After our St Ives shopping and snacks, our cruise goes well through St Ives lock with lunch at Holywell and then through Brownshill and Hermitage to Twenty Pence Bridge to moor for the night and more fishing and eating out. Thatcher’s audience with HM The Queen today was fraught as the Commonwealth mayhem comes on the eve of Prince Andrew’s wedding
Slept reasonably well, even though the night was quite stuffy and the cabin ill-ventilated. Morning tea from Di and then well prepared today for breakfast of wheat flakes with the others. All ready after and then a short walk and shop around St Ives to get a few things. As Di finished off her shopping, I treated Debbie and Daniel to a drink and cream cake at Tooks and we met back at The Lady to start today’s cruise. We stopped off at L H Jones for water and ice creams, but they had no diesel fuel. Through St Ives lock and then we stopped at Holywell for lunch of ploughman’s at the pub, which was very nice.
The airforce planes have been bothering us these last few days and they continued to do so at both St Ives and Holywell today. Onwards through Brownshill sluice and Hermitage Lock and locked through by the same old lockkeepers. The lady at Hermitage has been doing the job for 17 years at least. The long, slow, windy cruise through the Old West River, arriving at Twenty Pence in late afternoon. The girls played on the riverside swings and slide as Daniel and I fished. Dan caught a bream to go with his four dace at Waits Quay yesterday, which he enjoyed. Later, I took Di for a meal at the pub and we walked around the area at dusk. News today was of a further four countries pulling out of the Commonwealth Games, so that more than half of the countries are now not competing. Several stories today of violent attackers praying on young girls and old women, which is a sign of the decline of modern society. The weather was fine again today, with little wind, which made for very comfortable cruising. Tonight, Thatcher met the Queen in their regular weekly audience amidst continued rumour over a rift between them and dismay amongst senior Tories at the effects of the South African crisis on the Commonwealth. Bitter feelings, of course, in anticipation of tomorrow’s Royal Wedding between Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.