Starting a windy but very mild day working with Daniel and Debbie on their homework and concentrating on Debbie’s tables until I let her join her friends on their bikes outside afterwards and then with Della on The Lady under its covers. Then to plan an expensive a half term break to Disneyland in Anaheim and take Di for a meal at The Swan at Bromham and to the cinema in Bedford to see ‘Blind Date’ as the Pope was greeted in New Orleans to the sound of a band play ‘When the Saints go marching in’!
Up at the usual time, even though it is the weekend, as Daniel still has to go to school on Saturday mornings. Debbie started her homework that she had been set. This did not last too long, as soon I got Daniel to set up the computer with a tables programme in the spare room and then Debbie sat at the terminal being tested and marked. Then Amy and Katherine came out on their bicycles in the Willow Close and we let Debbie go out and join them. I read the Investors Chronicle and then made some coffee and took the girls down to the summerhouse. It was a windy day, but very mild with it and it was pleasant enough sitting and drinking there. Di read the weekend section of the FT and marvelled at the country properties and then Debbie, Amy and Della played on The Lady under some covers that we had left there.
We decided to stay in this morning and Di took down all of our net curtains by the entrance doors and washed them – also ironing them and returning them by evening. Before lunch, we drove off to collect Daniel from the new Little Paxton Kimbolton school bus stop, then made our way to the Croxton Happy Eater for lunch. Better service there, now that the schoolchildren are no longer on holiday. Over lunch we discussed what to do as a family for the half-term. Daniel wanted to stay at home and Di to go away and the only compromise to be found was a week’s visit to Disneyland in Anaheim, USA, Dan’s favourite place, which will cost me a lot of money, but keep the family together. We dropped off in St Neots on our way home and picked up brochures. Surprisingly there are three companies that can do the trip on the exact dates that we require! This afternoon Debbie was bored and so I drove off and fetched Emma and Holly for her and Della to play with and they were quite good. Diana and I forwent tea, left the children to get one-another to bed, and went off in the Daimler for a meal and cinema trip to Bedford. We had trouble finding somewhere to eat in Bedford. Both the Moat House and Swan Hotel were being refurbished and their dining areas expanded, with an outing of French visitors in the latter for good measure. After touring the town unsuccessfully in the Daimler, I took Di off to The Swan at Bromham. This is an old watering hole of mine, where I used to take clients for meals in my Texas Instruments days. We enjoyed a nice meal of roast duck for me and gammon salad for Di. Back to Bedford cinema in good time to see the film ‘Blind Date’, which was quite entertaining, if a bit bizarre. Home latish to find the children had coped well, if Debbie had been a bit weepie without her stories. No time for the news tonight, but I did hear that the Pope was greeted in New Orleans by a brass band playing ‘When the Saints go Marching In’. The Liverpool fans in Belgium received their visitors today and were reported to be well treated.