Back at home reviewing my investments, the work on finishing my new Games lawn and researching more Rolls Royce cars and ending up at loggerheads with Di as I wanted a 1920’s tourer and her the Corniche convertible! Then taking Debbie riding on a cold but sunny day and she looked very smart in her new riding gloves, boots and jodhpurs. Nurses strike for the first time in their history over salary cuts, an outbreak of Meningitis is down-played and more Secret Service memoirs are suppressed
Was rather restless last night, awaking early, and this cast a tired shadow over the rest of the day. Had a cereal breakfast and then, by radio broadcast, was conscious of the last two day’s stock market performances. The exchanges are so positive at the moment, when, by my instincts and judgement, they should be collapsing. The Japanese authorities have rigged the rules on institutional liquidity. It used to be that they had to value investments at the lower of cost or current value, but now it can be the higher, which is most risky. The result, of course, is that investors borrowing on the margin can stay in rather than liquidating, but the dangers are obvious. Out first to see Pete and brief him on the work on the games lawn. Two edges are now finished and he has now to do the other two. Then I scanned my City SEAQ data and phoned my stockbrokers with sell orders on British Aerospace and Bank of Scotland and spent much of the day fretting on the outcome. I also telephoned several Rolls Royce dealers about Corniche Convertibles and 20HP open tourers. I am getting more and more hooked on the latter.
I have now learned that they are built by wood and panel coachwork onto a heavy iron chassis and interconnected by an aluminium clad timber base. The original coachbuilding is preferred to any more recent replacement with a replica and the coachbuilders, Barker, Hooper and Mullmeaux are considered best, with Park Ward, Hollingdrake, Harnshaw etc being considered dull. The Barker Barrel is acclaimed as the best. Replica types can be picked up for less than £30K, second-line originals in the mid £40sK and the best for any conceivable price. Later today Di and I had quite a distressing discussion over what we should have, with Di being dead against a 1920s vintage car and preferring the Corniche. Quite a problem, as our personalities and interests differ so much. It is only because we are so ‘nice’ that we live together, I am sure! This evening, I took Debbie horse riding and, thank goodness, our Range Rover was back, repaired and satisfactory. The garage had collected the car, left a Montego as a loan car, and swapped them back later. Debbie looked very smart in her new riding gloves, boots and jodhpurs, but had to ride Hereford, a horse-size pony, which she found difficult. Energy only this evening for my journal and not much else. For the first time ever, there is a nursing strike in this country. Manchester nurses are protesting at the government’s plans to scrap special duty payments, which would mean losses of up to £40 a week. At least accident and emergency departments were exempt from the strike and prior notice allowed agency nurses to be taken on to cover the other areas. A political row is in the making over the Health Service. Neil Kinnock, the Labour Leader, has been quick to take up the issue as a scandal. The 4 year old boy, Matthew Collier, has had the offer of private treatment, but the NHS may be able to do it after all next week. He now has an infection, which has to be cleared up first. The Government’s Chief Medical Officer, commenting on the outbreak of meningitis, has said that the country is not ‘facing an epidemic’, but only a ‘periodic upsurge’. The latest secrets case involves a Scottish newspaper that has printed the accusations of ex-Secret Service Officer, Cavendish, and have been injuncted for their pains. The weather was sunny and cold today, but more rain is forecast to spread in overnight and to continue tomorrow.