Ferdinand Marcos rigging the elections
Ferdinand Marcos rigging the elections

Very ill and feverish in bed with just the open log fire for comfort whilst the bitterly cold Easterly wind continues and will continue more and the snow and river have still to melt but the US comes out against Marcos and asks for a peaceful handover of power, a Russian cruise ship sinks with 35 people missing and the Wapping ‘battle’ continues

Awoke this morning feeling quite ill – shivery and with a bad headache to boot. As I passed water, I realised that I had got another infection of the urinary tract and so had to spend the day in bed. Lots of orange juice, occasional tablets for the headache, and a bit of TV. It got worse as the day went on, which was a pity, as the Tomblins came over for tea and I had to stay in bed. At one stage, I couldn’t keep warm and was shivering, despite wearing my dressing gown under the bed clothes. Came down later to hasten Diana into bed, but did not sleep too easily after all.

Another cold day, with the easterly winds highlighting our lack of central heating. Our log fire is still a big bonus. The snow remains on the ground after 1-2 weeks and has still not melted and there can be no further work on the swimming pool or grass verge while it persists. News is of the US coming out against the Marcos regime in the Philippines and asking for a peaceful succession to the Presidency. A Russian cruise liner goes down off New Zealand, with 35 people missing, amongst harsh criticism of the effectiveness of the Russian crews evacuation procedures. The Wapping dispute continues to be more violent as left wing agitators up the ante, but the print unions are now planning to keep within the law as much as possible whilst fighting Murdoch. More cold weather forecast.