- Details
Suffering from a possibly-cracked rib and working with cold engine parts on a cold and snowy day but eventually getting the engine re-assembled before dark as it seems mine is the only complete 1939 model in existence. The doves are now tame and being hand fed as I try to isolate a stray usurper, Debbie still doing well with her horse-riding on Rumpold. Now the government are selling off the electricity industry with dogma winning over the logic of an integrated system as NHS protests continue. The USSR are withdrawing missiles from East Germany and US Secretary Shultz visits the West Bank
Slept reasonably well last night, but my chest is hurting from a possibly cracked rib and it seems to be getting worse. Snow on the ground when we opened the curtains after a cold and rainy night. Breakfast in good time today as I came down looking for my morning drink. Out to the Reliant quite early and suffered somewhat in the cold. It is really unpleasant handling freezing cold motor parts. This morning I was really biding my time, waiting for the postman to come. When he did he quickly put a packet card through the door and cycled off and I had to chase round the village to find him and retrieve it! In the end it was not the motor car parts I was awaiting, but only some very poor photocopies from Commercial Motor magazine. The rest of the daylight hours getting the engine reassembled and nearly ready to try starting it tomorrow.
- Details
Interesting interview with Mrs Beeson about the old Wray House and then more work on my Reliant van before Percy Meyer came round to see me and persuade me to stand for the Alliance at the forthcoming local elections. The Scottish health service is conducting a 1-day strike over privatisation and another clamp-down in South Africa takes place over anti-apartheid protests
A better night’s sleep, after the nights of recently. Awoke to a cold morning, with a chilly breeze and smatterings of rain and snow about in the air. I had planned to visit Mrs Beeson in St Neots and so I had to kick my heels for an hour or two before driving off to collect Frank Hall from Wantage Gardens and drive there. Diana was hostess to three families of children today, being their school holidays with their mothers needing to work. I dropped them off to town (St Neots) first, as they were getting restless, and then held my meeting. Mrs Beeson is in her 90s and a bit forgetful, but she helped me by lending a nice photograph of Wray House for copying. We stayed and chatted quite a while and then I took Mr Hall home and drove around Little Paxton on the way to see how it had been developed and to assess the remaining landmarks.
- Details
Feeling unwell but continuing work on my Reliant on the children’s first day back at school and then completion of my Wray house chapter reading for tomorrow’s interview with former resident Clarence Beeson as the Irish row over the RUC;s ‘shoot to kill’ policy highlights the premature release of one killer and Cardinal Tom O’Fiaich, the Roman Catholic Primate of Ireland, calling the death of Mr McAnespie murder
A poorish night, up and down to the toilet and still suffering from a sore throat as well. Had to be awoken from a sounder sleep this morning, as it came too soon. Still, got up quickly, showered and dressed in time for breakfast with the others, before the children set off for their first day back at school. I dressed in my old clothes and went straight outside to work on the Reliant. I first went underneath and secured all of the loose wiring and checked the starter motor brushes, which were OK. Then I started the process of removing the exhaust manifold and removing the valves with the compressor. A slow and tricky job, but accomplished before lunch. I then ground the valves in and replaced them by tea time. The weather was colder today, with the breeze rising, and so it was feeling too chilly to work on this evening.
- Details
It was a dry and calm morning with more colder and wetter weather forecast as I started buying Austin 7 parts for my Reliant before a lunch delayed by our prior feeding of our children’s friends and then an afternoon working on the Reliant, greasing all of the moving suspension parts between the scheduling of more Little Paxton history interviews. The aftermath of the RUC killing of an innocent man leads to problems for the Anglo/Irish talks, yesterday’s aviation ‘near miss’ leads to tightening of safety measures and Scottish Electricity will buy imported coal
A better night, but still woke a bit early. Showered, shaved and dressed in time for breakfast with the family and Daniel's friends. The post had arrived, but contained nothing of interest. This morning I sat in my office and studied the Austin 7 parts lists, put together an order, and telephoned the suppliers with it. Once Di got back from taking all the children swimming, I took the car to Huntingdon and the motor accessory shops. I bought a side valve lifter, a combined fuel can/tool box for the Reliant, and a dozen new style brake nipples to make the task of lubrication more practical. Then home to wait my turn for lunch, as the table was full of children; Daniel and his two friends, Gary and Steve, Debbie & Della and Emma and Holly! Di and I had to eat at a second sitting! This afternoon I worked on the Reliant, replacing all of the grease nipples and using the best part of a tin of grease on lubrication parts that had been neglected hitherto.