A better day for Diana after a cold and frosty night which saw Debbie going to Sunday School for the first time and enjoying it after some apprehension and then Gary joining Daniel and us for lunch with them both behaving nicely before an evening reading Pepys journals and writing my own. This as Thatcher fails to impress in her press interviews after the Westland affair and the newspaper printing battle continues against Murdoch and Eddie Shah but Voyager sends back pictures of Uranus
An unaccustomed and very welcome lay in this morning and, even better, Diana had the chance to rest too. A very cold, frosty night and too late, I feared, for The Lady. With us having to switch the heating off over night, due to lack of effective controls, the house had become very cold. Debbie had wandered about looking for Di and was lucky not to have set off the alarms. I got up and helped Di look after Debbie and Della and, after a nice fried breakfast, continued with the same thing. Debbie was going to Church (Sunday School) for the first time and, after an unsettled night for her, was obviously a bit apprehensive. In the event, she thoroughly enjoyed it later in the morning and is determined to go every week.
I went back to bed to finish my reading of the Observer, but finally got up about mid-morning. I shaved and then had my first bath for quite a while and enjoyed it as additional relief. By 11.00am, dressed and out to the birds. I fed the doves on the table and was pleased to see them so fit and healthy. The gardener has been continuing with the landscaping and we now need the earth from the swimming pool excavation to continue. As I looked around, a lone, female, Mute Swan pestered me and then, whilst I let the ducks out, she waddled up the duck slipway and pecked around me, hoping in vain for some food. I let her peck my hands as well, but suffered a small graze, as her tiny sieve teeth caught me without pain. A good day to view the gardens, as the frost made the soil and turf hard underfoot, instead of the recent boggy texture. Inside to share a morning drinks with Di and she is much more relaxed this morning. As the sun shone into the breakfast room, we could look out on a superb riverside prospect. By now the TV programmes had begun and so I lit the fire (with newspapers, having no firelighters) and settled down to watch wildlife shots. Then the noon-time Weekend World, where one of Thatcher’s colleagues was answering criticism of the Westland affair. Lunch time next – more chicken, but nicely done – and Daniel and his guest Gary were very well behaved for a change. Back to the TV and, at 2.30pm, a recorded interview, filmed yesterday, of Thatcher facing three press journalists. A painful experience, as she is embarrassed by questions probing her integrity, her competence in office and her political judgement. A humbling experience, that is still to be further continued in the House of Commons tomorrow. Then a complete televised football match between Chelsea and Liverpool, with an injury-depleted Chelsea team (of 10 men) pulling a goal back, but still losing the cup tie 2-1, which was a shame. At last, I stirred myself to go out, put the ducks away and then tackled The Lady. Filling up the fuel tank from a 5 gallon drum, I wired up the battery charger and started the central heating on low. Putting the winter cover back on, I left the heating to thaw out the waterworks and keep the frost out tonight. It is my experience that when cold clear skies ensue in winter, the frosts get worse with each evenings leaking of the residual warmth from the land. Then to the garages and, responding to Diana’s appeal to get the way clear for her car to be inside, I manage it quite easily in the outer garage by moving a few things around. With the two baths gone there is much more space left. In to tea with the girls – a poor affair of bread, dry stilton, and cheesecake to follow. Daniel was out this afternoon with his friends and their parents being taken to the ice skating rink in Peterborough. This evening I watched more news programmes, wrote up my journal and then read a little of Samuel Pepys, which I always find a pleasure. Pleasure also in the warmth and comfort of the log fire. I am sure that open fires were always intended to burn logs and not coal. The news today divides between the Prime Minister’s future and Murdoch’s exploits at Wapping. The media feature the Prime Minister’s pressure to reveal all details of her involvement in the leaked letter. She will not resign and intends to lead the Tories into the next election. Her blame of Heseltine for the troubles could rebound, in my view, if he responds with more criticism. The opposition leaders are relishing the chance to attack her, but will probably fail to pin her down, as many Tories will ask supportive questions, behind which she could hide. Murdoch’s News International is printing at Wapping and Glasgow, but after today’s patchy distribution, the focus will be on this aspect. Eddie Shah’s new Manchester newspaper factory has also been attacked by an arsonist, but without major damage. More funeral services for killed blacks in South Africa, as these occasions continue to be symbolic centres of opposition to the government’s racial oppression. Clear and exciting pictures come back 2,000,000,000 miles from Uranus, as Voyager continues to reveal more of the planet’s rings and moons than previously known of. The American’s go crazy over their Superbowl football final, which is televised widely in Europe for the first time, but I am not impressed. The weather is due to become cloudier and breezier.