I spent the day working on my manorial history of Little Paxton ready for Rosa Young’s visit on Friday as Frost & Co arrived with two teams of men to erect the conservatory frame. George Bush wins the US presidential election, defeating Dukakis quite convincingly and was congratulated by world leaders.

I was a bit late to bed again last night, but slept well enough and did not feel too bad this morning. I got washed and dressed in time for breakfast and pulled up Daniel for leaving his room so untidy. Today, and all day, I worked on the Manorial History of Little Paxton and typed into the word processor each and every transcription I have made of the Rolls entries. I then sorted them into date and type order so that the sequence of changes could be compared with the Victoria County History manorial research and that which I intend to do with Rosa Young on Friday. I had to break off to tend the doves and ducks, morning and afternoon, as Pete does not come to do the garden on Wednesday. The conservatory supplier, Frost & Co, arrived before lunch and delivered all of the wooden framing and then returned to start the erection.

There were two teams of two men working – one had been directed here to help the other as there was short of the glass for another job. By dusk, they had done all of the framing the ground floor and fitted the sets of doors and secured them in place. I carried on working all day and only finished at bedtime. The news today was of the overnight US election results where George Bush won by 54% to 46% of the popular vote but with the vast majority of the electoral college delegates. Dukakis was victim to the more effective media campaign of his opponent, though it was also a very negative. Bush has been keenly congratulated variously by Thatcher and Gorbachev. The manager of the London Underground has tendered his resignation on the eve of the report into the King’s Cross Fire. The government seems set to implement plans for football identity cards.