A huge play on the singularity of this date. Born at 18 mins past 8 on the 8th August 1988 Princess Beatrice daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Duchess of York. I was combining my carpentry work on The Lady with meeting my family trustees and financial advisers before cooling off naked in my swimming pool. Two men were killed in a machine gun attack by Protest ‘paramilitary forces’, and a bank interest rate rise hits the stock exchange valuations
The eighth day of the eighth month of nineteen eighty-eight! All day the media was full of plays on the number ‘8’. They even found an old gentleman who was 88 today. There is a town in the United States called ‘88’, which was ‘en fete’ today and so-called experts in culture, superstition and all else, prattled on all day. After my breakfast, I went out to brief Pete and then settled down to a day’s work on The Lady. I spent the morning chiselling away to make perfectly square and regular recesses and searching for matching mahogany ply to let into the gaps formed. As I chipped away, I listened to the radio coverage of the fourth Test Match and heard how England surrendered tamely to lose yet again to the West Indies. At 11.00am I broke off, changed, and took the family to St Neots (less Daniel, who went off with his boating friends). I had an appointment at Church Street to discuss my financial affairs first, with my accountant, Roger Brittain, and then with Gerard Chadwick, who had driven across from Cambridge. First, my own tax affairs, then those of the family and lastly, we discussed our investment policies for the children’s trusts and agreed to make a few purchases of ordinary shares. Hurried across after to meet up with the girls, who I bought lunch for at the burger bar.
Back to The Lady this afternoon and evening, when I glued in new marine ply sections and sanded off and shaped all aspects of the sliding roof to restore their shape and finish. Last thing this evening, I applied an initial coat of thinned varnish to seal the wood and start the painting process rolling. I will be away from the house for much of tomorrow and so I had to protect the work from the forecast showers and inevitable dew and mist. At dusk, I swam in the pool again to cool off and did not bother to use a costume, as everyone had gone. The pool was full of girls this afternoon, as first, Debbie had a friend, Helen, who came to see her. Then, Claire opposite brought round three friends and Daniel and his friends kicked themselves for being out at Jason Chamber’s house at that time, missing the opportunity to meet these girls. The news continues to be dominated by violent events in Northern Ireland. This time two men are killed in a machine-gun attack, perpetrated by the Protestant ‘Paramilitary forces’. A date of August 20th is decided as the official date for an Iraq/Iran ceasefire. Sebastian Coe is left out of the England athletics team for the Olympic Games. The bank interest rates have been raised by a further half percent, to 11%, which event set the stock exchange back on its heels, after early day gains. Later today (at eighteen minutes past eight, on the eighth day of the eighth month of the year, nineteen eighty-eight) the Duke and Duchess of York gave birth to a baby girl, weighing 6lbs 12ozs. The child is 5th in line to the thrown after Prince Charles (and sons, Princes William and Harry) and then after the Duke of York himself. The weather forecast is for increasing showers tomorrow to bring to an end this hot spell.