A shopping trip for Diana and some work for me as the weather is milder and we recover enough to enjoy a more active day and a beneficial one as the value of my Kode shares increases by £33,000! Thatcher uses new laws to persecute the duly elected representatives of Liverpool and Lambeth, a tough American is sent in to British Leyland to impose her will in defiance of House of Lords dissent, the Audit Commission calls for public money to be spent on Council housing but more enlightening sight is Spitfires flying in formation on their 50th anniversary
A good night and woke to my morning drink from Diana. She was up as usual and right as rain. She brought me porridge again, the paper and morning post. She wanted a chat to order the day, but my chest is still enmeshed and needs some clearing each day, before I can draw breath without coughing. She leaves for Bedford with Della to do some shopping. She also meant to exchange the heated trolley at Debenhams but, with the delay due to my illness, they had already sold the last three and so she wasted her journey. I read the paper in bed and noted, to my pleasure, that Kode shares had risen to £1.25 and by 20p yesterday. If they can reach £2.00 (and after 5th April for tax timing reasons) then we shall sell them.
In the event, this increase is already worth £33,000 for our 132,000 shares that we have left. Managed to get up, dressed and made my way to my office at 11.00am to make a number of phone calls to progress the pool, building and heater repairs. Also returned a number of calls to people who have tried to contact me lately. Di brought home some nice Sole for my lunch, which was lovely. The afternoon sitting in the lounge and reading Pepys. The decorator carried on today and the pool man returned to clear away the ice (to aid thawing) and also to remove the earth from the falling sides after the frost. They are to concrete and turf this week. Welcomed all the children, did some drawing with Della and some ‘homework’ with Dan & Deb. Survived the evening and watched Dallas on TV in bed. News today of the Liverpool Labour Councillors losing their High Court appeal and being fined and disqualified from office for 5 years for ‘Willful miss-conduct.’ The fine is at least £8,000 each. Lambeth Councillors are similarly affected. Even though they were unwise, they have to be respected and, as elected representatives, this legal prosecution is an outrage in my view. The day after Botha’s speech, 20,000 mourners attended the funeral of 17 people killed in recent days. Despite massive police presence and bullying, it was a success and reporting still took place, in spite of bans on cameras and recording means. It was peaceful, with few incidents. A government Minister, David Waddington, is to change immigration rules to exclude child brides from Iran and other places. A 12 year old girl was the trigger point. The government have appointed Graham Day, a tough businessman, to British Leyland to take over the Chairmanship, which puts pressure on the existing Executives. He speaks with an American accent and will further inflame the situation. The Audit Commission has a report published today, detailing the widespread decline and decay of public housing. It will be unpopular with Thatcher in its call for more money for repairs – estimating that £6,000 is needed per house for repairs. The 600 workers at Maxwell’s Scottish plant have voted for an indefinite strike following the 300+ redundancies announced there. The 6 year old girl (Collette) has been found suffocated in a nearby attic and the householder is in hospital with slashed wrists being questioned on her assault and murder, after an obviously unsuccessful suicide attempt. On the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire, there were celebration flights all over England, as all 13 of the survivors in air-worthy condition gave displays up and down the country. A much milder day today, which was a blessing. Nice to see the birds race round in their feeding and courtship after a biological trigger of milder weather.