More outside work on The Lady and with dredging and quay- heading the moorings before Debbie’s 8th Birthday party this afternoon before I take her on an RSPB Paxton Pits bird walk. In the aftermath of the Local Elections, there is speculation on a General Election for 11th June, a huge bomb attack and gun fight on an Armagh Police Station leaves 7/8 IRA men killed and violent National Front hooligans have infiltrated a group of Chelsea fans
A late night watching the local election results and it was after midnight before I came to bed. Slept well enough, until woken with my morning tea by Di and Della. Had a bath yesterday evening (after getting my feet wet chasing the ducks!?) and so was quickly ready today and first to the breakfast table. Wheat flakes and plenty of milk, and then out to start work on The Lady. My last coats of varnish had been glazed by the cold & damp last night and so had to smooth it down with the abrasive block and allow it to harden properly. Put the rails back round the decks, tensioning them to be as secure as ever. Ended the day with another coat of varnish, in good time to dry before evening. It was a fine, warm & sunny day today, which made work slow, but Pete moved a lot more earth and Mr Larkin put a lot of wet dredging on top of them to drain and dry out.
He also tied back and anchored a lot more of the sheeting and prepared the inner part of the boat dock for the Kango hammer next week. Late this afternoon, 13 girls came for Debbie’s birthday party. Di had prepared the food and games for our back garden lawn and they all enjoyed it in the open air for the first time over the years. After, I took Debbie on the Little Paxton RSPB bird walk. We met the others at the gravel pit entrance at 7pm and did not come home until 9.00 pm. We saw about 30 species including heron, cormorants, willow & sedge warblers, nightingale etc. etc. Debbie wants me to take her again some time. Home, leg weary, to feed the ducks and lock up. To my journal, the news on TV and then to bed. News today is of a bomb and gun attack on an Ulster police station, 5 miles north of Armagh, where 7/8 ‘IRA men’ were killed, after RUC men retaliated with guns after a bomb blast. After the Local Election results, Thatcher retires to Chequers with her senior ministers to consider them and probably decide on an election for June 11th. The considered view gives all parties some cause for optimism. The Tories gain a Council few seats, the Alliance gain about 450, and Labour lose quite a few, but hold a high number of councils. The results point to a Conservative victory in a General Election, with a 50/60 seat House of Commons majority. The US Democratic Presidential Candidate, Gary Hart, ceased his campaign today, after a mounting number of revelations concerning his affairs with young women. A number of ‘National Front’ football hooligans have been connected with a ring of so-called Chelsea Fans at the centre of the violence.