Preparing the children for school and then to my desk and phone calls, ordering my affairs, and to spend £25,000 on Savings Certificates in St Neots Post Office, to their astonishment. More setbacks for the City of London as The Guinees Company is investigated for insider trading and the Attorney General has to answer to The House of Commons to defend himself. The Australian MIG hearing goes on with Prime Minister Gough Whitlam insisting that their security services would not be allowed to break the law. The Natal region of South Africa has negotiated and agreed a fair society model but it is rejected by the central government.
Rather groggily awake and my state of mind did not improve when Debbie descended upon me whilst I was drinking my morning tea, and joined me in bed. I had to get her showered in the en-suite bathroom, as well as tending to myself. Down to breakfast, getting Daniel to clear up his room better on the way. He seemed ready for his further exams in maths and history today and does not lack confidence. The morning paper – then post – but nothing of interest and so settled in my office and started sorting out my desk and making some phone calls. A rather dull day, seeing to routine paperwork and reconciling my bank and building society accounts. Relieved to break for a salad lunch and then returned to pay a number of bills and type out some important correspondence. These included a letter to St John’s College, turning down a suggestion of theirs about a lease of the Lordship. In later afternoon, I drove into St Neots and collected our new window seat cushion from Brittains, covered in our normal material and also collected my parcel of security alarm equipment from the sorting office and posted my letters outside at the same time. Then parked in the town centre, took my £25K-worth of Nat. Savings Certificate applications in to the Post Office and then did some fund transfers in the building society.
Interest rates are recently up another ¾ %. The Post Office attendant noted the size of my investment and was, ‘thankful it was not in cash’, an obvious reference to the Little Paxton Post Office robbery, where I now hear that the owners children were threatened at gunpoint. Got Daniel working again tonight for his tomorrow’s exams and Diana managed to weigh in at another 2 ½ lb reduction at her slimming club. News today is of a government enquiry being launched into the Guinness Company and the stock exchange falls sharply on the news. There is speculation that there was some wrong doing over the circumstances of their Distillers takeover, with the possibility of insider dealing high on the list of expectations. This is the latest of several setbacks for the City’s reputation. Attorney General, Sir Michael Havers, faced up to the Commons today and defended his position against hostile questions from the opposition. In Australia, the trial Judge has not yet decided on the need to call for secret English documents. In the witness box, Gough Whitlam Australian Prime Minister, said that the Australian security services would not be allowed to break the law. In Washington, investigations have begun into the circumstances of the military aid to Iran, and there is another uncomfortable press conference for Reagan. In the Natal region of South Africa, all races have reached their own decision about a racially fair society, but the central government has already ruled the compromise out. The man arrested in Guildford recently, on sex charges, has been charged with three murders and remanded in custody for a week. Alex (Hurricane) Higgins has been charged with assault on the recent tournament Director for head-butting the promoter during an argument.