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The last of my earth shifting sessions on a warmer day after sleeping heavily with my cold and then to complete the paving stone walkway with Pete’s help and then a late morning swim in the pool to be ready to greet Charles and Norma who join us for lunch. I arranged a BBQ for Di and the children after they had left and then sat in the summer house writing and filing as the embers died down. The news tonight is of the ultimate escalation of the Iran/British diplomatic expulsions, unemployment falls to under three million as the stock exchange falls, another US newsman is kidnapped in Tehran and Gandhi loses a Haryana state election
Slept heavily with my head cold and was awoken after 7.00pm with my morning tea. Showered, shaved and dressed slowly, but still the first down to breakfast, checking on the children’s bedrooms on the way. Had a slice of melon, then of toast and marmalade, with apple juice to drink. In my old working clothes, out to the riverside to do the last of my earth shifting. Used most of the rest of the pile of topsoil to bed in a row of paving stones that extended the main path and steps down to the riverside moorings. Also got Pete to help me carry some paving stones down to complete the path right by the river and past our new moorings. In feeding the doves this last day or two, I note that our first Little Paxton ‘grandchild’ is doing well.
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A cool and mostly dry tiring day of hard work moving the last of the earth and clay, cutting back the upper bank to make space for a paving stone walkway and create the extra spoil needed before taking Debbie horse-riding and dead-heading the roses. Lower gas prices and mortgage interest rate today, four men jailed for a gold vat fraud and police in South Korea suppress a student riot with baton raids and tear gas.
A good night’s sleep, but still awoke with my head cold. Morning tea and then slowly showered, washed my hair, shaved and dressed, getting down to breakfast some 15 minutes late. The problem was that I was so physically drawn and stiff from yesterday’s exertions, that it was slow going indeed. A light breakfast of wheat flakes and fruit juice, then read the morning paper a little before starting work. Wearily out to the riverside. This morning I measured an even distance of 9 ft and cut back the embankments, re-bedding the paving slabs accordingly. This had the dual effect of tidying up the banks and also finding enough spoil for the area of the ground above the sewer pipe.
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A little fishing without success at each end of the first day of the fishing season and then most of the day moving earth after the recent dredging and then regulating the swimming pool chemicals and supervising Daniel’s French revision. The Liberal Leader, David Steel, has his colleagues backing for a merger with the SDP, the Treasury Civil Servants talks break down and ‘News on Sunday’, goes into receivership
Late to bed after watching TV and then disturbed further in the early hours when Della started running amok. Groggily awake to my morning tea, then quickly shaved and dressed, so as to get out for half an hour before breakfast to try some fishing. It was the first day of the season today, but the water is too coloured with the recent rain and also the dredging and I did not catch anything. In a bit late for breakfast, but still ate my boiled egg and followed it with cereal. The children off to school – they are getting more and more boisterous lately – then out to the riverside to try moving more earth again. This morning I did the extreme end of the downstream section, which was saturated with the overnight rains.
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Recovering from my exertions of yesterday and working on my financial summaries and tax return information instead whilst Daniel seemed to have managed his Maths exam paper today and then out to sink moorings posts for The Lady later and to get Daniel to return The Little Lady into the new boat harbour. Thatcher is completing more sweeping changes to her junior ministerial team, the SDP/Liberal discussions stall due to SDP reservations and Sgt Nathaniel Cush, a UDR members, is killed by car bomb in Ulster
Slept well enough and was off in search of Diana and the morning drinks again. Had a mug of tea in the kitchen and then shaved and dressed, having had a bath last night. Breakfast and then to my office for the working day. I was very stiff and tired from yesterday’s exertions and the weather forecast was rainy and so it seemed the best thing to do. I read some outstanding papers and then collated my financial summaries, so as to be able to send copies to Accountant and Solicitor. Then I started updating my copy with all of the transactions since May, which was quite a job. Reconciled my bank and building society accounts and then it was time for lunch. I was quite hungry and bored by now, preferring the outside work really. The rain was teaming down, saturating the ground once again and leaving pools of water everywhere. This afternoon I wrote letters to Roger Brittain, my accountant, giving information for this year’s tax return, paid outstanding bills and filled in forms. Decided to pop into St Neots before tea and did some building society transactions and bought some maggots as bait for tomorrow’s start of the fishing season.