Buying scrap timber to make stakes for levelling the 100ft x 40ft games lawn area and the rest of the day working between light showers on the project with gardener Pete continuing to rotavate after a delayed arrival after I had repaired and serviced the machine for him. Daniel was allowed his visitor after completing some good essays as I supervised the children’s homework this evening and I was contacted about meeting the Liberal/SDP joint Chairmen about standing for the local elections. An incompetent Liverpool consultant incorrectly cleared many hundreds of cervical smear tests leading to several women needing serious surgery later, Oftel is unhappy with BT over lack of phone box repairs, the French National Front leader has cancelled her visit to the Tory Conference and more sanctions are imposed against Iran
Slept well enough and was well awake for my morning tea. Showered and dressed in good time for breakfast at last and so I oiled our oak wardrobe hinges, which now no longer squeak for the first time since we had it. Breakfast of wheat flakes, then out in my old clothes to look at the rotavator. The gardener had succeeded in losing another screw again and so I repaired the rotavator by replacing it. Also tightened some other screws which were loose and changed the 4HP motor oil for some fresh, as it was very black. No sign of Pete the gardener to operate it and so I decided to get some softwood and make up stakes for levelling the lawn. Di had taken the Range Rover again and so I took the Daimler and caught up with it in the Waitrose car park and swapped cars. Tried first at Tebbutt’s, but service was so bad I left and went to The Handyman instead. They had some scrap wood in a shed – 6ft lengths at 40p and so I loaded up and paid for 21 and also got 6 mahogany 6ft lengths for 50p at the same time, which is a bargain.
Back to Waitrose and was just in time to catch Di going off in a taxi. She thought I was not going to return and was worried about not having a Daimler key on her! Home and unloaded the wood and Pete arrived at long last. He rotavated, whilst I started making and placing pegs. I cut them 13” long, marked an ink ring around them 4” from one end and sharpened the other with an axe. Starting from the centre, I hammered them in using a 6ft plank and a spirit level to get the others level. Pete made heavy going of his job and I helped him a bit and so could only do about half of the pegs at 6ft intervals (it will need some 130 in all for the lawn size of 100ft x 40ft). Tea at 5.00pm and then supervised the children’s school work on and off, as I continued my pegging. Dark at about 7.30, after tending the ducks and doves – we are getting a steady 3 eggs a day now, as the ducks undergo their moult. Daniel and Debbie made a good attempt at their school work – essays especially and when I said to Daniel that he could have a visitor later, he was so pleased he hugged and kissed me for the first time in many years. I received a tub of clotted cream from my family in Devon today and had half with an apple pie at lunch and the rest with some strawberries tonight. Di was very disapproving, in view of the cholesterol. I heard from Michael Pope, SDP joint Chairman for St Neots area, tonight and he and Perry Meyer will visit me on Wednesday evening, the 7th October next and talk about the Council Elections and my candidacy for the Little Paxton Ward. News tonight is of Britain closing down the Iran arms procurement office in London. It was run from a front company office, but its use was well known as the source of 2/3rds of the state’s requirement. Also Sir Geoffrey Howe called for an arms embargo on Iran at the United Nations, but did so to empty seats, as the Iranian delegates had walked out. With reduced revenue from oil (whose price is dropped and volumes restricted by tanker attacks), the embargo will mean that costs of arms and spares will be increased on an international black market. The US put on a photographic display that they say are mines on the damaged Iran patrol vessel. They found three more in the sea, already laid, but think that three more were also launched. A case of widespread professional incompetence, as a Liverpool consultant, brought out of retirement, incorrectly cleared many hundreds of cervical smear tests and several women later needed serious surgery as a result. Dr Kathleen Lodge has no explanation as to why these cases were missed, but there is no training programme, or test of competence, for primary screeners. Jean –Marie Le Penn, French leader of the National Front, has called off his visit to a Tory Conference fringe meeting, so as not to embarrass Mrs Thatcher. An OFTEL report on British Telecom’s call boxes reveals that 25% are out of action at any one time, up 6% over last year. Terry Venables has parted company with Barcelona, after they had experienced a poor start to the season after several successful years. Today saw light showers locally that did not quite stop us from working and heavier ones are now forecast for tomorrow afternoon, after a bright start.