A slow recovery this morning after tending the ducks and doves with Debbie and Della and then some elevated house painting with a necessary recovery by way of a swimming pool dip before an evening relaxing and watching a film until it had to be ‘terminated’ as terrifying us! Another atrocity, this time in Turkey, where terrorists killed 21 in a synagogue, more tension in South Africa as The Archbishop of Canterbury enthrones Desmond Tutu as the new Archbishop of Cape Town and here, in Horning, the otter hunt passed by along The Hayling Way
A lay in after the alcohol and late night, but at least I remembered to drink a pint of water last night to ward off dehydration. Some time to persuade Di to get up and make the drinks, but she did eventually. Wrote up yesterday’s journal before breakfast and then, as it was still not ready, I took the opportunity to shave and then go for a refreshing swim in the pool, before getting showered and dressed. Another slice of toast and marmalade for breakfast, then settled down to read the Financial Times. Out to the doves, who are now acclimatised to the new feeding tray and I took Debbie and Della out with me to see the birds.
They each took some duck eggs back to the house and then I made them play in the back garden, whilst I resumed the painting of the garage. Soon it was lunchtime and I took the family to the Happy Eater. Gary had come over for the day and came as well. Back to it again in the afternoon and, by tea, I had finished the outer garage and then spent this evening working on the same boards on the outside of the house. A much more difficult proposition, up very high and not feeling very secure. Just finished preparing the western gable and applied the first coat before dusk. The boys were playing in the pool tonight and, now that Daniel has forgiven him for deleting his computer games, Paul was allowed to join them. Put everything away and locked up and then started watching TV. A tremendously gory space film, called Saturn III, with a clever robot on the loose, terrorising all and sundry by trying to kill them. In the end, I turned it off, as the film was terrorising us as well! News tonight is of the aftermath of the Palestinian hijacking, with much recrimination over what precipitated the carnage. The details are emerging of the events that led up to the disaster. But even this is now upstaged by another atrocity – this time in Turkey, where terrorists posed as photographers and attacked a synagogue in Istanbul, killing 21 people. Machine guns and grenades were the weapons again. Tension and anticipation is rising in South Africa, as Dr Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury, arrives for tomorrow’s enthronement of Desmond Tutu as the new Archbishop of Cape town. After the recent excessive violence of the authorities, we wait to see what they will do to react to a large religious ceremony. Sussex county cricket club win the one day final at Lords, to end the cricket season for the most part. I am expecting another fine day tomorrow, so that I can get on and do more house painting. Today a large number of hunting dogs and handlers went by on the Hayling Way. They were all dressed traditionally and most had long forked sticks and one a spade. I think it might have been something like an otter hunt, but we have never seen the like before.