own Federation of Conservative Students to court and obtained an injunction to stop publication of a magazine article accusing Lord Stockton of war crimes. It is a right-wing aberration by a group becoming ever more extreme. In the final run-in to the decision on the future of Nimrod vs the US AWACs, Plessey, Racal and Ferranti has reached a deal with GEC’s rival Boeing on jobs if they get the order. More bigotry from Ian Paisley in Ulster. All work at the nuclear reprocessing plant, Sellafield, has been halted, due to excessive radiation levels in the outfall and NIREX has been excluded again from its test sites by protesters.