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Forwent a Priory ‘DOOM’ committee meeting in order to sit-in on an HDC Planning Committee meeting which dragged on and approved re-development of Huntingdon Bridge Boatyard despite local councillors objecting. News tonight of a serious engine room fire in the Sealink freight ferry, Seafreight Freeway, which killed one officer and critically injured another.
A day in the office, working away at my paperwork and using the photocopier to brief various local residents of my progress on local issues. This took all morning, as I also tried to catch up on the newspapers and cuttings as well. Lunchtime soon came and after, I put my effort into writing a ‘sewage and drainage’ brief for Priory Doom and also penned a letter tendering my apologies for their committee meeting tonight. After tea, I dropped off these notes and drove on to Huntingdon to attend an HDC Planning Committee meeting. Though not actually on this committee, I decided to attend for the information and experience and I found it interesting as well. Key decisions included the refusal of an application for supermarket etc in St Ives/Fenstanton flood plain and approval for an adventurous building on the site of the Huntingdon Bridge Boatyard, where the development will include 4-storey flats, a hotel, restaurant and yacht chandlery/marina. Quite a site this will be, but the local Godmanchester Councillors were not happy with the idea, but were out voted.
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My traditional Sunday breakfast enjoyed after a very sound night’s sleep which encouraged me to clean the Range Rover and then start work on the Lady. After this, it was time to set off for Bedford and the church service for Diana’s brother Charles and his wife Chris who had arranged the christening of their baby Natalie in a Greek Orthodox service at a Ukrainian Church! The whole thing was quite unintelligible for non-Greek speakers but I was able to bail out in time for judging the Little Paxton Cub Scout annual kite flying contest on a hot and sunny day with a strengthening breeze helping their efforts. Some time persuading local Cub leaders to try finding a volunteer for an urgent little Paxton need. A change of guard in Hungarian political leadership and another incident of English football hooliganism sees 200 arrested and with it hopes ended of getting English teams back into European club competitions.
Slept very soundly last night and had to be woken this morning. I opted to just shave and dress to do some work this morning, before showering later and it meant that I was on time for my traditional Sunday breakfast. The work was the cleaning of the Range Rover, though I also went and opened up The Lady early and removed the last of the masking tape from screening the paintwork. Felt physically quite tired, but finished the car OK and did some other chores as well. Had my shower and changed later and we locked and alarmed the house and set off for Bedford and the Ukrainian Church! The reason was that they also hold services for the Greek Orthodox religion and Di’s brother Charles and wife Chrisula were having baby Natalie christened there. Arrived at 12.30 and had to sit through half an hour of the last service in Greek, without our hosts wondering if we were at the right place. The whole thing was unintelligible Greek, which did not help. Then an hour of the christening, which, though sprinkled with some English, was an equal trial. I had to bail out at 1.30pm to get to Little Paxton for 2.00pm and the start of the Cub-Scout annual kite-flying contest.
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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.
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Another slow start to the day after a very late night as I tried to clear up my office. I organised some flowers for Edie Smith, now in Hinchingbrooke hospital, and dropped in on Vera Ruff and noticed that the British Telecom manhole cover had been repaired as one of my initial triumphs. Thatcher under pressure on economic issues, the Met for fabricating evidence and there is more fighting in the liberal Lebanon between rival Muslim groups, supported by Iran and Syria
After a very late night I was rather groggy this morning and ended up with a headache. I still scanned the FT after coming down late for breakfast and then, after taking two aspirin tablets, I started work in my office by first trying to clear everything up so that I could find that which I needed to do! I eventually tidied my office, got the outstanding papers in files and appointments in the diary. I got Di to send some flowers to Edie Smith at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and she received some herself from the SLD! I had driven out this morning and saw Mrs Ruff on the way and had a chat, then I went up to St James Road to inspect the British Telecom manhole cover and found it repaired, as of yesterday, to a good standard! They had attended the other dodgy one in the High Street and repaired that too! Progress, which is good to see. Di went with her mother to Letchworth today, to see the old ‘Garden City’ and reminisce about old times. I had another call about the playing field vandals, who are driving a neighbour mad with their language and behaviour.