Morning trip to The London Boat Show at Earls Court with Daniel and then home to welcome Nigel and Lynne Smith to tea after his recent heart attack as The Westland Helicopter takeover fight continues and three intrepid British Explorers complete the journey to The North Pole on foot.
Diana woke us up early and, after several attempts, managed to get me and Daniel up. Then my normal Sunday fried breakfast and then washed and dressed, ready in good time to leave by car with Daniel for the London Boat Show at Earls Court. We left at 7.50am and were there by just after 9.00am, which was very good going. Unhappily, it did not admit visitors until 10.00! A pleasant couple of hours looking round. I made a beeline for the traditional dinghies, launches and sail boats and the main attraction for Daniel was the huge Princess ‘Gin Palaces’ and the speedboats, which are all fibreglass and tinted windscreens. Came away with plenty of brochures, charts of the Wash and East Coast and an excellent book on the traditional wooden boat builders of Britain.
I am still harbouring an interest in getting The Lady round to the Norfolk Broads and I will someday have a traditional small boat for interest. Home by 2.00pm and in good time for our guests for tea. Managed to get out before their arrival to feed the ducks and doves and see how the river had gone down. A bright and clear day and frost this morning that caught out one poor motorist on the A1, who crashed and wrote off his car. The Smiths arrived at 3.30pm with their two children and we really enjoyed one another’s company until early evening. Nigel was a bit peaky and Lynne had put on a couple of stone – she now has the worry of the business, the house and the children, having taken over everything following Nigel’s heart attack. I agree to take Nigel to the auction on Tuesday, but will stop him doing anything silly. An evening of roasting chestnuts, TV and my journal before very tired to bed. News today of the Westland Board getting massive backing from the proxy shareholders, which is only what I expected. 4% back the European Consortium and when added to the 5% USH and 12% Bristow, this 21% comes very close to the 25% needed to block the Americans. Michael Heseltine keeps up a hectic publicity campaign and hits out at a whispering campaign against him. Bristow is also convinced that the Anglo European bid will succeed as the superior bid. Three intrepid British explorers completed the 883mi journey to the Pole on foot, tracing Scott on his original journey through the Antarctic. Their support vessel was stricken, however, with the tight pack ice closing in, crushing and then sinking it. The support crew had to be rescued from a nearby American base. The police report into the Tottenham riot claimed today that the trouble was premeditated and planned. More trouble in South Africa and a novel offer from Qaddafi of Libya, who invites Reagan to a meeting in his Bedouin tent.