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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.
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Foregoing the fried breakfast for once, I used this Sunday morning to re-site the doves feeding table after the gales had just about destroyed it, then bribed Daniel to clean the Range Rover as I took down the balcony lights to store away until next Christmas. Fresh roast chicken eaten off of our best china and silver service at lunch and a sit-round tea together in the lounge later. Viscount Whitelaw is retiring from the House of Lords which will make Thatcher’s programme even more difficult to pass, more strikes in the health service over reduced allowances but the Yorkshire miners go back for talks.
Slept well last night and Di woke me with the morning tea after a lay in. Listened to the radio for a while and then got showered and dressed for breakfast. I had suggested to Diana that we forgo the fried breakfast for once, to slim me and rest her, and so we had cereal instead. I read today’s paper, which revealed little new, apart from the latest government privatisation idea – they want to sell off Britain’s nature reserves! Out to feed the doves and ducks on a bright and mild morning, but I found the dove’s feeding table just about destroyed from the recent gales and so started to make another one.
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Collecting Daniel and his friend Steve from Kimbolton after his very disrupted narrow boat trip and home after lunch out to find the Games Lawn had surfaced from the floods at last when Diana had a sickness bout, blaming me for causing tension, which led to a depressing row for the rest of the day. An IRA bomb explodes near the Belfast City Law Courts, there is more widespread unrest in Gaza and Willie Whitelaw’s family are most dubious about him resuming his post of Leader of the House of Lords, after his recent stroke
A better night’s sleep, but was awoken early by Diana who had her dentist appointment in St Neots first thing this morning. Was up, dressed and ready for breakfast with the girls. Cereal as usual. Readied a few things for Di to do for me on her trip into St Neots this morning and then settled down to read today’s paper. Read on until midday. After the holiday period of small issues, the journalists have been writing enough to make up for it. The drop yesterday on Wall Street came too late to affect most of the writings, but the future looks uncertain indeed. Had time to feed the ducks and doves before we set off in the Range Rover to collect Daniel from Kimbolton. They arrived back in their school minibus and had tales of woe to tell about floods, breakdowns etc that quite disturbed the boating holiday, but they still seemed to enjoy it.
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Reviewing the investment news after a restless night thinking Rolls Royce cars before joining the girls for the Friday visit to Bedfordto buy a few things and research the matter further before home for a journalist interview about my book which was ended when Nigel visited with his present from Morocco. Later to St Neots the LHS AGM to hear of plans for a local museum. Thatchers African visit was marred by protests with Bernard Ingham hurt in the melee, my predicted financial collapse seems to be happening, Ulster Police intercept a huge arms shipment for the UDA, Isreal’s PM rebuffs the UN emissary, and 20 pits are closed by the unofficial Yorkshire Colliery strike and the weather forecast is for more gale-force winds and rain storms as the river rises
A slightly restless night thinking about Rolls Royces and being a little uncomfortable. I noticed that many people in London had colds during our stay there and I fear I may have one coming on. Slow to stir when I eventually did sleep and found Diana trying to wake me for my morning tea. I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to accompany the girls into Bedford today and so got dressed in my sports jacket and trousers. Breakfast of boiled egg and then I had time to review the mail and read the Investors Chronicle and Financial Times newspapers before it was time to leave. I just could not understand how Wall Street and London shares could still rise with so many currency and economic worries abounding. A fair journey to Bedford, parking on the 6th floor of the Lurke Street multi-storey car park. Then a little shopping before we had morning coffee at Sperrings. The girls then shopped on as I bought a wider-view mirror for the Range Rover, a new Filofax diary, and then a couple of Rolls Royce books in the local bookshop. I also scanned the Bedford Library shelves to get as much information on the early Rolls Royces as possible.