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A change of routine for me this Sunday morning as I spent my time outside valeting the range Rover and then wiring up the mooring poles ready for this winter’s floods; all this so that I could take a break from working in my office. All the family by bicycle to the swings on the playing field, but even then I was correcting dog walkers breaking the rules. The TGWU backs Kinnock and Hattersley for the Labour leadership, military coups in Burma and Haiti and the worst hurricane in history is now reported as taking 550 missing in Mexico but the postal service is gradually returning to normal.
Di had to lay in this morning, so I got up to make the morning drinks. Della joined us and then we took a drink to Debbie but Daniel was away with his friend Gary for the night. We enjoyed our fried breakfast and then I spent the entire morning vacuuming, washing and waxing the Range Rover until it looked really good. In fact, I continued after lunch a little while to finish it off as I was determined to stay away from my office until tomorrow for a break. Later, I wired up the mooring poles ready for this winter’s floods. Steven Hicks has taken his boat out of the water and back home. It was a fine and sunny day today and the girls enjoyed the last chance to go swimming before the pool cover goes back on.
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The nice site of a Heron wading on our river this morning before breakfast and then off to Diddington, Southoe and Little Paxton to deliver my FOCUS newsletters to outlying houses. Sometime varnishing The Lady and repairing mooring posts by the river to good effect before coming in, tired, to wade through local papers for press cuttings The last swimming session for our daughters and friends this summer. 500 victims are missing in the Mexican floods as Hurricane Gilbert precipitates torrential rain, but Texas is spared. The party conference season is underway with Poll Tax the big issue and Israel struggle to put down a PLO and Islamic Fundamentalist uprising in occupied Palestine
As I awoke and was drinking my tea this morning, I saw a Heron wading by the river bank opposite. This was a common sight years ago and, for that reason, I had incorporated it into my coat of arms. This last few weeks, I had on occasion seen it fly by, but it is nice to see it fishing at least which speaks volumes for the river qualities, fish stocks and breeding success of the birds at Paxton Pits Heronry. Was on time to breakfast this morning, for a change, but I had not had a very good night’s sleep. After breakfast, I drove off to Diddington with my FOCUS newsletters to deliver and achieved this aim. Then on to the outliers of Southoe and Little Paxton as well and found Mr Holman at home so as to get rid of the last batch of leaflets. Home then, and let Diana go to deliver hers whilst I stayed in and looked after the girls. The family had invited Amy and Katherine round for the last weekend’s swimming before the cover goes on for the winter. Di was back late and tired and, with Daniel arrived home and little time to cook tea, we decided to go to the Little Chef for lunch.
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Another session with Pete this morning, top dressing the games lawn and then a visit by the Cambridgeshire County Council forestry officer to discuss woodland schemes. After lunch, and a power cut, counting out my leaflets into delivery rounds and then contacting my helpers, dropping off batches for them to deliver. Hayling Avenue residents are up in arms about plans for 24 flats behind them in School Lane, the UK Retail Price Index up by 5.7%, Hurricane Gilbert still threatening the Texan coast with rising tides and house owners in storm shelters whilst half a million people in Jamaica remain in temporary shelters after their homes are destroyed.
Slept very soundly last night but I desperately needed an early bedtime one day soon. Down rather late to breakfast but still saw the children off to school. I wish that Daniel’s nasal catarrh would clear up soon, as his continual sniffs are a great handicap! After reading the morning papers and mail, I went out and helped Pete get started with the top dressing of the games lawn, filling the trench hollows in the process. We are using four parts of loam, two parts of peat and one of sharp sand and, once mixed, it looks a good mixture and works well into the lawn. I helped by spreading the top dressing with the back of a large wooden rake whilst Pete mixed it.
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After progressing the progress of my FOCUS’s this morning, I undertook some hard work raking and top-dressing my games lawn in cool weather until I felt faint and then returned to my office to clear some items as I recovered. This evening, taking Debbie to her horse-riding lesson, where she did very well, and then a late call sending me to the Cambridge Liberal office to collect my FOCUS’s at where a Gay Group party was in full swing, red light bulbs and everything! Hurricane Gilbert, now Force 5, is wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, being the worst in living memory. Violent robberies at home and no consensus of views at the Gibraltar IRA inquest
A bit of a lay in this morning as Diana had forgotten to set her alarm clock! Spent the day at home; first contacting Peter Wilmer to arrange a meeting on Monday, then establishing that the FOCUS’s are being printed today. I went on to the games lawn this morning and got Peter to help me to rake up the lawn for a rough cut to thin out the weeds and clover. Now, I’ve got five large bags of moss peat, and now that we have earth and sharp sand available, I am determined that the hollows in our new lawn will get a very thick top dressing so that it will be much flatter by next year. I realise it would take a decade of that treatment before it becomes completely flat, if then, but each year should see an improvement. After the exertion using the sharp tine rake, I felt a bit groggy and, whether I had not had enough breakfast or what I do not know, I had a couple of hours struggling to remain compos mentis as I kept having trouble to remember things. A strange sensation and perhaps I must acknowledge that I am getting old and cannot manage to keep track of 20/30 things at the same time!