With Diana and Daniel still suffering from colds, a brave start to the day down to the slipway to stop up a quay-heading gap as the river was very low today until Colin Howard arrived with my photograph copies and it was time to attend the Brownie’s Christingle Sevice at St Mary’s Church St Neots. Bombing threats in Dublin are causing tension, opposition Socialists are making strong gains in the Belgian elections, Bob Geldorf comes back from Africa reporting famines affecting five million people, after thousands of UK women were damaged by the Dalkon IUD shield, 2 ½ thousand million dollars into a compensation fund, the Pakistan cricket row rumbles on as another controversial umpire is appointed
Stayed up late last night waiting in vain for Diana to make the bedtime drinks, only to find later that she had slipped off to bed! This morning she had been brave and got up to make our morning drinks and look after us for the day. She has had a cold coming on – the third in the last few weeks – and is depressed and uncomfortable with it. I got shaved before breakfast, but had to wait to get showered and hair washed until afterwards. My breakfast was a nice fried one (more pressure on my diet!) I checked in both Observer and Sunday Times this morning, and the Daimler advertisement was in both. I then settled down to read both papers this morning, but only had one phone enquiry and that from a dealer ‘whose customer wanted that colour’. By midday, I had finished the papers and so went out to feed ducks and doves. A full company of anglers opposite this morning, fishing a match. The river was extremely low and so I went down the slipway in my wellington boots and plugged a hole in the metal sheeting that was not normally apparent.
The soil surface on our games lawn is crumbling nicely with the recent frosts and drier weather, and should be ready for turf laying next week. A little surprise as Colin Howard dropped by with the remainder of my outstanding photograph copies, but that is what the attraction of payment does for him! A nice lunch of turkey, bacon and Brussel sprouts, with pear halves and milk to follow. This afternoon, back to my telephone and desk, as Di took Debbie and Della to the Brownies Christingle service at St Mary’s Church, St Neots. They had their favourite carols to sing and all enjoyed it. The girls had played with Catherine and Amy for a little time today, but, not being a ‘Brownie’, Amy and family went swimming this afternoon. A difficult moment as John Law invited us all to the day long Evangelical Service next Sunday, but we had to decline. I have difficulty how anyone can go to an entire day and evening worship, when there is so much to do at Christmas. Debbie will go along to the morning service, to show willing. I worked on the photographs this afternoon and watched rugby and soccer on TV at the same time, but got no calls about the car. I think it is now too close to Christmas to make a private sale and there might well be economic problems ahead in the new year. Tea in the lounge all together. Daniel was at Steve’s house today and was back in time for tea, still nasally congested from his cold and sinus trouble. This evening Dan listened to the HiFi, Debbie practised her recorder and read Daniella a bedtime story and Di turned into bed early to try to shake off her cold. I have been OK today, but have still to finish filing these photographs. News today is of a bombing campaign score in Ireland. This time ‘Loyalist’ paramilitaries are suspected of planning Christmas bomb outrages in Dublin, in revenge for Enniskillen, but it may just be propaganda. In Belgian elections, the opposition socialists have made strong gains at the expense of the centre-right coalition government party. Two callous attacks here in England, as Mr Washington, an old man living locally, was attacked for his money and on the London underground at Brixton a woman was stabled to death with a kitchen knife. Internationally, serious clashes between Palestinian and Israeli authorities on the West Bank, particularly in the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators stoned Israeli army vehicles and many were hurt. In Soweto, the black township of Johannesburg, a black armed gang attacked black police in a van, killing two and wounding others, in action that was condemned by black leaders. Elsewhere, more peaceful protests took place. In Saragoza, Barcelona, Spain, where 40 people have died as the result of Basque Separatist ETA attacks this year, up to ¼ million people demonstrated by marching and having an open air meeting. In Poland, Solidarity, marched in Gdansk to mark the 6th anniversary of the declaration of Marshall Law in Poland. Bob Geldof, the Irish pop band leader of ‘Band Aid’, completes his visit of Ethiopia and Mozambique and reports of a major famine affecting and threatening up to 5,000,000 people. Additionally, a major massacre occurred in Mozambique today, as villages were slaughtered by rebels for food. Food convoys have been likewise attacked in recent months. The US company liable for the Dalkon Shield IUD for birth control, sold in the UK long after it had been banned in the US in 1974, has been ordered to pay 2 ½ thousand million dollars into a compensation fund. Up to 3700 British women were affected by hysterectomies and other damage to their bodies. As England TCCB officials travel out to Pakistan to handle the cricketing crisis, England Captain, Mike Gatting, considers backing out of the last test match. The Pakistani cricket authorities are rumoured to be fielding another controversial umpire, Shakeel Khan, who was the one responsible for all of the bad decisions in the first test match. A frosty, but dry, night is in prospect and I hope that my lawn bed is broken up by it all.