Some attention to my Daimler myself after much neglect on a breezy day, not trusting it to others, as Daniel has several of his friends visiting and wanting lunch and then they invite two local girls to join them and Debbie resumed her horse-riding for the first time in five weeks. The Gulf tanker carnage has necessitated the UN Secretary General to intervene to seek peace as Japan withdraws its tankers, Lloyds have paid out over £1Bn already. The Burundi President has been deposed, Hungerford Mass Murderer Michael Ryan is cremated and the public use of semi-automatic weapons dies with him due to a new ban
Late with the TV athletics highlights again last night and so laid in this morning until 7.15am and had no chance to fish. In fact, there was a strong breeze and so would not have been able to fish very long anyway. Did the ducks and doves and then checked on the Daimler. The battery had charged up well enough, but was looking very dirty. Pete was cutting the lawns and Daniel’s friends were beginning to arrive, also I wanted a good job done and so I decided to vacuum and wash the car myself for once. First the cleaning of the inside and boot with the hoover, then the washing of the outside with a sponge and bucket of slightly foamy water. There were numerous dead insects ‘welded’ to the front, as we had collected them during our trip to the East Midlands on the way to Caithness.
It took several attempts to soften and remove these remains. Then it was time for the hose and soft brush, to leave clear water so that when I used a clean leather to dry and polish the result, the surface was clear and without marks. I only just had time after to wipe around the inside upholstery and windows before finishing. It took me 2 hours and I could not have got the gardener or Daniel to do anywhere near such a good job. I put the car away and then went to my office with the small TV on my desk and watched today’s athletics, whilst I started typing in alterations to my investment summary. Soon it was time for lunch. As well as Gary, we had Jonathan Bloom and Paul for this meal (!) but at least Debbie went to Amy’s house to eat lunch in return. This morning Della had gone there as well and stayed for half an hour to play with Katherine. This afternoon, I carried on watching TV athletics and completed keying in my data at the same time. Britain won 3 more medals today to bring our total so far to 2 silver and 2 bronze, but Daley Thompson is only third after day 1 of the decathlon. Tea at 5.00pm and then I took Debbie for her first hour’s riding for 5 weeks and she did very well. Riding Barbie, with a ride of competent riders, she did well and earned a mint surprise. Home to find Daniel and friends in the swimming pool with two local girls, which was a surprise. Time to feed and put away the ducks and doves before watching the end of the athletics and typing out today’s work. Debbie was a bit weepy again tonight – a pity. News today was of the UN Secretary General, Mr Perez de Cuellar, going to Iran & Iraq on a mission to try to get peace in the Gulf War. Overnight there were many more attacks on tankers and supply boats and now the US seems to be more willing to support the UN initiatives. Also Iran seems to want an end to attacks on oil tankers needed to transport their essential exports, though it seems that they are also planning a ground offensive this autumn. Japan withdrew their tankers from the Gulf for two days after being hit by the crossfire. Meanwhile Kuwait & Iran are now exceeding Opec quotas, which is why Iraq has ceased its ceasefire on oil installations. Lloyds Insurance Underwriters have paid out £1 billion in claims since 1980. Wiltshire police are bidding to extend detention of men accused of mounting an attack on NI Secretary, Tom King’s, home. British Coal has made concessions towards the miners in respect of the disciplinary code. An enquiry looking into the Middlesbrough child abuse row has heard stories of overcrowding at the local hospital trying to look after the numbers of children under care. The President of Burundi, in South Africa, has been deposed whilst out of the country. The gunshot mass-murderer, Michael Ryan, has been cremated in Hungerford to a small group of relative mourners. After the incident, many police forces have refused to issue or renew licenses for semi-automatic weapons and the Home Office is considering changing certain of the gun laws. Today’s weather was warm, but dull, with showers this afternoon. Wet & windy weather is forecast for the weekend, but East Anglia should get the best of a poor job tomorrow anyway.