Bank Holiday and Debbie’s 7th Birthday Party – A day spent trying to re-glaze my workshop but with limited success whilst also watching outsider Joe Johnson beats Steve David to become snooker World Champion as Debbie enjoys a fine 7th birthday party but the realisation grows about the seriousness of the Chernobyl reactor leak with bans on drinking rain water from Scotland, Northern England and Wales, milk from Holland and vegetables from Austria
A late night last evening, as I watched the televised snooker until midnight. Steve Davis, the world No 1, is struggling with outsider, Joe Johnson, in the final and the result is quite absorbing. Awake somewhat groggily and then some comfort in my morning tea. To the bathroom, showered and shaved, then down to another Jordan’s crunchy nut breakfast. Then out to the workshop to do some re-glazing. As the windows were previously leaking, my plan was to remove the glass, repair the frames, prime them and then re-putty them in. It was raining quite heavily this morning and so I had to work under an awning. I prepared the job well, but the ultra-thin glass defeated me and I broke three panes trying to put them in. I took Debbie out for lunch at the Little Chef, whilst Di got Debbie’s party ready and then, once back, another 11 little girls arrived at 3.00pm and the party began.
Meanwhile, I struggled with my breaking glass until, despondent, I came in to watch the snooker. Steve Davis was losing now to Joe Johnson, but I switched off for a tea of leftovers from today’s party. Out again, as it had stopped raining and the sun was shining. I removed the two panes of glass from the opening window and fitted them successfully in place of two of the broken panes and so things were looking up. No luck on cutting new panes from unused ones – they kept shattering again! At dusk I fed the ducks and doves and then switched off the workshop lights, locked up and came in for the final coup de gras on the TV. Steve lost to Joe 18-12 and so relative outsider becomes World Champion. My journal, the TV Ceefax news and then, tired from lack of sleep lately, to bed. The news headlines were of the rainfall and passage of the Chernobyl radioactive plant, leading to health warnings in parts of Great Britain. People in Scotland, North England and Wales have been advised not to drink fresh rainwater for a week. Austria has banned sales of all fresh vegetables, because of high radiation levels and Holland has forbidden consumption of milk from open pasture dairy herds. All this is either incredible scare mongering, or indications that the future use of nuclear energy is to be closely questioned. The world is certainly seeming to get smaller by the hour. There was a fire at a Heysham nuclear power station in Morecombe, Lancashire and the reactor had to be shut down. There was no radioactive danger here at least. Leaders of seven Western nations agreed today on a communique condemning terrorism (referring to Libya by name) and agreeing measures of arms control and movement restrictions. ‘Manny’ Shinwell, the veteran parliamentarian, seems close to death of pneumonia tonight and has opted to stay at home rather than go to hospital. After today’s heavy rain and showers, the night has turned clear and cold this evening, but this will only last for tomorrow morning, before the rain returns again.