Some work on The Lady today, cleaning it off and painting the cabin roof before and after taking the election flagboards back to Robin Mathew and chatting to him about election tactics. Lunch with the family and mowing the games lawn in between. Edie Smith is now critical and I further resolved to get the History published whilst ‘my old ladies’ were still around. Thatcher’s tour of Scotland ran into opposition but she was eventually allowed to address the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Slept much better, although my ‘early night’ turned into an 11.00pm retirement, as normally the case. Awake quite early this morning and had Daniella joining me in bed until Di brought the morning tea. After breakfast, Di decided to go down to Biggleswade (Jordan’s) to get some more wheat flakes and I wondered about going with her, but stayed home instead. It was a lovely sunny day and so I moved The Lady nearer to the path and then wiped clean the superstructure with sponges and detergent. Di took an unduly long time to get back and I was fretting a bit, as I had to take my election flag boards back to Robin Mathew on the Cambridge Road. It was 11.30am before I had loaded up and set off and I got there soon after. Instead of hurrying, I was persuaded to stay and have a cup of tea and I chatted to Robin about election tactics and made myself a bit late. I picked up Daniel from his school bus on the way back and then took the rest of the family to The Beefeater (Bridge Hotel St Neots) for lunch.
They do a nice fried plaice there. Home after and Di joined me to work on The Lady. We sponged clean the cabin roofs and then I started masking off the varnish and painting the cabin roofs in non-drip white Dulux gloss. Carried on for the rest of the day, before and after tea, until dusk. This was quite good, because there was an England vs Scotland football match and the second England vs W Indies one day test cricket match, both on TV. Though I watched snatches of them both, I was quite good and carried on working. (England won both matches!!). I also managed to fit in a games lawn mowing in between. Daniel helped me with my boat by doing the masking tape. Rather sad news this evening; Edie Smith is very poorly, having thrombosis that gives her water on her legs, blood clots on her lung and poor blood circulation, with a dicey heart valve. They are giving her blood thinning agents and the next two or three days will be critical. I do not give her much of a chance. I spoke to her nephew, Malcolm Haslop of Southoe, and then Ivy Bunnage of Paxton about it. At least my flowers were appreciated. I was rather upset tonight over one of ‘my old ladies’ being so ill. If only I could get this History of Little Paxton published before they pass on, as they would love to see the results. The news tonight is of a soldier/dog-handler being killed by an IRA bomb, with his dog, whilst on duty in Northern Ireland. Margaret Thatcher, whilst on her political tour of Scotland, ran into opposition today, before she was eventually allowed to address the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The football match today was marred by the violence of some of the youths on the way to the match and one of them actually died after falling from a train and 90 were slightly hurt around the ground.