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Children Back to School - the conservatory stayed warm overnight despite a fair frost outside and the children went off to school with a minimum of fuss. My day of history work was interrupted by SLD colleagues visiting to work on a new FOCUS Newsletter. Air crash investigators have determined that all airlines must check Boeings engines fire warning lights, the US has cancelled further aerial manoeuvres off the Libyan coast and a declaration banning chemical weapons has been signed in Paris by 150 countries
It was colder last night, and a fair frost had formed by this morning. I had put the heater on in the conservatory and the temperature had hardly fallen below 60°F. I was up and about early today as the children were due back to school. They all went off with the minimum of fuss and then I prepared my office for a day working on a new FOCUS Newsletter. I first sat in the conservatory and fed the fish and then lit the fire in my office and awaited my visitors. Michael Pope came over to help with a copy and Sally Leggater are came to do some typing. An insatiable smoker who usually ignores house owners’ restrictions; she was quite good and did not try to smoke at the Hayling View! After lunch (with Diana and I alone for a change in the conservatory) Michael returned and we spent the whole afternoon collating and creating the newsletter.
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I was tired, after all the driving yesterday and so relaxed first thing this morning by feeding the carp in the conservatory, who were doing well. Then to my office working on correspondence and evaluating my printing bids before Nigel arrived for coffee and discussed his plans for moving to the West Country. This afternoon working on my Manorial Chapter and finally completing the relevant charts. The M1 air crash investigation found that the working engine may have been shut down in error and that into the Lockerbie Pan Am air disaster has found that a bomb made of plastic explosives was detonated in the No 1 cargo hold
I slept soundly, even though Diana had heated the bed by electric blanket despite a 70°F room temperature! This morning, I was still tired after all the driving yesterday and I first had my breakfast and relaxed by feeding the carp. It was good to see all the fish feeding well, including the small Doitsu Sanke. Then to my office where I worked on correspondence to each of the printers who had submitted quotations; informing the shortlist of three and asking some final points – as well as giving details of the successful bids to the printers whose quotations were unsuccessful. I was ready for an early lunch when Nigel arrived to see how my plants were getting on. We had a coffee and a long chat. He is considering selling up and moving to the West Country.
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Della’s first day at school - I was off to the London Earls Court boat show with Daniel and his friends Gary and Stephen, as Diana was worried sick about taking Della for her first day at school, made worse by Debbie’s misbehaviour. All was well with the girls in the end and us boys saw some beautiful motorboats from Brooms and Princess but found they were to widen high for our river.
Di woke me very early today and I was struggling to get up and dressed, slipping back into sleep twice, before she worried me out into the shower room. I fed the fish (who seem a lot better and more hungry this morning) then set off with Daniel and his friends Gary and Stephen for the London Earls Court boat show at 8:30 AM. It was 1030 before we arrived in heavy traffic but we did stop at the Mimms service area for a drink. We saw a range of boats at the show and were most impressed with the lavishly-fitted Brooms, Princess and other cruisers. Unfortunately, they are all far too wide and high to negotiate the River Great Ouse. At 3 PM, we undertook the cheque home which was further extended then by an accident completely blocking the A1 northbound carriageway and causing us to divert through country lanes. It seems that Diana was quite happy with her first day at school in Little Paxton County Priory today. Di was very nervous and almost ill with it and Debbie had mis-behaved badly.
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Another slow start to a mild day, taking our morning drinks into the conservatory and worrying about our smallest Koi carp– the Doitsu Sanke – which laid motionless on the bottom. After examining my conservatory plants, I went out to feed the ducks and doves and then back in to my office to scan more documents for three history chapters. There has been another serious crash, killing 22 people at the East Midlands airport after an aircraft engine fire. The Soviet Union announces plans to destroy chemical weapons and Britain’s GEC is an overseas takeover target.
I was a little late to bed last night and so both Diana and I were reluctant to get up this morning. Eventually I did the honours and made Di coffee and took it to her in bed. Daniella was up by now and so we both went to the conservatory and had our drinks whilst watching the fish feed. It was the smallest fish – the Doitsu Sanke – that did not move today; just sitting near the bottom and I wondered whether it was all right. The others fared but not very well but perhaps they getting used to the higher temperatures and are eating enough. Today was a day of work at home. On the domestic side, I was feeding the ducks, doves and fish and examining my conservatory plants; and on the work front, I was in my office taking various computer scans of documents to complete my chapters on Prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon history. It was a long and time-consuming job and I could have done with the Accelerator Card but at least the computer work satisfactorily and I was able to get what I wanted without filling up all of the memory. This evening another horrific accident crisis was unfolding as the television news was being broadcast. This time, a plane has crashed at the East Midlands airport killing at least 22 people out of the hundred and 26 people on board.
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