Di’s birthday had been celebrated yesterday and so today we worked on other matters; with me in the office learning operations on the Macintosh, then this afternoon applying more lawn top dressing before this evening driving to Huntingdon to observe the HDC finance committee meeting, which was a poor one, and then chasing our FOCUS deliveries tonight. The pond construction progresses well on a dry day and soon the conservatory work will begin. Strange scenes at the Heysel Disaster Court hearings and a crazier-still aircraft crash at Rome airport with a Ugandan plane flying blind, which killed 31. Health Minister Clark refuses to meet the nurses.
We had really celebrated Di’s birthday yesterday, but today was her actual 40th and she received one card with an ‘I am 40’ badge on it just to prove the point! On time to breakfast of wheat flakes and then I forsook the Financial Times and went to my office and learnt operations on the Macintosh, which went quite well. I did have to call Bill Walston at one point to get help in enabling the printer but otherwise it was straightforward if complex. Worked most of the morning at the computer before lunch; then this afternoon spreading many barrows of top dressing on the riverside and front garden lawns. Still there is most of the front lawn to do before we can return to the games lawn. After tea, I drove to Huntingdon for the HDC Finance Committee meeting. I was only an observer.
It was a poor tempered and dull affair with no worthwhile opposition to tax the majority group’s discussions although Jim Lomax the Labour leader was there. I do not think he is a master of financial matters and missed several opportunities to pull the Tory governing group up. I chatted to Ross Mackay a little before about the Museum Trust but notice that he hardly said anything on the key topics in the meeting. They are a poor lot! Home via Percy Meyer to chase him about his FOCUS preparation. Bill Walston has completed three quarters of the artwork and Percy must chase John Matthewman and about the printing date this week or the offers of delivery help this weekend will amount to nought. Home a little late to find Daniel on at the Apple Mac after which I had to reconfigure it to work. The news tonight is of the strange scenes at the Heysel Disaster Court hearings, as the judge stormed out of the court after arguments with defence lawyers and many of the accused England football supporters leave for home. A tragic and foolish aircraft accident at Rome airport as a Ugandan plane attempts to land in fog without instruments. Five Britons are feared dead amongst the 31 killed but many more survived miraculously as the plane hits airport perimeter buildings. Health Minister Clark refuses to meet nurses’ representatives saying that the pay talks are over. The weather was dry for the building work and they completed much of the rest of the pond wall block work. The rest of this week should see the brick outer support walls finished and so the conservatory construction may be starting next week.