A good gathering of supporters to paste and put up our election flag boards today and hear the latest statistical analysis of canvass returns so far which has me winning easily. A late night repairing damage to them by antagonistic locals which I decided not to succeed. The Israeli forces assassinate the deputy leader of the PLO, Abu Jihad which leads to immediate and widespread demonstrations, violence and uprisings in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, with 10 Palestinian camps put under curfew. 12 people were killed and more than 90 injured by troops trying to subdue the stone-throwing. A horror story emerging from Kenya, as nearly 200 people are claimed killed by cattle rustlers in raids on 30 homesteads.
Quite a good night’s sleep and then got up and dressed ready for a long day’s activity, for today was the day for making and putting up my election flag boards. I decided to have my first swim of the new season before breakfast. The day was milder today and pool temperature up to about 78/79degF. The children joined me after their meal, but we could not tempt Diana in yet, for love or money! To my office, after tending the ducks and doves, and I was clearing up the debris when the others arrived. There was quite a gathering – Michael Pope, Percy and Mrs Meyer, Moira Biggins and Andy Hamilton and we first heard the latest polling day estimate from Moira, based on keying the canvass returns in – it had me about 200 votes ahead, after applying the Richmond formula, which is an easy win, but we must not be too complacent. It was raining this morning, which was no problem to us and we all turned to and started pasting up the flag boards.
It was soon evident that we should need some more and I successfully persuaded Robin Mathew of near Caxton to come across and deliver a lot more, which we did before lunch. Some 6 for Andy, 3 for Malcolm, 10 for Percy and then some 35 or so for me of the flag boards and fifteen of the plain hardboard squares for flat surfaces. I took my family and helpers off to Little Paxton Little Chef for a quick lunch and then we were back to it. Michael Pope and I went out with batches of boards for erection and Moira & Mr & Mrs Meyer painted black margins on the drying boards. We worked all afternoon until 5.30pm and ended up with the following erected; 23 in Paxton, 3 in Southoe and 2 in Diddington, which made quite a show. Home to tea and then this evening scanning the local papers. At 9.30pm, I thought that I should go and check on my boards, because, being Saturday night and the first day up, they would be prime targets for local vandals and Tory bovver boys. I found the boards intact and also those at Southoe, but I was making a last round of Paxton village before turning in and I found three kicked over and the posts broken. I decided to repair them there and then, so as not to give the youths encouragement and to avoid my site owners being intimidated. I then toured the village for the rest of the evening, until the pub closed at 11.30, to keep an eye on them. I may have warded off further attacks and suspect that a cycling youth or motor cyclist is the culprit. To bed late, after a milky drink, but satisfied that I did the right thing. I shall now tour at 8.00am each morning to repair the previous night’s damage and keep on top of it. The news is of the assassination of the deputy leader of the PLO, Abu Jihad, and most people suspect a joint operation by Israeli Secret Service Mossad and commando units. US TV network NBC also claim that the Israeli Prime Minister and his Deputy knew and approved of the plan. There was immediate and widespread demonstrations, violence and uprisings in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, with 10 Palestinian camps put under curfew. 12 people were killed and more than 90 injured by troops trying to subdue the stone-throwing. The hijacked Kuwaiti airliner is still in place at Algiers and the Kuwaiti owners are pressing the host government not to let the plane leave. The hijackers have explosive charges at the exits and on the fuel tanks and are most thorough in their defences against it being stormed. A horror story emerging from Kenya, as nearly 200 people are claimed killed by cattle rustlers in raids on 30 homesteads. Some 400 rustlers, said to be from neighbouring Sudan, were responsible and security forces killed about 40 as they approached the border!!! Three men and an accomplice have been accused of murdering policeman PC Frank Mason, who tackled them during a bank raid in Hemel Hempstead.