Canvassing today with Mike Pope and then welcoming Charles and Chrisula, who had come to visit who had come for tea, and taking Chas for a drive in the Rolls. The French Sealink crews return to work, but the ferry backlog is taking some time to clear. Six more Palestinians are dead at the hands of the Israeli troops. A new Church vs State controversy is in the making, as the Bishop of Durham, David Jenkins, describes Mrs Thatcher’s government as being ‘wicked’ with the benefit changes making the rich richer and the poor poorer in ‘morally wrong’ policies. A whole host of road deaths to mark the start of Easter.
Slept well enough and woke up early to get ready for breakfast in good time. Just plain cereal, as usual, and then I went to my office to sort out the mess and do a little financial paperwork before Diana left for St Neots. Then, later, Mike Pope arrived and we spent the morning sorting out the previous weeks canvass results and allocating the action items according to need. We decided against putting up the flag-boards today, as we should get help to do this from people less keen on canvassing and concentrate our own efforts on the most difficult tasks. Soon lunchtime. Percy Meyer had popped in for his canvass cards, but I was a bit short with him due to my disappointment over the lack of canvassing help. It seems that Michael Pope is the only one prepared to match the efforts that I am putting in. After lunch we rendezvoused and went canvassing again.
I took Sylvan Close and then Jubilee Close and St James’s Avenue, whilst Mike covered Park Avenue, until I joined him there. Home after and a cup of tea together, analysing the results. The returns are very positive, with the majority of people offering me support, which is most rewarding. Tea with Charles and Chrisula, who had come to visit and then out with Charlie to mow and roll my new games lawn. Strange that just one dry week after all that wet weather, the lawn has become very parched. The very dry and cold winds squeeze all of the moisture out and I will have to start watering the lawn soon. I then took Charlie for a drive in the Corniche convertible and we had the hood down for quite a while. The seats are quite shielded from the wind behind the vertical windows. This evening, I cleared up, rested watching the TV and writing up my journal. The news tonight was of the French Sealink crews returning to work, but still the ferry backlog is taking some time to clear. Six more Palestinians are dead at the hands of the Israeli troops. The latest opinion polls (MORI – Sunday Times) show Labour 9% behind the Tories on 46% and the SLD on only 8%, with the David Owen rump SDP getting 6%. A new Church vs State controversy is in the making, as the Bishop of Durham, David Jenkins, describes Mrs Thatcher’s government as being ‘wicked’, with the benefit changes making the rich richer and the poor poorer in ‘morally wrong’ policies. With the roads thronged with cars over Easter, there has been a whole host of road deaths.