- Details
An easier day of weather for cruising and enjoying time aboard The Lady with just the off shower as Dan and Tom joined us on board for breakfast and then the children played on the swings until I cruised to St Neots Town Quay for some shopping, lunch at the Cross Keys and the long walk to swimming at Ernulf pool after. Then the cruise back downstream to moor at our own Little Paxton moorings to collect some forgotten items and on Buckden marina for water and fuel before on to Godmanchester for the night. Texan Red Adair is now on site at the stricken Piper Alpha trying to plug the leaking oil wells and Reagan announces compensation for Iranian victims of the downed airliner
After retiring at 9.00pm, the whole family slept deep and long until the next morning. The air had become fresher and cooler during the evening, which made it much more easy to sleep in the sleeping bags. We all lay in and I awoke to find the sky blue and the sun shining. I put on the kettle and tried out the central heating to make it more comfortable for Di to make the morning drinks. We all got washed and dressed and, Daniel and Tom joining us for breakfast, all ate together on The Lady. Then I took the girls for a play on the swings whilst Di cleared up and then it was all off by boat to St Neots. We moored at the Town Quay and did some shopping between coffee at Tooks and lunch at the new Cross Keys hamburger restaurant. We managed to find Daniel’s friends, Steven Hicks and Gary Skinner, who I treated to lunch, as they had been on the boat for a few days and had ran out of money. Then the long walk to the Ernulf swimming pool, where we enjoyed our swim together.
- Details
An increasingly wet day for boating cruising up to Eaton Socon and then to Tempsford after a rather unsettled night but some nice meals with Daniel’s guests joining us as we had refreshments at the garden centre and then a meal at a very crowded Anchor pub. Nigel Mansell managed 2nd place in the rain driving his Williams at the British Grand Prix
We had a rather unsettled night. The weather, though dull and windy, was very warm, which made our sleeping bags a little uncomfortable; and then some drunken youths came by after midnight shouting and hollering. Eventually they started leaping in the river and swimming across and, wet and uncomfortable at last, they went off home. This morning, we cranked slowly into our boating routine, finally getting ready for breakfast, with Daniel and David Tomblin joining us on ‘the mother ship’. It was still fine this morning and so the girls walked over to see the Coneygeare play equipment before we set off.
- Details
Having reassured Diana that our slightly delayed and curtailed boating holiday would still be enjoyable for the two weeks, I spent this morning on constituency matters about the Redlands gravel extraction meeting, Rampl(e)y Lane and then, having prepared my speech, drove to Southoe where I opened the village fete, judged the contests and drew the raffle. Later on, we loaded up The Lady and set off upstream through the Paper Mill lock and then moored at Coneygeare for the night
Was very late to bed last night, attending to more of my paperwork and so I slept soundly until 7.00am, when the girls came in and Diana brought me my morning tea. Diana was a bit tense and het up this morning, upset, first, that we had not opted to go to Norfolk in the boat, and then that our holiday had contracted to two weeks. I calmed her down and reassured her that we would enjoy our holiday and that she should not be too anxious to set off and we should get going in our own time. This morning, I wrote a range of letters to various people. As I was going to miss the Southoe Parish Meeting, I wrote out a letter to the Clerk and copied a number of papers for information. Then I wrote a general letter to the residents wishing to meet Redlands and used mailmerge to address them individually to them. I also wrote to Redlands themselves to confirm the arrangements. Next a letter to Huntingdon District Council about the mis-spelled ‘Rampley Lane’ road sign, asking them to remove the ‘e’. I copied this and the Parish Council Minutes, so as to provide Mrs Helen Ramply with a copy of each, to show progress. Lastly, I wrote out my speech with which to open the Southoe Fete this afternoon. In it I made a little joke about being worried over the weather, as the fete had always been fine for 10/20 years and if it rained, people would blame me!
- Details
Reading about the oil rig tragedy as a hundred and fifty men were trapped screaming and roasting to death with no means of escape and hearing about protests from workers on other rigs about lack of safety measures offshore. Then attending to my own financial and domestic affairs with the timing of forestry expenditure for tax purposes a priority. The wet and unsettled weather cheered up for this evening as we joined the Rev Peter Lewis for the start of a treasure trail and a barbeques hamburger at the end. News of Britain’s huge arms deal with Saudi Arabia
A sound sleep and I woke early to find Diana leaving the bed to prepare our morning drinks. I was soon up earlier than usual and bided my time reading today’s Investors Chronicle and Financial Times before breakfast. The main story is of the continued shock over the oil rig disaster. It seems a hundred men were trapped, screaming, in the accommodation module, roasted alive with no means of escape and there is rising doubt over the wisdom of having the accommodation so close to the operational activities, such as gas compression. After breakfast, I briefed Joan and Pete on their duties whilst we are away on holiday and also continued my own arrangements. I then worked in my office this morning and afternoon, writing up my financial affairs and typing out the financial summaries. I spoke on the telephone to Alan Martin of Fountain Forestry in Wick, and Roger Brittain, my accountant, to try and optimise the timing of my forestry expenditure for taxation purposes. I also arranged a booking for the village hall by telephone for Thursday 6th August, and with the Redlands Management, for a chance to meet concerned and affected residents. It was late afternoon before I had reconciled my bank and building society accounts and could go to St Neots with Diana to do some balancing transactions and a little shopping. After tea and feeding the ducks and doves, we all went along to the Reverend Peter Lewis’s house in St James Road and then started a treasure trail around the village.