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Solving our heating problems on another bitterly cold day and then completing my re-organisation of my files before filling log baskets, looking after the children and completing other chores as The Westland European bid fails and Sikorsky/Fiat win the day as cracks and failures in Boeing 747’s are worrying and a major toxic leak takes place at the ICI plant at Grangemouth
A poor night as I went to bed very late and then had a restless time worrying about the heating and arrangements for the morning. Breakfast of toast and fruit juice again and it highlighted the mouth ulcers I have been plagued with for some time – nothing like sharp toast and citric acid to make them worse! Back to bed, having re-lit the boiler and let the house warm up whilst I read the FT in bed.
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Shrove Tuesday - A cold day after a cold night as I tussle to keep our central heating working each side of taking Di to Bedford shopping and then wire up security protection to my safes as the spy swap proceeds and the 100+ Mafia defendants are moved to a bunker court but the Westland row continues as mysterious shareholders emerge to thwart the European Consortium’s bid.
A good night’s sleep and then up on a morning which, though very cold, was not as cold as last night. A little time for reading the paper in bed, but soon called down, as Diana had used our last three eggs to give us boiled eggs for breakfast. As we ate them we realised it was Shrove Tuesday today and so we would have to wait for some new duck eggs before we could have pancakes.
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Myself and my contractors trying to work on a bitterly cold day between two freezing nights which froze the River Great Ouse in one go as the NGA assets are sequestrated by the courts, leaving striking print workers without support as East/West spy swaps seem to be proceeding and more suggestions that Nelson Mandela would be next
Awake to my morning tea on an obviously cold morning. In fact, temperatures down to -10degC last night and the day altogether the coldest in February for 40 years. The paper and then breakfast of toast and fruit juice, whilst gazing out. The river had frozen in a single night (it normally takes several of advancing ice packs), the trees and exposed grass covered with a rhyme of ice crystals and a haze in the air that did not let the sun through until late morning. Showered, shaved and dressed and let Di go out to the shops in St Neots, whilst I lit the fire in the office and resumed sorting my papers.
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A better day of the family eating and then sorting out files and storing the results in my new fire-proof cabinets as temperatures drop to -10degC but all eyes on the Young Conservative Conference where the speeches from Michael Heseltine and Thatcher loyalist Norman Tebbit could not have been more different and in South Africa where Winnie Mandela hints that her husband Nelson might soon be due for release
A good night’s sleep and then a nice lay in reading the Observer and catching up on yesterday’s journal. Down to a nice fried breakfast and then back up and in bed until 11.00am to finish the paper off. Finally up to morning coffee and my shower & shave before and to let the ducks out and feed the doves. Last night had avoided being extremely cold, due to some cloud cover, but the boat cover was still frozen so that I could not check the fan heater inside. I cleaned out the ducks instead, which was the first time in a long while. Then the start of a long process sorting out my filing cabinets and putting the reduced files in the Firefile fire-proof replacement.