Trying to resolve Daniel’s ‘O’ level Mathematics conundrum with his Head of Maths, borrowing a primary School ’Peaks Maths’ book for Debbie to study and booking a box at the Cambridge Arts Theatre as legal immunity is granted for two Reagan aids to enable them to testify in the illegal aid to the Contra row, British Rail will have to shed 1400 jobs before privatisation and The Medina treasure ship has been found and its valuable contents being recovered as salvage
Slept well and was awoken by Di with my morning tea. Soon I was up, showered, shaved and dressed for breakfast. I took Daniel his cup of tea, woke him, and spoke to him about this question of his taking ‘O’ level in maths. He agreed that, with our evaluation of the syllabus, he could succeed and would try his best. Back to my office and spent a half hour writing and typing out a letter to Mr Petty, the Kimbolton Head of Maths, to press our case further. Breakfast and then Daniel went off to school with the letter to hand deliver and I went back to my office and spent the morning going through my action file of paperwork and implementing my outstanding items.
I had also to pay a number of bills and had two long phone conversations with Anglian Water, before they finally explained a complex series of actions that threw my water rates into total confusion. Arranged with Diana to book a box at the Cambridge Arts Theatre and invite her parents to join us for a forthcoming performance. Lunch of mackerel fillets and salad, then pears to follow and Della ate quite well, but had been put off a bit by being given some morning biscuits to take the edge off her appetite. More office work this afternoon and then Debbie came home from school and did two pages from her Peaks Maths Book No1, that Di had managed to borrow from Little Paxton School. Her horse riding was cancelled today, due to the illness of two instructors and the absence on jury duty of the third. A poor tea and even poorer eating habits from the children, which was a trial. Then to supervise Daniel's homework with extra maths. Mr Petty phoned today and suggested Daniel take two 2 ½ hour mock examinations, tomorrow afternoon and Saturday afternoon. The news today is of the granting of legal immunity in a limited way for the two Reagan officials – Admiral Pandexter and Colonel North – who were ex-National Security Council members who can tell of the degree of the Presidents knowledge and involvement in the aid illegally made to the Contras. The big four high street banks have cut their base rates by just half a percent, instead of the 1% anticipated, due to continued tight credit policy, orchestrated by the government. Building society interest reductions are thus delayed. The trial jury, considering their verdict on the murderers responsible for the death of PC Blakelock in the Tottenham riots, are adjourned for their second night of consideration. British Rail engineers will have to shed another 1400 jobs, according to the government, in what is seen as the ‘streamlining’ ‘necessary’ to prepare the organisation for privatisation. A treasure ship, the Medina, that was torpedoed in 1917, has been found as a wreck with its contained cargo of antiques, treasure, and gifts from the Indian Maharaja to the British Crown and efforts to salvage it continue. The government has increased the pay deal on offer by a further ¼ % to 4.6%, but it may not be enough to stave off a civil service strike and the civil servants will be balloted next week on their willingness to take the matter further. The Brinks-Mat bullion robbery suspect, John Fleming, will appear in a US court again this evening, to try to stave off extradition to the UK, but the delays seem to be about to end and he might soon be facing trial back here.