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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.
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Working outside on The Lady and taking Debbie horse-riding on a cold day after Diana’s traumatic night as Mr Larkin arrives to work after a road delay and Daniel works on his chemistry prep. former Prime Minister, Sir James Callaghan’s plea for an MI5 enquiry is controversially rejected by Thatcher, the new defence budget tries to accommodate Trident, Millions of South African blacks boycott work on whites-only polling day but UK teachers’ unions will not stop this summer’s exams
Slept well and awoke early, going to the en-suite before my cup of tea arrived. It had been a traumatic start to the night. Diana had been watching a sad film and had gone to bed in tears. Down early for breakfast, to eat a boiled egg and toast, but nothing else (the children had cereal afterwards). Out after to The Lady at 9.00 am when Mr Larkin arrived as well. He had been delayed an hour in Huntingdon by an overturned lorry and was exasperated. I cleared off the excess mastic from my latest securement of rubbing strake and then applied a coat of coloured varnish on to the gunwales and it was time for lunch. The day had started sunny and pleasant, but it got a bit cooler as the day wore on, but with little wind, and ideal conditions for working.
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More effort today scraping and sanding The Lady as Mr Larkin proceeded with the river frontage work. The US ‘Irangate’ hearings have begun with its first witness Major General Richard Secord and, on the eve of the South African ‘all-white’ polling day, there have been black protest strikes, expulsions, and stoning attacks, which have involved an estimated ½ million blacks
Slept well and awoke quite quickly to my morning tea, getting to the table with the others for breakfast. Just cereal and fruit juice, then out to The Lady in old clothes to resume my task of scraping and sanding the other half of the starboard toe rails. Interrupted by the progress of Mr Larkin, who wanted dry material put down behind the camp-shedding, so that the wet dredging silt could dry out on top. Got Pete to barrow a quantity of clay clods, then helped him bring across all of the old stumps from the riverside land clearance and put them in as well. Larking was welding sheet anchors to secure the piling and also did a little dredging as well.
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May Day Bank Holiday – Carrying on with my work on The Lady as Diana first took the girls to Standalone Farm this morning, then Debbie to get her Kimbolton uniform before I joined her family after they arrived for tea. In South Africa a defiant P W Botha delivers his last speech prior to next Wednesday’s all-white election as police break up demonstrations, Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr Rashid Karami, has resigned, The newly refitted Queen Elizabeth IInd passenger liner has finished its first voyage since the alterations but had to compensate passengers for the disruption
Slept well enough and awoke to my morning drink of tea on a bright, if windy, day. Soon up, showered, dressed and down to breakfast, but was the last person to the table and had to get some wheat flakes, as the rice krispies were all eaten. Daniel off to school, then I went out to The Lady, after wrapping up in two jumpers, hat and anorak to brace myself against the cold wind. Even then the prospect was not an attractive one, but I got started nevertheless. More of the boat-dock bank had collapsed in the night, but in the same place as before. I started by resuming the task of scraping and planing the starboard gunwale, removing another section of rubbing strake on the corner to make the gunwale easier to get to. Coffee at 10am, then Di took the girls down the A1 to Letchworth to see the animals at Standalone Farm. Debbie fed a lamb from a bottle and they all liked it there.