Nursing my foot as I visit Shaw’s auction in the rain and then take Di and the girls to lunch after her ‘supermarket trauma’ and then to a huge backlog of matters in my office as the dredger works itself along the bank opposite. The election concentrates on defence and the trade deficit in manufactured goods widens but is offset by services. John DeLorean is considering another project after his past debacle and the IRA is succeeding in intimidating builders and stopping police station repairs whilst customs officers widen industrial action over pay and conditions
Slept soundly in our own bed and was awoken to my morning tea by Di. Read the Kimbolton school magazine, which I had wrestled from Daniel last night, and found it most interesting. Much concerned over my foot injury and had a bath before breakfast to clean the wound. Down to the morning meal in my dressing gown and took some time afterwards to get ready to go out. Fed the doves and checked on the dovecotes. The largest of the chicks has survived and will probably reach maturity now. Two chicks by the river are dead, but another small brood on the wall-cote have hatched to give more hope. Let the ducks out and collected a half dozen eggs. The dredger is still working its way along the river bank opposite and is nearly at the downstream end of our plot now. We will soon have to move the boats. We then locked up the house and set off for St Neots in the Range Rover. The falling rain reassured us on the timing of our past week’s holiday. I was dropped off at Shaw’s Auction and took a good look around the produce and plant auction, but decided not to bid for anything due to the crowds of waiting bidders. Met Di back at the car, who had experienced a harrowing event at Budgens, the supermarket.
The conveyor belt had taken her credit card down under the cabinets and they had to dismantle the checkout to retrieve it, finding much money and litter there in the process. I took the girls to the Little Chef on the A1 at Little Paxton and we all enjoyed a nice meal and Di could recover. This afternoon I sat reluctantly in my office, wading my way through a huge backlog of mail, local and industry newspapers, removing press cuttings for Little Paxton in the process. Daniel was home early from his Community Service work at St Neots Oxfam shop and I went through his homework with him to chivvy him up. Tea of salad (I returned weighing 13st 5lbs this morning) and then I wrote up these last two day’s journal, before going out to feed the birds. I also took the opportunity to put up my Alliance election posters on the house and riverside land. In the news today, the election coverage has centred on the defence nuclear issue, with Mrs Thatcher attacking the Labour policies and harking back to the Falklands conflict and then David Owen weighing in again. Neil Kinnock answered these criticisms in a press conference, being prepared for once to depart from his chosen themes. The latest poll shows defence issues hitting the Labour party support with the Tories moving to a comfortable lead again, but this is one poll only. The trade figures published today show a surplus on current account for the fourth month running, but still a large deficit on manufactured goods having to be made up by invisibles. John DeLorean, the US car entrepreneur who went spectacularly bankrupt in 1979, owing millions to the UK government and other creditors, is on the point of reaching a compromise with his creditors and is considering another car project. A building firm in Northern Ireland has pulled out of a £6-7 million contract of maintenance and repair work, due to IRA threats and intimidation. Ian Botham, the England cricketer, has been questioned by police over a car park altercation, after the one-day test match the other day. Customs officers are spreading action to more parts in a dispute over manning and pay conditions. Watched the latest episode of the dramatic TV programme on the intensive care of premature babies. The specialists are trying to care for 23-week premature term babies and those of abnormally low birth weight, as they push the frontiers of post-natal care.