Slow start to the day and then to return to the task of balancing the swimming pool chemicals as a deluge of financial mail arrived before I requested further quotes for my conservatory idea, dropped over to Nigel’s for a magazine and then tutored Daniel in matrices and vectors as Thatcher returns with news of progress with Gorbachev over six meetings, a Brinks Matt bullion theft suspect is cleared, the NCB re-employ 135 Northern and Scottish miners and a Tory bid to re-introduce the death penalty fails in The House of Commons
Di woke me with my morning tea and ventured an explanation as to why I had been experiencing pain at the top of my thighs lately. She thinks it is due to stretching whilst getting in and out of Daniel's new boat and wanted to make me up in the middle of the night to tell me, but thoughtfully resisted the temptation. Dozed off again and was turfed out when Di wanted to make the bed and only just managed to shower and dress in time for breakfast. Daniel had cleared his room up, but Debbie had only just awoken and nearly cried when I asked her to. This morning, I returned to the job of cleaning out the swimming pool, sending Diana to get more chemicals so that I could maintain a very high level of chlorine all day. Even then, the green could only change to a light green/cream suspension by the end of the day.
A huge mail today of papers, circulars and individual dividend cheques from the host of TSB holdings that we have. Spent time reading through Kode and Jaguar annual reports and accounts and also looking further at my conservatory idea. I asked PGL to re-quote and also got two addresses from Nigel of traditional suppliers. An early tea at 4.00pm and then took Debbie to her horse riding. She was given Barbie again and was the most able and confident of the five riders, though she did have the easiest pony. On to Hail Weston, via the swollen ford, to collect a magazine from Nigel’s, ignoring the ‘Road Closed’ signs that are almost permanently on display and lose their validity. Tonight I tutored Daniel in matrices and vectors and then put the ducks away and updated my journal. A reasonably early night, after a day that did not dent my paperwork very much. The main news is of Thatcher returning after a hectic five day visit to the USSR, during which she and First Secretary Gorbachev met six times. The two leaders agreed to differ, however, on a range of issues. She met Andrei Sakharov and other dissidents at the British Embassy, but left early and made no photo calls, in order to avoid offending her Soviet state hosts. She will report to the House of Commons tomorrow and the judgement will be made on how much the visit has, a), changed the mood for arms control negotiation success, and b), elevated the Tories value in the public esteem. Mr Palmer, a suspect for the Brinks Matt gold bullion melting down process, was cleared in an Old Bailey trial and walked free. Scotland Yard’s fraud squad is investigating Tory MP, Keith Best, for multiple applications for British Telecom shares. The House of Commons is debating the Tory amendment to reintroduce the death penalty for ‘evil’ offences. The Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, spoke against it. Ted Heath, Roy Jenkins and others also opposed it and it looks as if this bed will fail. The negotiations for compensation of the ‘Herald of Free Enterprise’ victim deaths have started, with initial postures marked out. The Coal Board has re-employed 135 miners, dismissed during the coal strike, including many in the North and Scotland who had been more harshly treated than their colleagues in the South. England beat Northern Ireland in a soccer international, 2 goals to nil. In late news we heard that the bid to reintroduce the death penalty was lost by 342 votes to 230.