- Details
A full day of work for me managing investments for the family with a log fire in my office for warmth during this cold and unseasonable month whilst Diana took the girls shopping as 13 blacks die in Soweto at the hands of security forces, a squadron of US F111 aircraft arrive in the UK and an aircraft carrier off of the Libya coast herald an attack soon and Shorts Factory workers walk out over the removal of Protestant symbols from this Belfast factory. Labour release plans for an Environment Ministry.
All slept well and awoke rather late to our morning drinks. Showered and shaved before breakfast and then out to see how the dove chick had progressed. It had died and I threw it into the river, which was a shame. Daniel’s old friend, Jonathan Bloom, phoned and they arranged for him to come over for the day, and Di took the girls shopping again. I did more work on updating my investment and income summaries and then drove into St Neots myself to pick up a lot of forms from the Post Office. The old cattle market has now been demolished and the two new supermarkets are at the skeletal stage of steel erection. It seems to herald, overall, a new era of development for the old market town and, like the loss of the old bridge, I fear that it will lead to a further loss of character.
- Details
Diana and I go our separate ways as she drives to Cambridge with the girls and I stay back to revive a poorly dove chick and then took Daniel to The Happy Eater for lunch as we fend for ourselves. The death toll due to the Cameroon disaster has already risen to 1,500 with thousands of their cattle dead also and back home it is the tail end of Hurricane Charlie that is causing all of this wind and rain and the coldest August for many years and has already led to five dead on the sea and rivers whilst in London violent crime figures are rising with rapes, muggings and attacks leading the way
Awoke first after a more reasonable night and eventually persuaded Di to get the morning drinks. Showered, shaved and also washed my hair for a change. Dressed and then breakfast, which was somewhat spoilt by Di wanting to go to Cambridge early today, while I wanted to wait to see if there was any play in the Test before going to Huntingdon later. She took the girls to Cambridge anyway and I first checked the doves. The remaining chick was quite chilled, as I could not get out to feed them in last night’s wind and rain, which meant its parents were out from dawn looking for food. I held it and took an hour reviving it by the boiler before putting it back with its parents. Strange to see how an apparently dead and cold chick can be brought back to life.
- Details
August Bank Holiday Monday – Productive but windy and rainy day to be out after a difficult start with Diana unresponsive and unwell but Daniel made progress in restoring his computer programs and backing them up and I did some work on the house and garden nevertheless before some poor pancakes for tea but at least it was not sandwiches again. A horror unfolding in Cameroon as 1,200 people die from a volcano spewing toxic gas on to them and another in France as 24,000 acres are alight with 5,000 workers trying to put out the forest fire. 150 scooterists are arrested on the Isle of Wight and the Birmingham Formula 3000 road race is abandoned due to cars crashing in the rain
Another poor night and we seem to oscillate between good and bad nights rather alarmingly. Diana troubled with her problem* and decamped to the spare bedroom and I had trouble sleeping. Awoken by her poorly set alarm radio, which, once it woke me with its loud music, meant that I was chasing Di around the house for morning drinks, whilst she was refusing to get them. At last she did, but banished me from the kitchen to the cold lounge because she, ‘couldn’t stand me for five minutes in the morning and needed to be alone.’ At last got my cuppa, somewhat disheveled, and then breakfast was called whilst I was still in the middle of my wash and shave. A poor meal of wheat flakes and then I went out to the doves.
- Details
A panic for Daniel concerning his Aquabean taking on water on affine day, completion of our new window seat, a fine Sunday lunch with our silver in use and then another swim at dusk. This as fires in a mid-channel hovercraft and in the Cote d’Azur cause consternation, a chink in the South African censorship laws reveal the extent of torture and suppression and the first Formula 3000 Halfords Superprix motor race around Birmingham motorways is a success whilst it was Children’s Day at the Notting Hill Carnival
To bed with Diana and a good night’s sleep. Time to shave and wash before breakfast, with not only the family, but also Gary and Steve as well. Fed the doves and then went to look at my window seat and gave it another coat of matt varnish. Settled in the lounge and read the Observer newspaper through (which took some time) before going out and feeding/letting out the ducks. A fine sunny morning, but cool, with a northerly breeze. Daniel got into a panic this morning, as his boat was full of water and unloaded all of its contents onto the bank, making quite a mess. I insisted that he put everything away in store and assured him that we could put Aquabean on the trolley this winter and fix it once and for good.