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Working on my Council campaigns today, despite the distractions of Della’s over-night restlessness and cleaner Joan’s tales of woe about the serious illness of her father. Good meetings with HDC officers about my complaints and then home to cut the games lawn and seek more mole captures. An evening Barn Dance with neighbours and friends and late home. Gatting is fired from the England captaincy due to an indiscretion, following a tabloid witch-hunt and the stock exchange rises.
Slept OK most of the time, but Della was awake several times in the night and eventually wetted the bed. Di thinks that she reacted badly to the dust etc at the horse riding school and was awake with puffed eyes and a snuffle. I am not so sure. This morning, I attempted to get down to writing letters to all my leaflet delivery team. I set up my word processor and cut-sheet feeder to print out a special letter sequentially to each address, which I then stapled to a photocopy of the newsletter copy. Then a letter to each press contact, suggesting that a pre-release copy of this would be a good way of keeping them in touch. Ended up rushing to get the task done, particularly as cleaner, Joan Hewlett, was continually talking to me about her father’s plight. He is very ill with a liver and, now, general cancer and is deteriorating rapidly. I reassured her as best I could, allowed her to use the phone to try and get him moved to another hospital, and she repaid me by staying on a little bit and helping me by making my lunch.
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A busy morning in my office and then time in the garden with Pete and to take him to Shaw’s auction in St Neots to buy bedding plants in the auction. I then took Debbie horse-riding, dropped into the Meyer’s and then into Moira’s who will take my Focus copy to Cambridge for printing during the weekend. Gorbachev plans to visit the UK soon, the UK/Iran talks are adjourned and the Arab Summit funds the PLO for its uprising.
Awoke quite early this morning and relaxed with my morning tea. Diana was quite refreshed as well, after going to bed in the spare room to escape my disturbance last night. I was a bit busy in my office this morning. I set down to do my backlog of bill paying after reading the papers. Then I made more calls to initiate an insurance claim for my car repairs, declined further interest in the Bedfordshire land and chased my accountant on my long overdue tax rebates. I had quite a bit of mail this morning and, in particular, the agenda for my Economic Development meeting and others, which was quite interesting. Then Pete arrived, and I went out to see him and found my second mole victim in a trap, which was good news. I took Pete into Shaw’s auction, St Neots, to see the bedding plant trays and he helped me pick out the types that we needed for the garden.
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An early start for breakfast and then off to Bedford with my Rolls-Royce for a technical investigation, then being collected by Diana in the range Rover for her visit to the doctor. Myself then to Pathfinder House and a meeting with the estates officer for a briefing and then back to meet Di in St Neots and after dropping off at home, to collect Nigel from Hail Weston to look at some property investment opportunities. Over to Percy’s tonight for a photo session and to hear shocking news of leukaemia risks close to my forest in the vicinity of Dounreay nuclear power station
Very tired this morning from yesterday’s exertions and a late bedtime. Still, had to get going early so that I could accomplish a range of commitments. Breakfast first, then off to Bedford to take my Corniche Convertible into Alec Norman for technical investigation and report. Left it there, was collected by Di in the Range Rover, and then I took her to St Neots so that she could see the Doctor. She has a sebaceous hair scalp problem and wanted to see him about her varicose veins as well. I am sure that a well-balanced and healthy diet would help both and he could offer little help. A weight reduction is her best bet. I had to take the Law children to school and then I collected Di and Della and we went to Huntingdon. I had a meeting there with the Land/Estates Officer, Alan Worth, at Pathfinder House and got a good briefing on the land situation for my forthcoming Economic Development Committee. It seems that, as a true-blue council, Huntingdonshire followed government land disposal guidelines in 1979 and has left itself critically short of land for housing, leisure and other needs.
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First to inspect my lawns with gardener Pete which are looking good, but no more moles have been caught. After lunch with a delegation to meet the local police chiefs to argue the case for a village in eastern and then this evening sometime at the HDC Housing committee and to the east Cambs SLD meeting and to hear Paddy Ashdown address the letter with a rousing speech. Russell Harty dies of a liver failure, England avoid a West Indian test cricket defeat but Wales lose the rugby on their New Zealand tour
Slept OK and was ready for breakfast with the others. Read the daily paper and the mail and then tried to do a little work this morning. No luck with my mole catching – they keep setting off my traps but leaving them full of earth. It must have just been luck with my first capture. Pete was working today again and, with yesterday as well, he has managed to get the lawns and gardens looking nice again. After lunch, it was time for our visit to the Commander for Huntingdonshire Police, Superintendent Whyte, and I first collected Mike Pope from St Neots and then Little Paxton Parish Chairman Alf Cousins from his Fire Station at Hinchingbrooke. We all met at Huntingdon Police Station with Inspector Fechter, of St Neots, in attendance as well. We exchanged views and got some measure of common resolve to get on top of the problems. Although the prospect of our own Community Policeman is still a way off, we should get better coverage in both quality and quantity as a result. We will look at a Byelaw and the project of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme for the houses in the area of the Playing Field and will both try to find ways of keeping the offending lads occupied with much more worthwhile pursuits. I also made our points about closer relationships, less police car vs the beat, and the type of sympathetic response that is needed to residents calls for assistance. Home after and time for tea. This evening I mixed attendance at the HDC Housing Committee with a trip to the East Cambs SLD meeting, where I heard Paddy Ashdown address the faithful.