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A cold morning with flurries of snow spent in my office organising meetings and then working on the pre and post-enclosure periods of Little Paxton history until the children arrived back from school when homework was the priority. Gorbachev is talking peace and disarmament and Reagan is being shielded from journalists due to his mishandling of the Reykjavik talks s another nuclear leak brings the Springfield plant to a halt and Kinnock is criticising Thatcher about tax cuts.
Slowly and reluctantly awake this morning and tried to lay in a little while, without success. No trouble in getting washed and shaved in time for breakfast and found both children out with untidy rooms. After breakfast I got straight down to work in my office for half an hour, before making a series of phone calls at 9.00am, when other peoples offices opened. Arranged the Range Rover repairs for next Friday in Bedford with Mr Pink; the Daimler repair in Cambridge tomorrow with Mr Hamblin; the Viking 17 cruiser demonstration in Walton-on-Thames for Friday also. Then I phoned Vinters to call off the litigation partner and then Paul Salvadori to arrange our appointment here for 10.00am on Wednesday. Quite a few arrangements, but all successfully accomplished in the end. The rest of the morning on the pre and post enclosure sections of my history and pleased to break for lunch at 12.30. A salad lunch, as usual, with ice cream to follow.
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A leisurely start to a frosty day in my office reading and writing and then laying the table with our silver and china for a fine roast dinner of lamb before helping Debbie with her advanced maths homework and then to find three nests of dove chicks struggling to keep warm in the cold weather. Begun will now be released after those protests, there is no news of Terry Waite, police in Belfast shoot women customers and a gangster armed only with replica guns and Labour are favourites to win the forthcoming Greenwich by-election.
Had gone straight to bed last night and slept very soundly. Reluctantly awake this morning, even after a fair lay in, but suggested to Diana that we forego our fried breakfast this morning, in view of our other eating opportunities. We had a normal breakfast of cereal instead. My hair was easier to control this morning, after having cut and shampoo it yesterday. After breakfast, I went to my office, sat in the large brown chair next to the south window and sat in the morning sun, first reading the Observer fully, and then catching up on yesterday’s journal, until coffee at 11.00am and, afterwards, the necessity of going out to feed the ducks and doves. After this, I borrowed Diana’s camera and drove slowly around Little Paxton, taking photographs of many of the buildings. This action must have looked highly suspicious as I received a number of strange looks. Home by 12.30 and in time to lay up the table with the best china and silver for lunch. A nice meal of roast lamb, which we all enjoyed. Daniel has become quite keen on doing the washing up, as he can listen to the radio at the same time.
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St Valentine’s Day – to The rest of the family with me in the Range Rover to St Ives today before calling in at Huntingdon to return Diana’s books and then collecting Daniel in St Neots for lunch before some more writing and then out with Diana in the Daimler to a Valentines meal at The Bridge Hotel Clayhithe and a trip down memory lane together. News today of more financial misdeed revelations in The City today.
A good night and then up and showered for my breakfast with the family. A slow start to the day, reading the Financial Times in some detail and then going out to feed the ducks and doves. A fine, misty rain has been troubling us recently and the air-stream is quite cold. Everybody into the Range Rover and we took off for St Ives for the general auction and antiques viewing. The Range Rover is still exhibiting the two small faults; brake warning light coming on unnecessarily and ‘klanking’ noise coming from the rear suspension when cornering. Parked and, I dropped into Ekins (now ‘Prudential’) to pick up the catalogue and have a quick look, whilst the girls went ahead and ordered the drinks from the cafe opposite. A nice refreshment and then resumed my inspection of the lots, as the girls went shopping at Magpie and other favourite haunts.
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More work on my Little Paxton history but Rosa Young’s manorial history contradicts that of Inskip Ladds and I take delivery of my new Daimler and drive Martin Hamblin back to Cambridge in it! I arrange a delivery of flowers and an invitation for Di to The Bridge Hotel Clayhill tomorrow night and make good progress supervising the children’s’ homework. The relief supplies for the Bourj el-Barajneh, West Beirut, Palestinian refugee camp do not get through and an Iranian envoy is shot dead and the family of imprisoned Jewish dissident Iosif Begun protesting in Moscow have again been attacked
Slept reasonably well and then woke up to find Di was elsewhere, letting the rest of the family have a lay in. Went in search of a cup of tea and then was ready in good time to have breakfast with the family, after washing, shaving and dressing. To my office and the start of a day’s work on the Little Paxton history. A large mail this morning, the remainder of this week’s computer magazines and a large parcel of papers from dear Mrs Rosa Young, who has obviously spent a lot of time and trouble typing up and presenting background information for Little Paxton history. The problem is that her perception of the manorial history is at variance with Inskip Ladds and there will be a big task to analyse all available information and present a considered view. Spoke to Marshalls of Cambridge this morning and arranged to collect the Daimler this afternoon.