After reading papers in the lounge to overview my new conservatory site on a mostly fine day and seeing no builder’s activity, I repaired to my office and progressed my vehicle history enquiries and chased other suppliers. This afternoon, I collected my old Little Paxton Ladies and took them to the Village Hall and a meeting of The Friendship Club to whom I was giving my Little Paxton History talk. St Neots Tory Mayor, Cllr Bill Longford’s treachery was well-reported in the papers today at my instigation as the national Tory Conference hears of new policies on energy and prisoner supervision. The 2700th victim of the Ulster troubles was killed in an ice cream parlour today, filling in for his brother.
I was up on time today, to find Daniel late and missing his breakfast. I then read the paper in the lounge, so that I could be overlooking the conservatory site, but there was no sign of the builders this morning. I went to my office and worked on a whole host of correspondence, trying to find out where I could get my Reliant MOT tested and getting Early Owners particulars from the DVLC on my Rolls Royce and Reliant. I then composed a very strong letter to Colin Howard who’s been avoiding me for six months now about the return of my maps and prints. I have threatened to involve the law this time. I heard from the St Neots Weekly News that a journalist would be coming here on Friday afternoon to return our photographs and get my help in putting the Little Paxton History feature article on its feet. After lunch, I got ready, phoned my old ladies Mrs Ruff, Bunnage and Davis and then went out to pick them up to take them to see my talk on Little Paxton history to the Friendship Club at the village hall.
I got them safely there, set things up, but then had to wait until nearly 4pm to start my talk and was struggling to finish before 5pm. Even so, they enjoyed it, but I could have had the stage much earlier to better effect. This evening, I did my chores and then made a few phone calls to discuss the publicity in the local papers. I had reported back to Priory Doom on Tory Mayor Bill Longford’s treachery at the district planning meeting and now see the splendid outcome as he is now pilloried in the St Neots press. I also phoned disaffected Tories and stirred the cauldron as to how badly he has represented the interests of the town. The news today from the Conservative Party Conference is of robust speeches from Energy Secretary, Cecil Parkinson, who proposed the denationalisation of British Coal and from the Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, who proposes electronic tagging systems for criminals. The nurses’ leaders seem to be getting through to Kenneth Clarke, with demonstrations outside the conference centre resulting in government hints that the extra funding might be met. The 2700th victim of the Ulster troubles was killed in an ice cream parlour today. An off-duty policeman, he was looking after a brother’s business while he was on holiday. In South Africa, the headquarters of the Catholic Church was firebombed and destroyed by right-wing extremists. The church had been supporting an electoral ban of the unrepresentative local government polls that are coming up shortly. The weather stayed mostly fine today and so the bricklayers came this afternoon, but a heavy shower seemed to send them packing with very little done.