After our normal visit to Bedford today, my talk to St Neots Local History Society this evening as The Labour Conference ends with surprising unanimity and strict security if being planned for its Tory equivalent next week
Slept well enough and was up in good time for once. A simple cereal breakfast again and the children went happily off to school, with Debbie carrying a hopelessly heavy suitcase. Reviewed today’s mail for cheques and other awaited papers and then we set off with Della for a morning’s shopping in Bedford. We had previously paid Joan and Pete for their week’s work, so we could stay out quite late. Counted our coins, so that we scraped the 60p to park in the Luke Street car park and then walked off for coffee in the furniture shop. I checked with the General Manager and they had received our new bedhead, which we could collect later on.
Spent most of the morning going to the Building Society and main Post Office for our financial transactions. Such queues and complications that are surely unnecessary. Looked around for a barber, but only found one female/male unisex saloon (with only women in it!) and another barbers full of Italians. Three cutting, as many in the chairs being cut and as many again waiting. What a grotto! Lunch in a sweltering cafeteria and then home via St Neots for a nice hair shampoo and wash. This afternoon preparing my speech material and then off to deliver the speech tonight. The talk went down well and was appreciated, but a rather hasty departure due to bad Chairman/Caretaker reaction. Home in time to have my drink and update my journal. News today from Fiji. General calling himself a reluctant leader and still claims loyalty to H M The Queen, but his actions speak otherwise. The Labour Party Conference ends with surprising unanimity and it does seem that a defence review is on the cards, along with other policies. Massive security arrangements ahead of next week’s Tory Conference and a spate of leaks and announcements from Government Ministers arise to upstage the end of that of their political opponents