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A ‘Now you see them; Now you don’t’ performance by the builders and bricklayers who failed to coordinate the supply of bricks and sand with the bricklayer! I moved The Lady to her Winter flood mooring today and sorted out some administration but mostly I was preparing for my speech to The Housing Committee tonight on Grass Cutting when I was supported by the two Labour members and the Independents, but the Tories voted the proposition down. The Coroner’s Court reached a conclusion of ‘Accidental Death’ for the 31 Kings Cross Fire victims, The Tory Conference was in full swing and in full denial with them trying to ignore the Nurses justifiable pay claim and Dr Ian Paisley shouts down the Pope’s speech to the European Parliament.
I didn’t sleep particularly well as I approached today with some trepidation. I was expecting the building work to recommence, which is always a vexation, and also had the prospect of addressing an unsympathetic audience at this evening’s housing committee. In view of the former, I staked out the lounge to read my paper and found that the bricklayer was here quite early and the gardener quite late. The Brickie hung around for a while, borrowed my telephone a couple of times and did some measuring to get ready but the building bricks and materials failed to arrive and so he had a wasted day. I worked on my grassed-cutting speech this morning, aware of the need to try to shorten it. There seems to be little to leave out and so I will just have to insist on delivering it all this evening during 10 minute spell I was preparing l regardless of unsympathetic chairmanship or heckling.
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I scanned the paper and mail this morning after a night of less sleep, and then chased various people about matters not being progressed and ended up pleased that local papers are picking up on my history project and to have seen the builders at last. The day spent tidying and reorganising my office and balancing my bank accounts which finished with a filing exercise. Two meeting this evening where, in the first, I witnessed St Neots Mayor Bill Longford going against Town Council resolutions in voting for a Tory backer Twigden’s development proposal and then, in the second, reporting this betrayal to the Priory Doom committee meeting who immediately published a damning Press Release.
I slept less soundly last night but was still rested enough to get up promptly to make breakfast on time at 7:30am. Daniel was not so organised and hardly had time for half a slice of toast before it was time for him to rush off to school. Read the papers and mail but there was little in either of consequence. To my office where I made a few telephone calls chasing people who seem to have forgotten to do things. At least I was pleased to hear that the St Neots Weekly News editor had found Mrs Bunnage’s photograph of the old Church Choir and will be sending a reporter to see me later this week. I spent most of the day sorting out my office – clearing it up entirely by removing papers from all the surfaces and moving the refectory table away from the fireplace and against the French Windows for the winter.
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After a lay in a rather rainy autumn day with leaves falling, I spent it totally on financial affairs as I analysed my Thormaid forestry investments and the affect of government grants halving its costs. The huge costs of security for the Brighton Tory conference is an issue as Chancellor Lawson defends his budgetary policy and his Labour Shadow John Smith is recovering from a heart attack in Edinburgh. Lester Piggott is let off the last two years of his tax evasion sentence. 200 more die on the Yugoslavia protests.
After yet another late night, I slept very soundly and Diana let me lay in until 8:30 AM, which was a very nice relaxation. Breakfast of fried eggs and bacon etc, then I got straight down to desk work at the start of the day spent solely on Financial Affairs. I first keyed in my year-to-date income items, printed it all out and then calculated the likely outturn for taxation purposes, which was not too bad. Then, this evening, I studied my forestry accounts and calculated that my 10 year purchase, improvement and planting of Thor made will cost some £128,500. In fact, the gross cost will be £265,500 but planting grants and tax reliefs reduced it tremendously from the £400 per acre to £193 per acre. The thing is, I have no idea of the value of a young plantation in North-East Scotland and I have to find out.
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Working on my family investments after a lazy start to a windy day and then some shopping in St Neots this afternoon after lunch with the family in the Bridge Hotel I fell asleep this afternoon on the kitchen table, much to everyone’s amusements. Even though I was tired went and enjoyed barn dancing this evening. troubles in both Algeria and Yugoslavia with three shot dead in resurgent violence in the former and a demonstration by 20,000 in Tito grad, Yugoslavia.
Not only was it quite windy today, but also very cold as well with a wintry chill to the air. Slept soundly last night after unwinding by watching TV and writing my Journal before retiring at the end of yesterday evening. A bit reluctant to wake up on such a cool day and so I sat in bed with my tea until I saw the sun rise above the trees at 7:30am. I opted to stay in my pyjamas and dressing gown for breakfast and eat with the family although Daniel’s stay at the table was quite brief. After showering and shaving I sat in my office and read the morning’s mail and papers for a couple of hours and then went to feed the ducks and doves. Then down to my financial summaries using the calculator to total all of the categories on the list of investments held for each family member in their own right; and then each of the three children’s Maintenance and Accumulation Trusts. Soon it was lunchtime and, after locking up, I took the family into St Neots to have lunch at the Bridge Hotel which was quite nice.