A day alternating between attending Peacock’s Auction in Bedford and liaising with my builders, swimming pool contractors and security safe installers as I protect The Lady from a severe frost, check Daniel’s school work and rad to Debbie. Government crisis times in the Philippines, Haiti and back in Britain as Thatcher uses foul parliamentary tactics to avoid questioning and there are riots in Bristol and mass trials of The Mafia in Palermo
Another poor night, but did not feel too bad when I was woken to my morning paper and tea. When called for breakfast, I held back to continue reading and let Daniel (with his heavy infectious cold) go first and clear the kitchen. Up, showered and dressed and, after breakfast of cereal and top of the milk, I started liaising with the builders. They had arrived late after problems with their car and I established that I could leave the alarm wires in place, as they were going to move the kitchen door frame intact. I briefed both them and Joan, the cleaner, on my instructions for delivery of the security safes, and then took off for Peacocks antique auction in Bedford.
I arrived with half an hour to spare, but all the catalogues were gone. Looking on my own behalf, I only saw one painting that I liked – a large 5’ x 3’ river landscape, with well painted castle and shop in oils, but the bidding started at £2,000 and finished at £7,200 and the work was damaged too! I look around the general auction showroom, but nothing of interest. I also collected the revenue from our recent sales, £40 for the bath set and £10 for Daniel for his old music centre. A piece of fried plaice and some donuts for a walking lunch and then back home to see how things were coming on. No sign of the security safe deliveries, but the builders had moved the door by knocking out part of the wall, moving the frame, and blocking up the gap the other side. Also the pool contractors had managed to continue, despite the weather, and had laid a lining of 2 inch stones to form a foundation for the pool. In early afternoon, Tann Security arrived and after a breath-taking struggle to skirt the gaping pool cavity and ease the safes into their rest position, they finally managed it. In late afternoon, I settled Di and Della down and lit the fire, put the cars away and set up a fan heater in The Lady to ward off a severe frost. After tea I checked Daniel’s schoolwork and then read Debbie another bedtime story. News today of the Philippine elections and poll rigging by President Markos and ballet boxes become the objects of a tug of war. The challenger is winning in Manilla, but the provinces are solidly under the thumb of Markos. Rioting in Haiti as Baby Doc Duvalier leaves the country in a US air force jet. This dictator is out of his regime, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and taken a fortune with him for his exile. Reagan’s policy of supporting these right-wing dictatorships is folding up. Back in Britain, the Prime Minister denied authorising a Knighthood for Alan Bristow to back out of the Westland European Consortium, but caused a fury in the Commons by releasing a statement via a point of order and thus evading supplementary questions. A small riot today as a car was burnt out and policemen injured in the St Pauls district of Bristol. A huge trial starts of over 200 Mafia defendants in Palermo as security seems determined for once to stamp out the influence of this corruptive organisation. UK coal production is now at record levels after a full recovery from the miner’s strike. The stock exchange and sterling exchange rates are also up at record levels.