Morning trip to Bedford and the Peacocks Auction rooms viewing, some shopping and then this afternoon checking Daniel’s homework, reading more Country Companion to Debbie and listening to the amazing Westland helicopter AGM where the directors fail to get their majority needed to hold off the European bid and bad news as a ransom of £2m is paid for the release of an Arab diplomat in London
After early to bed and a little difficulty in getting to sleep, a good night and fully awake early to my morning tea. Down to breakfast and then for inverse relief and a shower to freshen up. I dressed in sports jacket and trousers and decided to go with Diana to Bedford. A cold and misty morning, forecast to get windy and rainy over the next day or two. We found MFI closed on the way and so drove on to park in the Peacocks auction room’s car park. As we walked around the halls viewing the lots for tomorrow’s general auction, we identified three items of interest and put in a written bid. A round wine table (inlaid with veneer), a folding tray/table for practical garden use, and a bed/settee for the playroom. Our bids are quite generous and we have high hopes of securing all three.
It was bitterly cold there – they have no heating – and so we drove quickly on to the multi-story car park and hurriedly walked to Debenhams for morning coffee. Before 10.00am they have a special deal of a coffee and doughnut for 65p instead of the normal 85p! Then to shop at Debenhams, where we buy some Doulton Bunnykins pottery in the sale. Also some sharp knives for cooking and a Lambethware salt pot to match our other items. Lunch, too, at Debenhams, after a procession of visits to other department stores and then home by car. This afternoon I shared my time between listening to news of Westland on the one hand, and installing my strobe alarm box on the other. Tea of fried and bread crumbed plaice and then to check Daniel’s schoolwork and read Debbie another Country Companion volume (The Churchyard) after. The alarm box was fixed to the wall satisfactorily, but when I came to check it out this evening, I found I had poked the wire through into one of Debbie’s cupboards instead of the attic! The Westland vote was followed by a heart-stopping delay as they tallied the outcome. In the end at 6.00pm, they announced that the vote had been 65-35 in favour of Sikorsky and thus 10% short of what was needed, which was much more of a shortfall than expected. By mid-evening the news story was overshadowed by a dramatic rescue bid by the Royal Yacht Britannia to evacuate British citizens from Aden. She stands by with three Royal Navy vessels and all are trying to avoid the heavy shelling in the port area. But the Westland saga goes on, with only 400 shareholders present and the Chairman facing a barrage of hostile questions. After the vote he asked the European Consortium to withdraw, which is hardly likely. The political row has faded a little as Sir Raymond Lygo accepts the dispute as an unfortunate misunderstanding, which is undoubtedly a conciliatory gesture for a company which has to maintain good relationships with the government, its major customer. A ransom of £2m has been paid by the brother of an Arab diplomat for his release after a kidnap in London, which is a poor thing. The kidnapper has been followed to Beirut in Lebanon, but has yet to be arrested. The weather forecast is still for rain overnight and again later tomorrow, but I shall still try to put up my other alarm boxes to complete the system.