The walk to the centre of Beccles after a better night for some shopping, back to The Lady for the cruise to the Waveney River Centre and where we went swimming and had hot showers, then on to Oulton Broad to moor where Daniel and I head for the chandlers for more and bigger fenders and then back for tea with the girls. The UK newspapers consider defying the SpyCatcher gagging injunctions, Britain decides not to send minesweepers to the Gulf, despite requests from the Americans to avoid escalation, Casper Weinberger testifies at the Irangate hearings and was against the whole Iran/Contra aid scheme, UK air traffic controllers complain of unsafe congestion in the airways and a Christmas Island nuclear test witness wins an appeal for compensation for contracting blood cancer.
Our best night’s sleep yet, from the moment we put our heads to our pillows until 7.00am in the morning. I put the kettle on and then Della was the first awake and in a much better state of mind and health. Our routine and then all ashore for a trip to the centre of Beccles. Got some nice video pictures of the girls before we set off for the town centre. We split up and Daniel came with me to visit Boots and electrical shops to buy more film for my video camera and a switch for his boat electrics. Back to The Lady and then off to the ‘Waveney River Centre,’ an hour’s cruise downriver near Aldeby. We went swimming and had hot showers there, which was very pleasant and refreshing and also all burgers & chips seated around the pool.
A dash at 6/7 knots to Oulton Broad, with Daniel back under his own power again (I had to tow him from Beccles to Waveney River Centre, as he had run out of fuel). On Oulton the wind was fresh and the waves choppy. A beautiful resort, which combines boating with many shore-based facilities and entertainments. After a little trouble, we moored with the other private boats along the outside ‘stage of the Yacht Station, then walked around Oulton Broad’s shops for a little while. Daniel and I patronised the Yacht Chandlers and bought some new and larger fenders for the boats, in keeping with the hazards hereabouts. Tea with the girls in a nice restaurant overlooking the moorings (called ‘The Moorings’). Then I went sailing in the Blue Peter dinghy and installed the fenders after. Worked until dark and was bemused by the sounds of water and wave motion that was to keep our boats mobile all night. The main news tonight is of the continuing reverberations about the MI5 Spy Catcher injunctions. It is still unclear what reports are covered by the MI5 Lords injunctions, but the Daily Mirror notes its determination to ‘publish and be damned.’ In Scotland, the Glasgow Herald and Scotsman will both be publishing certain reports, but avoiding the repetition of specific allegations, to adhere to the letter of the law. After a degree of speculation over British participation in the Gulf, Britain has decided not to send a fleet of minesweepers in order to avoid ‘further escalation’, in spite of requests from the Americans to assist. The Americans have to rely on helicopters. In Geneva, the USSR has presented their plan for halving long range nuclear missiles, with the selections of 6000 each as target totals. US Defence Secretary, Casper Weinberger, testified in the Irangate hearings and was critical of the Iran/Contra arms deal and said that he was against it and it went ahead anyway. After a recent series of air accidents and near misses, air traffic controllers are said to be frustrated over lack of manning levels and equipment resource. A witness of the Christmas Island nuclear tests has won an appeal to be compensated for contracting blood cancer and has successfully sued the government accordingly. More inefficiency in the City of London over the backlog of share settlements and climax of privatisations. Tomorrow’s weather is forecast to be warm, bright and breezy and we shall go to the beach to keep the children happy. It has been mostly dry, warm and humid today and the boats have been a good place to be.