Cutting, winching and fitting the storm drainage pipes on Election Day after which I stayed up to witness the re-election of Thatcher with a large majority and the end of many other respected politicians and the emergence of a large North/South divide
Slept well and got ready for breakfast in good time. A fine day to start with, but rain forecast for later. Out to the riverside and began moving the earth around to backfill the quay-heading downstream of the boat harbour, whilst watching for Mr Larkin to come to lay the pipes. He took some time finishing off at Marilyn’s plot and then painted her quay-heading in the normal colour. By this time Pete had managed to mow the lawns before the showers started breaking out. He then joined me and Mr Larkin when the latter arrived on his workboat to lay the pipes. He started to cut out a large circular section in the steel sheeting, but was thwarted by the rise in the river levels.
It also started to drizzle as we dragged across the unwieldy pipes and so we decided on lunch at 12.20pm to see if conditions would improve. After lunch the rain stopped for a while, but the river did not go down and so the hole had to be cut out further above water level. A long slog this afternoon, pulling, straining and lifting the pipes into position. Mr Larkin’s digger on his workboat also felt the strain and blew out its ‘O’ rings, much to his consternation. I had to go to Cosy Corner tool hire for a cutting disc and cut one pipe in half, as the dimensions of the channel could only take 2 ½ pipes. A winch was used to draw all three pipes together and make the seals effective, before clay and bricks held the assembly in place. Satisfied with the work, I paid Mr Larkin by cheque and let him go, offering to let my frontage be used for a reference in the future. After tea, I worked on until nearly 10pm at night, cutting the earth away from the storm drain walks and then evening out the ground. I took down my election posters from the trees and house and went in for a shower and hair wash, before settling down to watch the election results come in. I had voted at 8.30am this morning for the Alliance (of SDP & Liberal parties) but was disappointed to see this grouping losing half of their parliamentary seats, but even more devastated to see Thatcher being re-elected with a large majority. Sad to see the end of Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams, Bill Rogers, Clement Freud and many other respected and moderate politicians. Eventually went to bed about 3am, after the majority for the Tories was assured and after the leaders had commented on the outturn. One staggering trend was for Scotland, Wales, North East to sway violently to Labour, whilst the South of England becoming even more Tory. An acute trend in the North/South divide that stores up more trouble for the future.