Working outside varnishing The Lady and playing with Della on a sunny and warm day before a family lunch at The Anchor in Tempsford before home to tend the kids and get ready to join Lynne and Nigel Smith at our favourite place, The Three Horseshoes at Maddingly. News of Labour launching their General Election campaign, another IRA killing and another ferry incident, colliding with a fishing boat with the loss of three French fishermen
Another fine and sunny & warm day and I awoke to my morning tea and was showered and shaved in time for breakfast. Boiled egg and toast fingers to eat (for all except Di) then, after Daniel had set off for school; I went out to The Lady and folded back the temporary cover. I cleaned up the area of bare wood that I had been preparing and hardening and then applied a thinned coat and a full coat of yacht varnish. Read the morning mail and crop of computer magazines and then had morning coffee, sitting out on one of my steamer chairs, viewing the river scene. Daniella joined me outside and I then took her on the tree swing and she played a game of kicking me when she swung and I bent over.
She amused herself quite well this morning; Debbie had gone to Amy’s house to play and Di had stayed at home to try to catch up on her work. At 12.20pm, I took the girls out in the Range Rover down the A1 to The Anchor for lunch on the riverside lawns. I had a fine plate of barbequed spare rib and vegetables, and Di had the chicken & mushroom casserole. Dropped off in St Neots on the way home to buy items from Di’s new shopping list (she is planning the food purchases at last) and to let me pick up some sanding blocks and other items. Home just in time to pay Joan for their week’s work and then back to work this afternoon to apply another varnish coat. Then joined the girls in the back garden for afternoon tea. Set up the new bed-chairs in the back garden and the girls got out the modular framing and sand pit to play there. Later, I joined them in the pool. Amy had come back to play here and brought a couple of older girls, who I teased by splashing in the hot sun, until one of them was quite soaked. Teatime for the children and I cleared up the gardens and covered up The Lady for the night. A rush to get ready for our evening out & then we took the Daimler to Hail Weston House to collect Nigel & Lynne Smith for a meal at The Three Horseshoes in Madingley. A splendid meal and evening. The Smiths were as impressed as I was with the service, presentation and cooking of the food and this restaurant remains my firm favourite of all those that I have ever been to. Home late and no time for my journal, or the news, before bedtime. Today the Labour Party had launched their general election campaign and there were stories on the radio of another IRA killing and instability in Sri Lanka, Argentina and other places. Another ferry accident has occurred, a collision killing three French fishermen.