A lay in and day of recovery after recent trips but some time writing up my Little Paxton field system research between family meals and activities as the papers are full of financial scandals following the recent Tory deregulation of the City with cases of insider trading and loss of confidence in established Merchant banks. The Teacher’s dispute is resolved, providing that ken Baker can resist Thatcher’s wish to intervene and unwind it and Reagan ferry’s Thatcher around on a golf cart at Camp David!
After our late retirement, we slept well and I was still asleep when Di awoke me with my morning tea at 8.00am. Sat in bed for a little while, then, realising it was an uncomfortable position for my back, I moved to our bedroom chair and wrote up yesterday’s journal there. A long process and it was time for my nice fried breakfast when I had finished and so I had to leave my ablutions until after. Rounded up the children for breakfast for Diana and found them unwashed and in their night clothes as well. Later still by the time we had all finished and then I went out to tend the ducks and doves (one more egg) before settling down to read the papers. To my office after, starting to compose a piece on the Little Paxton field system, but had only done some planning by the time I had to help Di with the laying of the table. Daniel’s friend Steve was over for the day and so also joined us for lunch. They were mostly playing computer games, but also ventured down to the river to look at the boats.
A nice meal of roast chicken and little trouble after in getting Daniel to help me with the washing up. We finished off the first bottle of Paxton Crest wine over our meal. A cup of tea to recover from the meal and the exertion and then I sat and watched the live televised league football match between Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday, an exciting match, ending with a 1-1 score. Pity to hear some of the fans booing at the end for, although neither side won, it was an exciting spectacle and not all should hinge on the result. Just about dark again and so, the doves having already roosted, I fed the ducks and put them away, before stealing another half hour on my writing before tea was ready. Jam and cream scones (not the best recipe for slimming) but I had some fresh pears afterwards and the girls helped me eat them as usual. Then the evening typing my section on the Little Paxton field system into the computer, just managing to print it out and got Di to read it before bedtime. The papers today were full of financial scandals. Ivan Boesky, Wall Street’s biggest ‘risk arbitrageur’ has been discovered to have been doing his deals with the benefit of inside information and has agreed to repay $100 million (£70 million) in penalties to the US regulatory authorities. This comes after Dennis Levine, a Director of one of the fast growing investment banks, had been arrested for making $12.6 million insider profits and had revealed his connections with Boesky, to save his own skin. This also follows the news last week of the enforced resignation of Geoffrey Collier, the Securities Chief of Morgan Grenfell in London. There is speculation that the unwinding of speculative positions of other investors and loss of confidence in general in the USA and UK stock markets, could lead to a crash. Now the opponents of de-regulation of financial markets are on the attack. The teachers’ dispute has ended with the local authorities, plus 4 out of 6 of the teachers unions, agreeing to a deal, which is a majority of the Burnham Committee. After a weekend of silence from Kenneth Baker, interpreted as his decision to stay out of it, it now seems he has been taking advice from Thatcher and may still try to alter certain aspects of the deal. He wants the scales to be weighted in favour of Head Teachers and senior colleagues and the whole expenditure reduced. This would be the effect of a free market, as there are a lot of junior teachers out of work and competition for science and technical graduates. The briefings still give more details of the result of the US/UK summit meeting at Camp David. Besides ferrying Thatcher around the Camp David estate on a golf buggy, the Americans have given her the assurance she needed on the modernisation of UK Polaris and Trident nuclear weapons for its deterrent. This, in spite of agreement on the negotiating need for the end of intermediate nuclear weapons the halving of strategic weapons over 5 years and ban on chemical weapons. Agreed also to press for complementary reductions in the Soviet superiority of conventional forces. Reagan and his administration are in all sorts of disarray over the sale of arms to Iran. Public opinion polls have gone against him on the issue and Congress have him on the run. Now UK Land Rover are discussing the sale of 3000 vehicles to Iran and Ministers are ‘unruffled’ by this prospect. In Manila, two leaders helping Aquino with her reforms have been murdered and there are suspicions that Defence Minister, Enrile, is responsible. Israel has raided three more Palestinian bases near to refugee camps in the Lebanon, increasing still further animosity and hatred in the area. Expect more international terrorism soon rather than less.