Taking Daniel and collecting his friend Steve and hearing about the marital problems of his parents before driving to Earls Court for our boat show visit. Marking up the show catalogue for suitable vessels but there was little suitable for our desired beam and headroom restrictions but I did produce a list of our requirements before driving back. Labour MP John Hughes was banned from the House of Commons after raising the tragic case of a baby during prayers, Amoco have been ordered to pay $85.2 million of damages after spilling 68 million gallons of oil when sinking off the Brittany coast in 1978, more Palestinians die in Gaza at the hands of Israeli forces who use poison gas in their camps and share prices drop and then recover some of their loss.
Slept fair and awoke early with my tea to get prepared for a visit to the Earls Court Boat Show. Showered and dressed in good time and was ready with the girls, but Daniel still lazed in bed and we had to get him up. Strange, because he was the most keen to go anyway! I sat and read my Financial Times and monitored the radio reports of the financial markets in the Far East. Tokyo and Hong Kong were sharply down, but rallied later to show much less concern than Wall Street last Friday. London was opening lower, but the speculation was whether it would follow Wall Street sharply down, or take a more relaxed view. Soon, at 9.50am, I got the Range Rover out and we set off, collecting Daniel’s friend Steve Hicks on the way.
It is sad, because Steve’s parents are not getting on too well, always rowing and being unhappy and his father has now gone off on a building project for 6 months. For ex-patriot tax reasons, he may only return to the UK for a 24 hour period once – but Steve is outwardly non-concerned at all this, though he says he is not worried. We had a long journey in heavy traffic, talking about their concerns and ‘A’ level GCE choices and could only arrive at Earls Court at 11.00. Then we had to park at the off-site overflow car park, as space was short. Though it was quite busy today, yesterday was a mad-house by all accounts. We had a drink of coffee/cakes etc in the buffet and went through the show catalogue, marking all those craft that were possible for our main boat. At the end of an exhausting morning, I deduced that none were suitable for our needs on The Great Ouse river system. The problem appears to be that all manufacturers are making their large craft to be of wide beam and high headroom, with flying bridges or ‘goal post’ cover supports needing 8-9ft bridge clearance. In the 1970s the economic recession, plus imposition of 15% VAT, killed off the British boat builders specialising in designs for UK rivers and only those with large proportions of export business survived. Now, there are no boats suitable for us. I also looked at electric launches, but could not justify them. I saw a useful all aluminium punt and workboat, if we every buy riverside land. I have sketched out our requirements for a new boat: Flush toilets/showers with full headroom; Ducked warm air heating/air conditioning/dehumidifier; Piped hot engine and auxiliary heated water (gas heater); Dual 12v and 240v power from boat/generator/shore auxiliary; Galley well fitted: fridge/freezer/dishwasher/gas cooker & fridge; Sliding cockpit roof, hatch to front cabin, pulpits, safety rail/wire; GRP hull/superstructure. Fully fitted interior teak wood with carpets, lined curtains, soft furnishings, insulation in luxury; Dual purpose river/sea hull and power installation, diesel/s; Radar, depth sounder, navigational aids, radio etc. Large tanks (gas, diesel, water); TVs, stereo, radio, video recorder/playback; Well fitted saloon, cocktail cabinet, copious cabinets/lockers throughout. The news today is of the Government giving in to calls for banning noxious and inflammable foams in furniture. It will take two years to introduce. Now only ‘combustion-modified foam’ can be used after February 1989; fireproof coverings will be compulsory by 1990. Mr John Hughes, Labour MP for Coventry North East, was banned from The House of Commons after raising the case of a hole-in-the-heart baby during prayers. (he asked the Clergy not to bless the House in protest at the social impact of government policy with a focus on the hole in the heart baby) The baby has had its heart operation delayed to the point of damaging his chances. 4 year old Matthew Carter, of Birmingham, is being admitted, at long last, after many delays and publicity. Another child is having private surgery after friends could not bear further delays. Anxious hospital consultants met in Birmingham today to form a lobby group for more funds. Elsewhere, blood transfusion staff are also getting very militant now and blood shortages from an overtime ban could lead to liver and heart operation delays. A policeman, Gordon Marshall, was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment today in Aylesbury, after being convicted of the death by drunken driving of a man on a bicycle. Following the Amoco Cadiz sinking off the Brittany coast in 1978, and spilling 68 million gallons of oil to pollute nearby beaches, a US judge has now ordered Amoco Corporation to pay $85.2 million of damages to French interests. Today’s news from the Gaza Strip is of another three Palestinian deaths at the hands of the Israelis and they are using choking gas in the camps that leads to vomiting, sore eyes and throats. Labour and Tory alike combine in Britain’s House of Commons to call on Israel to come to the negotiating table on the future of the occupying territories. After dropping 50 points at first, the UK Stock Exchange recovered gently all day to finish just 15 points down and Wall Street recovered 30 odd of yesterday’s losses.