A very sunny and warm month to top a great summer, which was perfect for our Norfolk and Cambridgeshire cruises aboard The Lady. The family are fine except for my Dad, who is in constant pain now that his ear cancer has spread to the lymph gland and is now incurable, but Freda arrived from Cornwall to help attend him after I had taken him to hospital for an opinion.
Daniel has been pleased with his new speedboat, Debbie was relieved to see Sundance after our long holiday as they both had to share leisure time with their schoolwork. We still managed to fit in quite a lot of family events and two long boating holidays; The Norfolk Broads and locally on the Great Ouse. Despite our searches, we could not find a boat that improved upon Lady Martina but we bought Heronshaw in Horning.
The financial state of England’s economy was parlous, with frothy speculation inconsistent with signs of recession, a record trade deficit and closure of coal mines and factories causing industrial unrest. IRA bombing and police corruption additional factors causing riots and making people seem unsafe. Several environmental scares come to a head with a massive oil spill and toxic waste ships are turned back by civil action.
The largest civil disaster left 265 people killed in the sinking of the Marchioness Thames passenger boat. English sporting rebels plan tours to South Africa despite anti-apartheid rallies, there are fights to the death in The Lebanon between Syrian backed Moslem and Iraqi backed Christian militia which kill civilians as hostage taking and ransom demands are rife but Solidarity leader, Lech Walesa, forms a Polish government. Trident missile launches fail but the Voyager space probe sends back pictures of Neptune after a 12-year voyage.
The glorious month of August has now come to an end. Already we have had the sunniest and warmest summer that I can remember and certainly the most enjoyable by us on the boat and it has been truly remarkable. This month saw the end of our epic Norfolk voyage and culminated in my decision to buy a property off the River Bure in Horning. If every August, and with it every summer, is as enjoyable as this one then we should live out our days in bliss and enjoy the weather as fully as anyone. We are thankful that my financial circumstances allow such enjoyment without any worry or distraction. We did have some unsettled nights because of our high sleeping temperatures, and other days were windy and there was the odd heavy rainstorm. Some nice warm, sunny days were spoilt by widespread straw/stubble burning which seemed to continue unregulated.
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Most of my family were reasonably well and enjoying our summer, but Di and I were fighting a weight problem and needed to lose a few pounds, and this may have been why I had the odd twinge in my back. Di’s family are fine but still as eccentric as ever and Di herself tense and unable to relax when our staff Pete and Joan are in The Hayling View. The chief worries were my Mum and Dad. My Mum is a little happier now that she has a new battery for her chair and my Dad was at first getting some relief from the pain of his ear cancer with the discharge reducing the growth and swelling, but then, upon return from my holiday, I found my Dad in constant pain. We dropped him and Mum in Stanton on the way back from Norfolk, where we found both my Mum and Dad in particular pain and distress after a bad night. Almost fainting with pain, Dad was still determined to drive to Cambridge for his radiography appointment and my sister was due to arrive from Cornwall later to help. Eventually I persuaded Dad to let me drive him to Addenbrookes after I dropped Di off with the goods and trailer to Paxton. I saw the specialist with Dad and the news was not good as the the growth was extensive and had spread from the ear lobe to the lymph gland so they could only treat his condition in a palliative way and not cure it. He was prescribed some more painkillers, which was of some consolation. I drove Dad back to Stanton, had tea with Mum, Dad and Freda (the first time the four of us had been together for 25 years or more, and probably the last time) and then drove back to Paxton where I fell into a long and deep sleep after all of the effort and worry. When we set off for Norfolk again later in the month, we had to forgo a visit to my parents at their request, as they were not up to visitors.
Daniel has been pleased with the speedboat and now his Little Lady seems destined to be sold soon, but I had to have a heart-to-heart with him over his schoolwork and limit his use of the speedboat until after his studies are complete. His Chemistry Exam re-take was due with driving lessons being another incentive. I also helped move Daniel’s speedboat and dinghy before insisting that he cleaned the Range Rover. His friend David Tomlins visited with his family for a barbecue lunch after Daniel and I had set up the barbecue and prepared the lawn for croquet. Then we lent the Tomlins costumes, and all went swimming with David keeping Daniel company. On another occasion, I collected Daniel and his friend Steve from Kimbolton for them to use our swimming pool, which was a blessing on one of the very hot and sunny days but, after our time away this summer, I had a task to remove the algae and super-chlorinate the swimming pool. When still in Paxton, we had still a short cruise on The Lady one afternoon before cooling off in the swimming pool and enjoying an outside barbecue.
Debbie by now was well into her horse riding. We had borrowed Mr Smith’s horse trailer from Offord, safely loaded Sundance aboard, and arrived early at the Thorney venue event, with time to spare for preparation and we were later joined by Alex Taylor and her pony for the return journey. Debbie obtained a D+ certificate but was disappointed with her performance in the cross-country competition. Debbie was away with us boating for most of the month but was pleased to get back and to see her beloved Sundance again, who she had been tearfully missing. I took her to the riding stables to get her started after this time away from him and we still found a little time for Amy and Catherine Law to come around and play with the girls from time to time.
We welcomed our children back from adventure holidays by visiting Billing Aquadrome and collecting Debbie and her friend Helen, whilst visiting the Koi Carp Society show at that venue. At other times, there were plenty of family outings. I would take Di and the girls to St Neots market and for our morning drink, I drove Di and Della to Ely for a day trip; enjoying coffee by the riverside, lunch at Bonnets, and then looked at a range of boats in Ely Marina, as we were still searching for a better boat. We had lunch at the Southoe Little Chef and then drove to Buckden to look at boats without finding one to better The Lady. We had a day trip to St Ives where we met Mr and Mrs Chambers and then took the long walk to LH Jones boatyard to see the second-hand boats for sale between morning drinks at the Harvest Bakery and lunch at the vegetarian café.
Whilst in St Ives, we had a good look round the stalls on market day and bought some good things. After some hasty chores, we took a trip to Bedford on the last day of the school holidays and I dropped in on the Peacocks Auction Centre which has changed its name to the Bedford Auction Centre. Then together to Harry Kitchener Marine but a very poor display of boats inexpensive chandlery. Diana drove to Cambridge for some shoe shopping with friends’ children, and I left them to it. Apart from our proper boating holidays, we took local cruises to St Neots mainly, taking the whole family to St Neots for chores and enjoying coffee at the Harvest Bakery.
The month opened with us cruising the Norfolk Broads on The Lady. With the strong wind and tide, we decided the weather was too unsettled to go to Fritton Lake and so we set off and made Burgh Castle before lunch in order to eat in the Waveney Inn carvery and then do some fishing and games on the lawn. After our night in Burgh St Peter, we did some washing, filled up with water and cruised upstream on the Waveney to get to Beccles by mid-afternoon, with Daniel in his speedboat as I towed the Little Lady. We went shopping in this nice town and I bought Diana a painting from the Beccles artists exhibition before more fishing again. After a good night in Beccles, we walked into the centre to have lunch and do some shopping before returning to the boats and setting off against the tide to Oulton Broad.
We took a walk along the banks of Lake Lothing to Lowestoft, which we found in poor shape, returning in time to witness the power-boating in Oulton Broad whilst also catching fish After a quiet night moored in the middle of Oulton Broad, we took a trip in Little Lady across the Broad for some shopping in the chandlers as the girls played in Nicholas Everett Park. Then a chance to sail in our Blue Peter, as The Lady dragged her mud weight such that the Little Lady had to pull her out of the reeds. Back to the Burgh St Peter Marina for an evening meal at the Waveney Inn carvery with Diana and a walk before bedtime. There followed an early morning for me, visiting Diana’s bunk and trying some fishing before breakfast in the coolness and mist before the sun came up and we went swimming. Gary Skinner arrived with his dad to stay a few days and enjoyed playing with Daniel on his new speedboat before we moved to Reedham and had a barbecue on the quay, after which the boys had a trip to Great Yarmouth.
After our night in Reedham, we cruised to The Berney Arms and then took the Little Lady and speedboat across Breydon Water to Great Yarmouth for the day. This was the last chance for the girls to have fun in Joyland before lunch and speciality ice creams on the pier and a trip by Landau to Pleasure Beach. Debbie joined the boys aboard the speedboat on the way back but suffered a badly bruised hand. We then moved from The Berney Arms to Langley Dyke where Diana and I took a walk. After a noisy night in Langley Dyke, and some unsuccessful early morning fishing, we cruised upstream to Norwich for a latish lunch, stopping at the Brundall Riverside stores to do some shopping. Some ball games with the girls, a dinghy ride to the head of navigation and then an early night.
I was more comfortable in our new sleeping bags after a very warm night, but was woken up at 6am again, this time by the road traffic. It was nice to buy bread and milk from a grocer who came around with his trolley, before we cruised downstream to Broom Boats Marina before having lunch. Then with the Range Rover to Wroxham to meet up with Richard Allen at the George Smith boatyard to see their new centre cockpit cruiser which was good but lacked bunk length and headroom. Once back in Brundall, I took the Range Rover to Burgh Castle Marina, collected the speedboat trailer and returned to successfully slip the speedboat and the Little Lady on to their trailers before dark.
After loading up our speedboat and Little Lady onto their trailers, the dinghy on to the Range Rover roof rack and dozens of bags full of clothes and belongings into the Little Lady, a virtual luggage annex, we started to make our way home to Paxton. With The Lady back at Buckden Marina, I there found a major problem with the boat, as the copper fuel line had shorted on the ships batteries, spraying fuel everywhere. Eventually I got it started and back in Paxton. The Lady stood up very well to the travels and now seems likely to get a reprieve and refit, even if we may get another boat as well.
We have seen many familiar places and had a relaxing time in August as our Norfolk trip ended and The Ouse trip began with a ‘service’ visit to the house for our showers etc on a warmer and sunnier morning after sorting out a gas cylinder problem. A shock the following morning when The Lady was missing from her mooring, after being unmoored by youths in the night, but we found it downstream and returned it without harm. Later to set off on her through Paper Mill lock to moor in St Neots as the rain spoiled the carnival procession before we moved and spent the night moored at the Coneygeare.
An uncomfortably warm night in my sleeping bag and a noisy one with youths abusing the playground opposite but Daniel was okay sleeping in the saloon. We set off upstream through Eaton Socon Lock and moored at the Jordan and Addington’s riverside garden centre and looked at the craft shop in the Mill before quickly cruising upstream to Tempsford and mooring at The Anchor for lunch. On through Willington to walk to the garden centre there for ice creams, passing lots of anglers on the way with Diana helping to work the locks. A quiet and cool night in Willington and then the sun warmed the day as we ‘discovered’ another ‘Frederick William Broad’ from Islington who cruised by in a similar vessel which we looked around in Bedford Boat Club.
A look around Harry Kitchener Marine to no avail and then the cruise to moor at Bedford Riverside Park before an evening out in the town. Being the only boat moored at Priory Park, we had a very quiet night and then took our small boats to the Town Quay for more shopping after investigating the river upstream which had been incorporated into a riverside park. Later I researched all about St Neots UDC in the Bedford library, after which we cruised downstream to St Neots for food shopping and then home for a service visit. We set off again on The Lady, had lunch in St Neots and then back and on to collect Debbie from Offord cruising on to Huntingdon Town Quay to find The Lady’s sister ship, ‘Patience’ in a poor state.
A surprisingly quiet night in Huntingdon aboard The Lady and a slow start before shopping in the Town Centre. My new book was in the book shops but not yet in the library, even though they had ordered some. The boating month closed as we cruised downstream to The Twenty Pence Inn on the Old West River, where the girls played out until dark at 8:30pm with children from the other boats and Daniel revised his Chemistry before some TV aboard.
Whilst we were away, not much was happening at home in Paxton – a few local worries about planning, noise and nuisances with the smoke and smuts from the stubble burning causing a stir. With my other distractions, I made efforts to catch up with my paperwork, making limited progress before I walked around the village for a couple of hours one evening to see what was happening. When at home, I was and feeding, working on my accounts and records, and extracting press cuttings about me and Little Paxton where there were some good reviews on my book.
I had to spend time replying to mail and reading the financial newspapers before making a start on the swimming pool, brushing the sediment of algae off the sides and administering a large dose of chlorine later. It took a lot of work to restore our swimming pool, constantly checking the chemical balance and removing the algae. Apart from my paperwork, administration and financial affairs. I was getting our investments onto an Excel spreadsheet. Between times, I was admiring my growing Koi carp on my and also kept an eye on the garden and house, where I had our wasps nests one day.
Some 50 years on from the outbreak of World War II, the TV is full of what it was like then as the war began and it is scary to watch and to listen to. It defies my understanding how my parents could have planned their wedding for the 3rd September 1939, oblivious of the mounting onset of war. Elsewhere, the financial state of England’s economy was very frothy, with takeovers, scandals and speculation as to my mind the crash is long overdue, the UK balance of trade deficit is at record levels and the anti-Thatcher strikes are now affecting British Airways and now French air traffic engineers are disrupting holiday travel leading to more flight delays. The noble efforts of the dockers ended with the collapse of the dock strike but the local government dispute is settled with the new 8.8% wage offer and the Commons Select Committee on Health slated the Tory government for their so-called NHS ‘reforms’ which were blatant cuts. The National Coal Board is closing two more mines, and Merthyr Tydfil faces the closure of the Hoover factory as well as their mines
The UK inflation rate is down a little at 8.2% but Heinz are having to scrap thousands of cans of baked beans after malicious tampering with glass and there are more food bacteria and pollution scares as more ships carrying toxic waste of been turned away from British ports by direct action and another ecological disaster takes place with a massive oil spill at a Mersey oil terminal and there is a scare about microwave ovens and bacterial risk. The Notting Hill Carnival was followed by the police being attacked by a bottle throwing crowd which marred an otherwise peaceful event. A public enquiry concludes that policing was mostly to blame for the Hillsborough tragedy, the Police Complaints Authority have now to investigate allegations of corruption in the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad, but a £1 million kidnap and ransom demand were thwarted with six men arrested. Firstly, there was an IRA bombing attempt on the Protestants ‘Apprentice Boy’ march and more rioting in Ulster with Civil unrest continuing in Belfast on the 20th anniversary of the British troops being sent in and then the IRA mounted a bomb attack on a service car in West Germany which has been followed by a hunt for more bombs and the attackers.
In East Anglia, a helicopter crashed killing four soldiers and injuring others. Argentina/UK diplomatic talks are progressing well with the questions of Falklands sovereignty left to one side. The death toll has reached 265 after the tragedy of the Marchioness Thames passenger boat sinking after colliding with a dredger and new navigation rules for larger vessels on The Thames are being considered. Sadly, the Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, is to live separately from a husband Capt Mark Phillips. England struggled again in the Test Series against Australia, losing the fourth Test and now there is news of a rebel England cricket tour to South Africa with many of the frontline players involved. This news followed the opening of the ‘Rest of the World’ versus ‘South Africa’ rugby tour. As the South African State President PW Botha resigns anti-apartheid rallies and demonstrations increase in size and number as the authorities reacted with predictable violence and retribution. More Middle East kidnappings and hostage negotiations dominate the world news as the Lebanese hostage rows go on with all sides recriminating. There is a fight to death in Beirut between Syrian backed Moslem and Iraqi backed Christian militia with mass rocketing of suburbs and killing and maiming of civilians but, for now, the Christian forces having held off the Syrian-backed attack. Solidarity leader, Lech Walesa, forms a Polish government in opposition to the Communist Party and, in the aftermath in Poland of the new political changes, labour strikes are put off to give the new leader a chance. Noting this, the Soviet Baltic republics protest about Soviet annexation and Turkey closes its borders to Bulgarian refugees. Two of the three launches of the new US nuclear Trident missile have failed but the Voyager space probe sends back pictures of Neptune after a 12-year voyage