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Working on The Lady off and on applying varnish to her sliding roof mountings after repair before buying and installing a protective tarpaulin. I was also helping local electors on a noise issue to do with a resident installing a plastic dome over their pool and still struggling with the Rolls Royce aircon. Today, their were global stock exchange falls as interest rates rise, 40 Burmese demonstrators killed in street protests and nurses pay increases are undermined by grading changes. Ken Dodd is on trial for tax evasion and a security guard and rescuer are knifed in a robbery.
Awoke quite early this morning and was ready for breakfast with the others. Dressed in working clothes to resume work on The Lady after breakfast. First tended the ducks and doves, as today was Pete’s day off, then got Daniel’s help to prop up the port side of the sliding roof again with two old oars. Daniel left with three friends for a day trip on the day-boat to Huntingdon. Di took the girls on her weekly shopping expedition for groceries. I started work preparing and then applying the first coats of varnish. First a clear coat and then a brown/mahogany colour one. Later this morning I spent an hour working on a local problem. A resident, backing on to Little Paxton Lane, has created a large pool dome cover, which is an eyesore to the people in LPL, also glows in the sunlight and amplifies the noise, which was evidently quite horrific last Sunday. Having been to see it last night, I had more calls today and spoke then to the Enforcement Officer of the Huntingdonshire District Council, who said that it had broken no planning laws. Then an Environmental Health Officer called round to see me after making a site visit and she will be talking to the owner to see if some voluntary sound and visual screening can be arranged. Once all this had finished, I returned to The Lady and was relieved that the weather had held up, despite the forecasts. Di home to get lunch, and then worked on all afternoon. By now, the new wood was blending in quite well and the bare wood was fully sealed.
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A trip in my Rolls Royce to Cambridge and morning coffee with Di’s parents in Eaden Lilley before meeting up with Rural Development advisers about investing in agricultural property and then driving to Wimpole Hall for lunch and back for a SLD meeting this evening. The Nurses pay talks break down, two Tornado jets crash into each other, killing four airmen, UN peace-keepers head off for the Gulf to police the Iraq/Iran ceasefire and Holloway prisoners castigate the 280 striking prison officers.
Awoke to find Diana had slept downstairs last night and then washed and dressed quickly to be early for breakfast. Gary Skinner is still staying with Daniel and also joined us for breakfast. Then half an hour in my office preparing papers, before we all got in the Range Rover for our trip to Cambridge. Arrived there at 9.45am and met Di’s parents at Eaden Lilley for morning coffee. I then walked up to Shire Hall to see Peter While about Rural Development, together with his boss, the Assistant Director of the department. It seems they might be able to help me financially and with advice on my plans to invest in agricultural property. Off by car again to Meldreth for some swimming pool chemicals, then on to Wimpole Hall, where we had lunch and then took the children around Home Farm.
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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.
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Another very warm day working on The Lady and then an evening taking the Howletts by my Rolls Royce to see Peter and Jean Wilmer to their house near Staughton for a good social event and SLD political discussion.
A good night and I was up quite promptly, having taken a swimming pool dip last night to avoid a shower this morning. I rather surprised Di at the breakfast table, as she had not finished cooking our normal Sunday fried breakfast. Then down to the river and to start work on The Lady. I propped up the port side of the sliding cockpit roof with two oars and then took off all of the mahogany sliding window trims, chiselling out quantities of the marine plywood that was rotten. This is the only part of The Lady that I had not renewed in previous years and I was glad to be tackling it at last. Tended the ducks and doves on a very bright and sunny morning, which was quite the hottest day that we had endured this year. Spend my morning and afternoon drinks breaks sitting under the large trees, with additional breaks for cold drinks as well. I put on a barrier cream to fend off sunburn and fared quite well. We had a nice chicken roast for lunch. Worked on until tea time, when I cleared up The Lady and swept it thoroughly of all the wood shavings. I had no tea, because today was the day that I had arranged to take Malcolm and Pauline Howlett to Great Stukeley to meet Peter and Jean Wilmer.