Arrival of a very Noble Rocking Horse on a very wet day after shopping in St Neots and paying for £45K of savings certificates by cheque before the girls came back to enjoy their new arrival. The loveable TV and farming personality Ted Moult shot himself today, after a poor harvest, the TUC calls for a statutory minimum wage, Britoil axes 750 more staff and my private placement EHP shares acquired for £18,750 are now worth £60,000
By now getting into our normal school term routine – up to breakfast by 7.30am and then Di taking Debbie to school. Unfortunately, it poured with rain as they were walking there and Di got quite wet on the round trip. In the meantime, I was getting right ready, because we both had some chores to do in St Neots. Just time to feed the doves, before we bundled into Diana’s Escort Estate and drove off to park in the Priory car park. Morning coffee at Tooks and, after the girls had left, I settled down for a while to complete the National Savings application forms, with their agonising detail. To the post office, where I presented them with a cheque for £45K, which somewhat took the counter staff by surprise, as they had never taken a cheque of that size before.
On to the building societies to balance my accounts afterwards and then to the hardware shop for some paint. An 11.00am rendezvous at the car with Di, before home soon after. Not much time to do anything before lunch, but settled into my office after to write up today’s investment transactions. Di phoned the builder to call and look at the cracked wall (which they did not) but Ian Armstrong, the rocking horse restorer, arrived with two 1880/1890 restored models to choose from and Diana chose the larger. A fine work of art and practical toy, which we promptly installed in the link building upstairs. Debbie was soon home and she and Della really enjoyed the horse, which they call ‘Noble’. More office work until evening, updating my computer investment summaries, but I had time to read Debbie a Country Companion and give both girls another turn on their new horse. News today is of the police searching for the killer of the strangled family, looking in particular for their former handymen, George Stephenson, sacked for drunkenness earlier last month. Ted Moult, a former radio and TV ‘farming personality’, shot himself today at the age of 60. The TUC Conference voted for a statutory minimum wage today and BRITOIL are due to axe another 750 more staff. The South African government has re-imposed the draconian press censorship laws, after the courts had annulled them on a technicality. Now journalists are not allowed ‘within sight’ of any unrest, restricted gathering or security force action. British Telecom are increasing rental and connection telephone charges from November, in spite of high profit levels. The barometer has been rising sharply today and, after some strong gusts of wind and showers lately, we should get a few warm and settled days at last. The European Home Products offer for sale details are published today and my investment last December of £18,750 has become £60,000 already!