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A day dominated and distracted by the conservatory builders activities but this evening watching Debbie in the Kimbolton School Pantomime. Gorbachev announced huge Soviet conventional arms cuts, The Armenian earthquake kills thousands, Mandela refuses privileges and Roy Orbison dies, aged 52
Slept well but was waiting for my morning drink and had to go searching for it. Typed out a lot more letters to printers in search of a quotation for my book printing. Then the builders arrived, and the rest of my day was seriously disrupted and distracted. They barrowed in a yard and a half more gravel and it was too small and too dirty and it took the rest of the day to wash in the pond. We switched on the circulation pump and later, the sand filter. The builders tiled round the shelf and plaster the door reveal and a few other small jobs. The plumbers were back, connecting cold water to the conservatory but were delayed on the underfloor heating installation by lack of plant and then a leak in the pipes which meant raising the floorboards again. This evening, Di and I went to the watch Debbie in the Kimbolton School Prep pantomime. They all did very well Mr Hunter playing the Dame. The main news this evening was of the Soviet Union cutting its armed forces, tanks, artillery and warplanes as a conventional arms cut. Gorbachev announced the measures as he visited the United Nations in New York.
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After trying to progress my building work and seeking permissions for content to be published in my book, I hosted a meeting of Mill Lane residents with Mike Pope to hear of their concerns about Paper Mill expansion and to forward these to our respective councils. USSR leader, Gorbachev’s, visits outgoing US Pres Reagan and incoming President-elect Bush, the preoccupation at Westminster is of the new Anti-Terrorism Bill provisions of detention without trial flying in the face of the European Court of Human Rights, Edwina Curry is in even hotter water over her egg claims and Morgan Grenfell closes its market-making business shedding 450 people.
I awoke early again this morning and showered, shaved and dressed so as to get to my office for half an hour before breakfast. Unfortunately, Di is not used to this and I did not get a call for the meal and so my only company was Della as I ate. I checked my conservatory this morning and my fan heater seems to be drying out the concrete floor quite well and so I chased the builders to try to get the floor contractor back for Thursday or Friday. I spent the morning preparing the contents of a letter and list of addresses to contact all of those people who had supplied photographs and other material my book to ask for their permission for publication there-in. After lunch, I changed and took Michael Pope, the County Councillor, along with me to a meeting of the residents of Mill Lane. Just about all of those residents met at the house of Mr Roberts at number 12, to examine the plans I took along for the proposed St Neots Paper Mill expansion.
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Progressing my history book and conservatory/pond projects, dealing with the problems of both and then attending Pathfinder House for a four-hour Poll Tax Seminar which was revealing its cost and complexity of introduction. The latest Ulster trial, this time of an extreme Protestant, the Gorbachev/Reagan goodbyes and more on the Edwina Curry ‘egg row’
I was awoken early this morning and responded well to the call, putting in half an hour’s work at my desk before breakfast. After this, I resumed work on the standard letter to be sent to the fifteen possible printers for my history book, whose names and addresses I secured from other similar books and yellow page directories. I was much interrupted by the antics of the builders. The tiler arrived to find the floor much too damp for timing. It seems that the brick planter on top of the far section had led to the dampness from the mortar permeating back into the floor. He had to go away to do another job and we are hoping that the floor will be dry and that he will be free by Friday so that we can get the job done then. I also spoke to Frost & Co to chase them up on the remainder of the work, but the fitters will not come to do the vent mechanism until next week.
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I was cleaning our cars with a reluctant Daniel on a dry day with a cold wind this morning and then working on the conservatory this afternoon and resting, quite tired, afterwards. Thatcher is still arguing with the Republic of Ireland over the Ryan extradition and the vegetarian Society protesting today at the opening of the Smithfield Livestock Show
I tapped Diana on the shoulder at 7am this morning to get going but it was 7.45am before she brought my morning tea and I was already wandering about by then. I was showered and shaved in time for my breakfast of fried bread, egg, bacon and tomato. Then outside with a reluctant Daniel so that we could spend the morning cleaning the Range Rover and the Rolls-Royce. I managed a few other jobs before having a 30-minute rest before lunch. This afternoon, I worked on the conservatory, taking off the side door and fitting an alarm contact and two security bolts. Then I chased out a square hole in the wall with cold chisels and fitted a wall electricity socket passing the wire through for the electrician to connect when he is next here. Quite tired, I had only enough energy to clear up the lounge before having a shower and hair wash to freshen up.
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