I spent some time clearing up Willow close today and working on the games lawn top dressing, then to check the old Reliant for frost protection before an evening compiling little Paxton press cuttings and editing my history text. Di took the girls to see the Disney ‘Aristocats’, and also to the Riverside fairground where she unfortunately dropped her purse and relied on a kind man later to return it. 60 rebel Tory’s rightly oppose government plans for eye and dental check charges.
Diana woke me late this morning and left me too little time to get ready for breakfast. Following my objection, the meal was delayed whilst Di took the girls off to their swimming lessons and I read the papers and morning mail. Then I decided to sweep up the end of Willow Close and remove that pile of sand that the builders had left behind. Debbie was very good and helped me to shovel up the sand and leaves whilst I barrowed the rubbish away. Soon time for lunch and then Di decided to take the girls to the Cromwell Cinema, Huntingdon, to see a Disney film called “the AristoCats”. She took along the Law’s children as well and they enjoyed the trip even if Catherine was a bit restless. Pity was, Diana dropped her purse at the Riverside fairground after giving the children a few rides and only realised when a kind man phoned us later to say he had found it.
Di had to drive over again and tipped each of the man’s children £1 each for the family’s honesty. I worked outside on the games lawn, moving and spreading the last pile of top dressing which only covered about one sixteenth of it. The next chore was to check the old Reliant to make sure the radiator had a mixture of antifreeze as the clear, bright day would inevitably lead to frost tonight. As I waited inside the tea, I started to watch a little TV for a change quite satisfied with my exertions. This evening, I went through the local newspapers for Little Paxton cuttings and, later, fired up the Apple Mac and learnt some more about using it with the ‘Word’ application. In the end my day was quite productive as I also went through my Council papers and got all else up-to-date, but I have not yet resumed my actual editing of the history text which I must soon do in earnest. Big political story this weekend is of 60-odd Tories who are threatening to vote against the government plans to introduce charges for eye and dental checks next Tuesday. The Soviet shuttle launch was delayed today as the gantry equipment failed and so this first launch will now take place next week. The National trust votes to continue the ‘sport’ of fox-hunting on the lands under its care. In the aftermath of the Prince of Wales TV programme and, despite harsh criticisms from the architects profession, more than 75% of 1000 people polled by telephone agreed with his views.