The joy of our new Christmas lights illuminating the balcony this morning and the silver being used for lunch before and after a morning working on my latest manuscript draft and then the drive to Coton to collect Daniel from Gary’s place and on to Stanton to my parent’s mobile home for a visit. We found Mum rather troubled with rheumatism in this cold and damp weather and Dad also having some thrombosis and needing to rest his leg but then we also heard news of my sister Freda’s bad leg not leading to her need to retire early from her nursing job and then of Stacey having to have her appendix out. The children enjoyed playing with their grandparents anyway and I gleaned some more family history before I drove my family home. The Paris Student riots are escalating, the British troops have crossed the Irish border again and MI5 continues to be under the spotlight despite being defended by Tebbit and now is accused of undermining former Prime Minister Harold Wilson whilst in office
A little lay in and morning tea, after the time switch had turned on the balcony Christmas lights. Shaved, showered and down for my Sunday fried breakfast. No Daniel of course, but the rest of us enjoyed it. A bit more time in my office after, reading the papers and then updating my computer text for a number of corrections and expansions that came out of reading the manuscript. Out to feed the ducks and doves, some coffee, and then to complete the task before lunch. Then got the family silver out of the safe and laid up the table for lunch, helping Di into the kitchen with the waiter trolley as well. Della was awake and joined us for a nice lunch of chicken, preceded by tomato soup, which we all enjoyed. Debbie spoilt it a little by spilling some soup on her new dress, but I wiped it off. A while washing up and restoring everything to their proper storage places and then the job of getting the children ready to go out. Then I fed and put away the ducks and secured the house with locks and alarms so that we could go. A reasonable drive to Coton to pick up Daniel and then on to Stanton and the mobile home of my parents.
The old journey is complicated these days by a couple of large new road intersections, but we did not lose our way. Found them in fair heart, although we were later than planned and Mum’s rheumatism was playing up a bit, with the cold damp weather. Her wrist was slowly healing, but it will need a lot more recuperation and therapy before it is better. Dad also has to keep his leg up as much as he can, as he had a little thrombosis. Worst news is of my sister, who has a leg deteriorating to the point where it will lead to her being retired sick soon. She will get a year of reasonable wages, a lump sum, and then we shall have to see what early pension payment she is entitled to. Poor Stacey had to be admitted to hospital for an operation, first to remove her appendix, but it proved to be an old childbirth complication. Things have certainly taken a turn for the worse, but none of us are getting any younger. The children enjoyed playing with their grandparents and I got some more information on the family history from them. They served us a nice tea and then the drive home in the dark. Della fell asleep and the other two children were a lot better behaved. Di got the children to bed and I returned to my word processor and started writing a chapter about Little Paxton in the pre-war period. News today is of the Paris student riots taking a turn for the worse, after one of them is killed. Cars were set on fire, shops looted and baton-wielding police and students clashed in the streets, injuring dozens of people. Prime Minister, Jacques Chirac, who returned home early from the EEC Summit, appealed for calm. A row in Ireland is escalating as British troops are reported to have crossed the border into the Republic for the second time in a few days. Two different approaches as Tony Chairman, Tebbit, condemns the MI5 informer for ‘ratting’ on his friends, and Peter Shore of the Labour Party calls for an enquiry over reports that MI5 tried to discredit past Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, whilst he was in office. After a Briton has been held in Iran for more than a year, without the case coming to trial, the government is to lodge a formal protest. Police are still questioning a man in Surrey after his wife and two daughters were found strangled and dead