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Time tending my doves and then working on The Hayling View bench seat on a bright and sunny day and then watching England do well against New Zealand at cricket before swimming after dark with Daniel and his friends in our underwater-lit swimming pool’ The East/West Summits and visits are now all lined up with nuclear arms control the elusive prize
A rather restless night, as first I and then Di had trouble sleeping as the time went on. Di up early and read the paper before bungling my morning tea and letting me do the same. Turfed out of bed eventually and showered and shaved before down to a breakfast of wheat flakes. Then the doves on a bright and sunny morning. All of them down to the table, including the dun hen and her cock and so I managed to get to the chick for the first time. Just as well, as I had trouble ringing it and, in the end, had to put it on its left foot and was glad to get it on at all.
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After a wet night and then a boiled egg breakfast, combining my carpentry and gardening with watching the test match and taking Debbie horse riding as Short Brothers in Belfast, a Protestant reserve, orders its staff to stop sectarian actions at work on pain of dismissal and in South Africa, the opposition used parliamentary privilege to publicise the government’s use of repressive powers.
A good night and then time to read the paper for once before showered, shaved, dressed and down to breakfast. Boiled egg, which I enjoyed with Della and Debbie, as Daniel is still staying away. A wet night had left the ground sodden, but having cut the grass on Wednesday, the gardener hoed and weeded the flower and shrub beds, which had appreciated the rain. I resumed the carpentry involved with shortening the antique pine window seat by 10 ½” and, when I dismantled it, I could see the name of the original patron penciled on to it –‘ Dr Woods’.
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Time this morning attending the family, the doves, ducks and then the pool, which was suffering from the intensive use of yesterday, with all of the chlorine used up before a little more time fishing on the dinghy on a fairly last and relaxing day as news emerges of 31 dead and more than 200 people seriously irradiated as the result of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster and the Sarah Lambert seducer is charged with ‘procuring intercourse with fraud’, which is a strange offence.
A much better night than of late, though it was quite chilly. Morning tea and, before I had finished reading the morning paper, breakfast was ready. Restricted myself to two croissants and no toast or cereal, as I am 14 stone at the scales recently, then up to shower, shave and wash my hair. Dressed with the door locked, as by this time it was 9.00am, with the builder around finishing the remedial points. Out to the doves, which were quite hungry and, on checking with the pole cote, saw that the Dun Hen (who was the one that was rescued from the pool and other neighbour’s gardens etc) was rearing a single chick, which is quite hopeful.
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Divisive day with Diana hosting friends and me, feeling out of it, rowing off to go fishing to get back late for tea but then thoughts centred on the news that Bill’s wife Vi had recently died of her mental illness. The Kensington shop explosion was caused by a bomb which killed the anti-Ayatolla owner’s son, a former US postal worker shoots and kills 15 colleagues after being sacked in Oklahoma John Fleming, implicated in the Brinks Mat Gold robbery, is extradited to face prosecution and the worst plague of locusts for 25 years devastates African crops
A rather restless night and Di had a nightmare that was that I had sold our house and moved the family into a council house and could not understand why she did not like it! The house was still there for all of us as we had morning tea and then breakfast. Showered and shaved afterwards and then went out to feed the doves and get Daniel started on cleaning the cars. This is his household chore, but he seldom does it at all and even less often does it well. The gardener mowed the lawns today, as he is going away this weekend, and I prepared and then planted the four box plants, watering them well in. I also removed the old gate from the picket fence and joined the rest of the fence in its place. By this time it was lunch of ham salad rolls and ice cream to follow and then Diana got the house ready for the ladies and children she had invited round. They all arrived at 2.00pm, and went swimming in the pool. Claire and Heather joined in and so there were 15 altogether in the pool.