Informing Rob Wilmott to turn down the Compsoft PLC Directorship, making arrangements to advertise in the RREC magazine for a Corniche convertible and then taking Debbie horse-riding after an early tea when she did quite well on Rumpold. A mounting conflict today between Mrs Thatcher and the medical profession over Health Service funding as the dollar stayed depressed today and the stock markets continued both nervous and erratic,
Awoke this morning and made better headway of getting ready for breakfast and actually managed to join the family at the table for once. Straight to my paper after and then the mail, which was very thin for once. I made my call to Rob Wilmot and turned down the offer of a Compsoft PLC non-executive directorship and rested more easily for it. I heard from John Lorey of Ely Marina about boatbuilding for the Ouse. Again he is reluctant to consider it on his behalf, but has referred me to others and I shall follow these lines of enquiry up. Received the Exchange and Mart today and there were no Rolls Royce Corniche convertibles for sale at all. I started to plan to advertise in it, but find out that such a ‘wanted ad’ could not be published for two weeks.
I then contacted the RREC Advertiser magazine and found out that they were printing now, on circulation next week to 3,000 Rolls Royce owners. Managed to get agreement for them to add as many slips for us, if we could get them there by Monday, and so paid to do so for £50. I typed up copy, repeated it 12 times onto an A4 master, then made 200 copies and got Diana to guillotine them into 3250 or so slips this afternoon and evening. Phew! Tomorrow we will Datapost them from Bedford and the job will be done. I have high hopes of successfully contacting Corniche owners on the strength of it. All this made a big hole in my day and the history goes backwards. Was moved to write a letter to the St Neots Weekly News today, when I noted they were welcoming Little Paxton developments as being beneficial to ‘the town of St Neots’. An early tea and then I took Debbie to her horse riding. She rode Rumpold and did well and is getting her confidence back. It was a large ride of 9 horses tonight. The weather started frosty this morning and was then dry, thankfully, and sunny. Daniel said he is doing well in his mock GCSE exams, but we shall see. Late to bed tonight, distracted by TV as I tried to write up my day’s journal. The news tonight is dominated by a mounting conflict between Mrs Thatcher and the medical profession over Health Service funding. She firstly stuck to her line that more funds were unnecessary and then criticised the nurses for ‘hitting at patients’. Meanwhile, more nursing strikes are planned at Charing Cross Hospital and more meetings are taking place at hospitals around the country. Tomorrow, the House of Commons, David Milton’s Bill will be heard to reduce legal abortion limits from 28 to 18 weeks. There has been rival demonstrations by groups for and against. Although all three party leaders are against the Bill, the House will probably vote in favour, as public opinion is largely against the killing of babies who try to breath and cry when aborted later. The dollar stayed depressed today and the stock markets continued both nervous and erratic, up and down by the half hour, but holding at 1400 on the FT30 and 1750 on Footsie. Soon it will break out one way or the other and I think it will be downwards.