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The whole family enjoying the swimming pool on a swelteringly-hot day with 9-year-old Debbie and her friend Amy running around naked in the heat and I was at last able to collect my Rolls Royce from Bedford. Some time working on The Lady, at last Iraq agrees to a ceasefire, 300 pilgrims die as a boat capsizes on The Ganges, computer failure at West Drayton disrupts air traffic and the roads are jammed with holiday traffic
A nice night with our French windows again, keeping cool as many sweltered. A fairly early start to the day, managing to get showered, shaved and dressed before breakfast. I started to read my paper, waiting for the meal, and Debbie kept running by naked with her friend, Emma. They are both nine and we will not be able to let them do that for much longer, as Emma is beginning to develop a figure. I went out and did some work this morning. I took the riverside garden gate off its hinges, secured the posts and turned the gate round the other way, so that access is much easier. After coffee, it was getting very hot in the sun and so I just watched the TV cricket. Today England threatened, but then fell away as the West Indies look poised to win the fourth game of the series. Close to lunch, I had not heard about the Rolls, and so I phoned Alec Norman Garages and then preceded a rush over to Bedford to collect the car, as it was ready. Another telephone call with Frost Conservatories made me late, as Charles Frost was giving me a lot of nonsense about no new drawings being needed and I had to change his mind. Back home for lunch and then more TV cricket after, until I eventually went down and cleared out the boat locker and started work. Emma & Holly came back late for a swim – Emma and Debbie naked again – but with this heat, you can’t really blame them.
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Taking Daniel and Della for a shopping trip to Bedford between sessions playing bowls games lawn; the bowls now being of multiple colours. Alec Norman garages was still working on my Rolls-Royce, I looked at buying a bicycle today and then collected Debbie from her day at the riding stables summer school. The IRA injure more soldiers in a German bomb attack, with Tom King breaking off his holiday to review these daily atrocities. Jordan has withdrawn any payments for West Bank work, saying it was now for the PLO.
Slept well, after retiring to bed with Diana for once. Although the night was hot and humid, we were lucky to have our bedroom with French windows and a through draft from windows at the other end. Di was up to wake me again, as Debbie was due to go horse riding again for her last day on the week’s summer school. Down to breakfast of boiled egg this morning and then an hour or two at home before our trip to Bedford. I scanned the morning’s papers and then went down to the games lawn and beat Daniel at 4-ball croquet. Remembered to pay Pete and Joan before we left and then went first to Great Barford, where our supplier of swimming pool chemicals seems to have closed down permanently, which is a pity. Then to Alec Norman Garages and I found the Rolls Royce still being worked on and now they have to call for sub-contractors to do an air-conditioning top up and have got to test drive the car. At Bedford, we bought Daniel a new pair of trousers and then had a salad lunch at Debenhams. It was very warm today and quite humid and these department stores cannot cope with the conditions and their shops are almost unbearable.
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Debbie was off by minibus to Whipsnade Zoo on Samantha’s birthday trip and we still had a succession of visitors to use our gardens and swimming pool before I played and beat Daniel and Gary at Croquet . This evening, my meeting to which I invited Mr John Leivers, Lands and Planning Manager for Redland to meet 40-50 local residents at the village hall and he was grumpy at first but warmed later. More IRA murders today and Thatcher struggled to justify her defence of South Africa repression on Australian TV and had to cancel her latest walkabout for fear of security breaches. The US as the Shuttle engine test was put off today after an engine valve failure.
Slept well and did not want to wake up for an early breakfast, which was needed to get Debbie off for her day trip. She was going in a minibus with some friends to Whipsnade Zoo, to celebrate the birthday of Samantha. It is the only trip that the poor girl is getting this school holiday, as her parents are not very attentive. Debbie was collected and brought back, but Daniel had a succession of visitors today. First, Holly came for the day to play with Della, then Gary this afternoon, when the three went swimming. Then this afternoon, Helen came by with her three children – Jenifer, Allison and Thomas, who all enjoyed a swim, even though Helen had hurt her back. I made some calls this morning to progress my Rolls Royce repair and conservatory plans, read the papers and mail and liaised with Pete over the gardening. Lunch and then the boys had me out setting up the croquet pitch and I then beat Daniel and Gary, 2 games to nil. I carried on in my office, going through the Little Paxton Aviary deeds and preparing the papers for their return to the owner, which is overdue.
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A relaxing end to a fine and warm day, sitting by the River Great Ouse on my riverside lawn after visiting Alconbury Weston for some new riding boots for Debbie who had won a rosette for successfully captaining a team at the school. Successfully collected my Hayter Harrier mower from Ibbetts and had half an hour bowling with Daniel and friends on our newly-cut games lawn. Northern Ireland Republicans mob Thatcher during an unwise ‘walkabout’ in Melbourne after the Aussies had advised against it. 143 white men in South Africa refuse to be conscripted saying they do not want to oppress the blacks and Mathias Rust, the West German who flew was jailed after flying a light plane into Red Square, has been released and repatriated.
As I write this evening, I am sitting on my patio by the still water of the River Ouse. The weather has been warm and fine today, with little or no breeze to worry about. I was out here this morning as well, after breakfast, reading my paper then and avoiding the children for some peace and quiet. It was chillier first thing, when I woke up, and I had to snatch back the covers which had previously been discarded with the warm start to the night. Di took Debbie horse riding this morning and then went on to spend until lunch shopping. I joined her after coffee and we drove up to Alconbury Weston together to get Debbie some more riding boots. She had become hopelessly too big for the old ones, which were not only hurting her, but almost too small to get off. I dropped them into her before lunch, so that she could spend the rest of the day in them. She was pleased to win a rosette today, as Captain of one of the two teams that won the prize at the school. She is always desirous to win anything. This afternoon, I mowed the games lawn and then went through the local papers for last week, taking out the Little Paxton press cuttings. It was my turn then to collect Debbie and I also dropped off at Ibbetts of Great Paxton and managed to pick up my Hater Harrier lawn mower, which was blissfully repaired for tomorrow’s lawn mowing. Tea and then a half hour bowling with Daniel and his friends, before they went off swimming at Ernulf with their girlfriends and I was left to make a couple of calls and attend to things of little consequence. Then to this riverside and my journal, after tending the ducks and doves.