To Bedford on a nice and warm day after a false start, buying a BBQ but not finding anything of interest at Peacock’s Antique Auctions and then via Harry Kitchener for a new water pump and plumbing parts to The Lady at Buckden marina to install and commission it satisfactorily and then home to hear news of terrorist bombing incidents against Interpol and West America as Thatcher ignores opposition to her unemployment mortgage aid cuts and Francis Pym announces his retirement from it all. Interest rates are down to 3% and Argentina’s war-mongering Generals are given long prison sentences for now
A strained night, as Di and I differed over the room temperature required, then up to my breakfast with the others before dressing. Boiled duck egg today, which the elder children also enjoyed. Dressed afterwards to go out to Bedford with Di and we set off early, dropping Debbie at school on the way. Unfortunately, our efforts were lost, as we had forgotten to open the inner garage for the expected arrival of the landscapers and we had to return from halfway there to remedy it. To our chagrin, when we returned, they had not arrived in force this morning and only turned up in the afternoon, so that Di questioned them about messing us about. Still, at least they cleared out the pool area and filled the flower beds with topsoil, as well as doing the rest of the paving.
They still have to point it and remove the rubbish. Back at Bedford, we dropped in on the garden centre at Willington and bought an expensive modular barbeque, as per the advice of my barbeque book. We will be outside at last this summer by the pool, as well as by the river. It is in three segments, so that you can cook at several temperatures, has a motorised spit included, a hood to convert it into a kettle for baking and wind protection and also a larger shelf for utensils. Then, on to Harry Kitchener Marine, where I buy a new JABSCO pump for our Lady’s water supply, now that the other still sticks. Then to park in Bedford Market Square, take coffee, and then go our separate ways. I to Peacocks, where I looked around the general auction viewing, but saw nothing of interest. Our customary lunch at Debenhams, where their ‘Springles’ restaurant had had its face lift and then home to unload the car. I feed the doves again, as they are hungrily rearing their broods. Joan tells us that Marilyn’s new cat (a stray from the cattery) attacked one of our doves today and pinned it to the ground. It was only the intervention of the gardener that saved it. I talk to Marilyn, who was apologetic. She also mentioned about the sale of ‘David’s’ plot, which Bob Lane is now due to sell to me. He phoned yesterday evening and accepted our offer of £8,000. Then, off to the marina to continue my work on The Lady. I bought more olives for sealing the joints, and copper pipe to cut into 1 inch lengths to provide stiffness and then set to work. First, I got some unions and fitted the new pump, putting a gale valve in the feed from the tanks to give isolation for future occasions. Then I redid the rest of the pipes, renewing the joints and inserting new pipe from my stocks. Then the big moment, as I switched on the pump and filled up the tanks. It worked without a single noticeable leak and the pressure of the water system held up the pump instead of the constant cycling on and off that we used to get. Some time cleaning out the inside of The Lady of all of the debris and then I moved her round to the river side of the Buckden Marina at the Manager’s request. I saw another Heron whilst doing it, which makes two today – the other being at Harry Kitchener’s in Bedford. Wearily home to tend the birds and too tired to do much before bedtime. News today was of more terrorist incidents, as the French left-wing group ‘Action Directe’ bombed the headquarters of Interpol and shot a police guard. In Western America, a couple took over a school, complete with teachers and children, and the man killed a teacher and then himself, after his wife’s bomb had killed her accidentally. More unemployment news, as BR workshops announce thousands more redundancies and Thatcher continues to draw the flack over her cutting of unemployment mortgage aid. She closes the Conservative Conference in Scotland with another defiant speech and, as usual, coerced her dissidents into silence. Francis Pym announced his retirement from fighting the corner of traditional Toryism at the next election and who can blame him. The Falkland’s Generals Galtieri, Anaya and Dozo were sentenced to imprisonments of 12,14 and 8 years respectively for the war time fiasco but will probably escape that term once the fuss has settled down in this corrupt regime. Inflation has dropped to 3% year on year, due to downward movements of petrol and mortgage interest rates, but its effects are very uneven on different sections of the population. Today’s weather was nice and warm and settled for a change, but all this is due to change tomorrow.