Morning at Peacock’s Bedford auction and then lunch at The Anchor in Tempsford before a dinner party at Hails Weston House with Nigel, Lynne and their doctor and farmer friends when I continued to be worried about Nigel’s heart condition ‘skipping beats and making him delirious’ and we talked about crop sprays, health and the Russian radioactive cloud passing over Eastern England today!
Awake to my morning tea and to get ready by my normal routine, joining the others for breakfast of cereal. The children to school and then I was eager to leave for Bedford to see the Peacock auctions. However, Di was delayed by Joan getting her to sign all manner of documents, against our better judgement. Eventually, off by car with Della on a very warm and humid morning and glad of our Jaguar’s air conditioning. Parked in town and decided to take coffee with the others to be sociable, before going off to Peacocks. The antique auction in the Robert Room was today, but I am again unimpressed by the lots, although there were a few nice pictures.
Downstairs to the general viewing, but again, nothing there that I could not live without. Rendezvoused with Di at Debenhams and persuaded her to return to the car and take lunch at the Anchor in Tempsford. I got the food and we ate on the riverside lawn, with Della also enjoying a session on the tyre swings. On to Eaton Socon, so that Di could buy a nice piece of roast beef from the butcher and then home to return to my chores. Whilst Di did the housework, I finished putting on the roofing felt and battens on the workshop. A rather traumatic process, as the breeze had got up and I was covered with the tar adhesive as I hammered the last clout of nails home. At one point, I put my hand in the adhesive pot instead of the nail bag! A long time cleaning my hands with cotton buds and petrol, as this evening was an arranged visit to Nigel and Lynne’s house for a dinner party. Rather wearily, we changed, showered and got dressed as Brittains just finished their labour of the last few days and completed the laying of our hall/stairs/landing carpet, which looks terrific. We arrived at Hail Weston House a little early and found our hosts a little unprepared. Soon all was ready and the other guests had joined us – a Doctor from St Neots and a farmer from Little Staughton and their wives. A very enjoyable meal and I found interest in my end of the table talking about the trials and tribulations of general practice etc. Poor Diana fell into an argument with the farmer, who was very defensive on the question of sprays and health. I was sad to hear that Nigel is still getting his funny turns every week or two and, indeed, Di thinks he had such an attack during the evening, as he was absent for a while. I spoke to him after the others had left and he tells me that he thinks that his heart skips a few beats and then his body is inundated with adrenalin, or some other hormone, which makes him quite ‘high’ and delirious. Home very late at 1.30am and, after much food and drink, a rather uncomfortable and hot night. No chance of watching the news this evening, but I heard at the dinner table that the radioactive cloud from Russia is now over Eastern England, but it is of very low activity now.