After our epic boating voyage in a heat wave, it was in the splendour of the state rooms of Kimbolton Castle therefore that this exotic month of August finally ended which was quite fitting. The significant event of the month was certainly Daniel getting his place at the University of East Anglia which was a source of great pride and relief for all of his friends, advisers and family. He had left it so fine by not studying and preparing as much as he ought to have done.
Almost this entire month has been spent in Norfolk on the boating holiday in the most gloriously sunny weather we have ever experienced. It was truly memorable in every way and a fine venture for us to remember as a family before Daniel leaves home for university. The children just about held together for the long time away and it was us allowing them visits from their friends that made this possible. Even so, Debbie missed her pony, Sundance, so and we will have to take him to Norfolk next summer if we are to try to do the same thing again. Diana ended up being quite fond of Heronshaw after being very dubious at first and we look forward to many more happy holidays based there.
Back at The Hayling View, this month has seen the completion of complete re-furnishing and redecoration of Debbie's bedroom and my office as well as a total reorganisation of the heating system. We still have the remainder of the tidying up and hall/utility areas to reorganise and now the employment of a new gardener.
The family are well and my sister seems to have settled very well into her family's new home and business activity. Mum seems to be resolved to join Freda at Redgrave and is making regular visits. This month has seen the crisis in the Gulf unfolding. We were aware that it was happening but did not follow events too closely as we were on holiday.
** "Read More" BELOW for the complete story **
We had some very hot and sunny days with temperatures in the mid80'sF this month and the drought was becoming of national concern and then we had what was the hottest day of our holiday and perhaps ever the hottest day ever recorded, beating the previously hottest, in 1911. On another day, Lowestoft was the warmest place in Britain at 28degC. The weather then turned warm and sticky, with some rain and then blustery winds later before returning to more sunny and warm days to please the holidaymakers.
I spent some time this month at Horning working on Heronshaw and also the Paxton Princess before we had our epic cruises. Moored adjacent to the building, it was an ideal accommodation and we would have breakfast on the bridge of the Paxton Princess before going into Wroxham afterwards for some shopping and then gardening when we came back. There was much to do in the summer; such as fishing for roach with the girls at Heronshaw, have tea of toasted sandwiches on the veranda or enjoying meals at restaurants in Horning and Wroxham or just taking the Jolly across the dyke for summer fete on the riverside village green. There was always a very pleasant interlude to be had visiting Wroxham Barns with the family and shopping in the craft and clothes shops there. It was just a short trip into Wroxham for coffee at the Riverside Café, or another to the local swimming pool at Horning ferry.
We registered the family at the local library and they enjoyed using it and bringing lots of books back. Heronshaw electric power was useful to keep the boat’s batteries charged and so I could update my electronic diary for the last week or two and this was about as much as I could do in the heat of some days! Daniel's friends, Gary and Steve, arrived and took off in the inflatable dinghy on an adventure for some of the time and Debbie had a friend to stay with us too. Between times working at Heronshaw, I erected the new fence to secure the garden, made a trap door in the shed for storage, carried on sorting the garage and adjusting its doors etc, and continued weeding constantly in the fertile garden. We were always improving the facilities on board The Paxton Princess, with excellent chandlers nearby and Di joined me for a trip to Norwich to buy £400-worth of ‘Harvest’ melamine ware for the boat and we hosted a visit from the Jeckells canopy-maker. Locals, Jack and Dolly Edwards, were in the habit of serving past residents and were always available for help and advice.
At the start of a two-day break from the boating, Daniel and I returned to Paxton getting Daniel’s ‘A’-Level exam result and reviewing the work taking place at The Hayling View; sorting put a few problems that had arisen in our absence. It was a truly madly busy day staying there with hardly any facilities as the electrician, decorators, heating engineers and office fitters were all working, and the house was in dust. I got them all to cooperate and make the necessary access points etc and then interviewed my gardener Mark Bowles to ensure he properly fulfilled his responsibilities whilst we were next away. It was a case of breakfast with Daniel at The Little Chef and tea at The Happy Eater before a long evening sorting out my office bill-paying and working to complete accounts and bank reconciliations.
I then made an early start from Paxton to arrive at Heronshaw at 8.15am the next day, much to Diana’s surprise! We took the family to The Swan for a fine breakfast before a brief foray to Norwich for some shopping and transactions after which we all went on to Fritton Lake and Country park. The girls played on the adventure playground, but we were disappointed that there were no longer any pony rides. I took the scenic route back by car, crossing the Yare at Reedham on the old car ferry. Poor Debbie seemed to have a migraine and began crying uncontrollably with a headache, so I consoled her. Before writing up my diaries that evening, I finished the book I was reading about Horning in the olden days and read all about the famous Horning pleasure wherry Arcadia that was once moored in our boat shed there and whose wind vane (or "Jenny Morgan") still flies on our Heronshaw flagstaff. Debbie was soon awake and pining for the company of her pony Sundance but, by arranging for her friend, Helen Cranston, to come and keep her company, she was happy again. Later, the girls watched videos whilst Diana washed and cleared up Heronshaw. I sat and fished from the river frontage and caught half a dozen roach using bread paste as bait to avoid the eels.
I had left Daniel at home in Horning and he was all right at home that morning but complaining of having no food or drink but we found out that he had been accepted at UEA for his Computer Science Degree. He had reported a lack of attendance by our gardener at Paxton and that problem came to a head later. After re-joining the others, I worked on all evening servicing the boat and ran into great difficulty but I finished the job and then stayed up and wrote up my logs and journals before turning in, very tired. I managed to restore the Heronshaw water stopcock with Jacks help and ordered some metal plates for extending the rotten uprights on the garage frame. After taking up an expensive parking place at Bonds, we had coffee at Jarrold’s and then all met to go to the Norwich Castle Museum with a tour of the ramparts and dungeons that the girls enjoyed. We then met Gordon from next door and his two sons that Debbie and Helen were taking a close interest in!
With everything made ready, we then set off in The Paxton Princess to Horning Ferry and then up the Ant past Ludham Bridge and on to Irstead Staithe. There followed a busy boating day setting off from Irstead Staithe and on across Barton Broad and up to Stalham for a look around the town and then meeting the owner of Stalham Yacht Services. He had brought our boat as ‘The Rolyat Princess’ around from Norfolk to the Great Ouse on its delivery and proving trips. We then set off downstream the River Ant and Bure getting as far as Yarmouth eventually but there were no good moorings there and so we eventually crossed Breydon Water and moored at The Berney Arms. We then cruised from Berney Arms to the Norwich Yacht Station via stops for lunch at The Beauchamp Arms at the defunct Buckenham Ferry and at The Yare Boatique in Brundall. We found an old friend in the Norwich harbourmaster who had fallen recently and badly bruised his knee. No luck with fishing there but great fun with escaped maggots. We spent a noisy and disturbed night in Norwich and had gnat bites to contend with as well.
We walked into Norwich town centre to have coffee and a "morning bun" at Jarrold’s after which the girls went shopping and I ordered the trophies for the Historical Ambulance Preservation Society Rally in memory of my Dad. Then we all met up for lunch of salad sandwiches at Oliver’s' and I took Daniel to the cinema to see "Days of Thunder", an American stock car racing film. After being un-moored by vandals in Norwich, we cruised down The Yare, stopping off again at the Brundall Boatique on the way and intended to stop to go to Pettit's at Reedham but found them closed and so cruised on to Oulton Broad directly. Di took the girls for a swim in the outdoor swimming pool in the Nicholas Everett Park which, whilst being old-fashioned and unheated was thoroughly enjoyed. We met again for tea at the cafe by the pool and then I went back to the boat to write up my logs. From our base in Oulton Broad, we set off for Lowestoft and the seaside after morning coffee at the café. I enjoyed a plate of seafood, the girls the sand and sea and watching Punch and Judy and Daniel and Di just enjoyed the rest and recreation.
Then the Lowestoft Carnival procession was a highlight with its fete on the green. Another night disturbed by the youths on a nearby hire cruiser at Oulton Broad Yacht Station, about which we complained, after which we set off by taxi for Pleasurewood Hills. After Daniel’s friend Gary had joined us aboard, and we all used the Oulton Broad facilities and then set off by bus to Lowestoft for a while. We then returned to the boat and cruised to Great Yarmouth and through the Haven Bridge to moor at High Tide/Slack Water by using Channel 12 to join the craft allowed under the bridge. The boys set off to explore and I took the girls for a walk and then to Joyland as Di was unwell. Sailing yacht Phan Khu came alongside to moor for the night. After an overnight stay moored on the Town Hall Quay in Great Yarmouth, we had breakfast in Tooks, a visit to the Toll House Museum and then eventually freed ourselves of the sailing yacht moored alongside and cruised upstream under the bridges to arrive in Horning by 5pm. Dan and Gary drove into Norwich and I took Diana and the girls for an evening walk around Horning.
After an early start mopping down the Paxton Princess ready for our cruise as Diana prepared things within before breakfast on the Heronshaw veranda. Some poor service from Colin Facey's boat-yard in Horning and then on to Ranworth Broad where we moored with the mud-weight and used The Jolly to get ashore for lunch at The Granary where the food was good, but the service poor. After getting up early I cast off from the Stracey Arms early on the ebb and then arrived in Yarmouth at the Town Hall Quay at 8.30am. I mopped the decks and we had breakfast on the way so that we could make an early start and the girls thus enjoyed the pier Play-deck, Joyland, the pony-and-trap for a trip along the front and Pleasurebeach. There was time for some crab fishing with Della, and a ‘Carry On’ video to watch aboard. Then from Great Yarmouth to Beccles to moor by the swimming pool pontoons after a noisy and unsettled night but the girls had slept well, and Helen was enjoying her stay on the boat and being useful. Daniel telephoned us that day and reported that all was well at home.
We cruised from Beccles Yacht Station to Burgh St Peter for lunch at The Waveney Inn and then on to moor with a mud weight on a quieter part of Oulton Broad. I did some fishing and the family watched a video. Daniel called to say that he had been working at "The Jolly Abbot" in Abbotsley with his friend Steve and earned £14.50 plus tips! We enjoyed our quiet mud-weight mooring in Oulton Broad fishing and then went by Jolly to the quay and on by taxi to Lowestoft for a typical seaside day, as the family enjoyed the beach, "Punch and Judy" at children’s corner and I ate a couple of plates of fresh seafood. Back for the Oulton Broad Gala Day as the girls swam in the old-fashioned outdoor pool and then to cast off for the long cruise through Somerleyton, St Olaves and on to Burgh Castle for the night marvelling at the Roman ruins After a later start, we cruised upstream with the flood tide across Breydon Water and under the Bure bridges to arrive at Stokesby for lunch at The Ferry Inn.
Then back to Horning with Helen Cranston taking the helm where we met her family for some refreshment in the shade of the balcony before they left. I was relaxing with the ship’s log that evening and de-commissioning the Paxton Princess, taking off her burgees, ensign, fenders and ropes as Di packed for home after a splendid time cruising. Our departure day, starting reluctantly with a visit to the Wroxham launderette as we enjoyed an English Breakfast at the Hotel Wroxham. We dropped into Stalham for some steel plates, dropped by Jack's house on the way back to leave them for drilling and then loaded up on a day had got very warm and humid again.
We did some more fishing that evening and it was strange to see how it got dark at 8.30pm. Between some time spent fishing in the morning and evening, I had a nice lunch at the Bridge Restaurant after which we went to buy the clothes drier of Di's choice which they installed in the afternoon We telephoned ahead to Freda and Alf in Redgrave before visiting them and then Mum at Stanton and then made our way home to Little Paxton where the garden was in a mess. I would have to sack the gardener and get another one which was disappointing. Then time catching up with care and gardening for The Hayling View with the aid of Daniel and his friends Gary and Steve after the failures of our gardener whilst we were away. Debbie went to see her precious Sundance in the morning but, as there was a good hack going in the afternoon, she worked around the stables and saved him for then.
We made a late decision in favour of joining Nigel Smith’s party at The Kimbolton Summer Ball after much of the day working on the Hayling View swimming pool and watering the gardens; which I should do as I was serving on the Kimbolton School Society committee. I met several people we knew there after causing a stir by arriving in our Rolls Royce. Roger Peel, the headmaster, was pleased with the news that Daniel had got into The University of East Anglia and Peter Watson disclosed that he had telephoned to lobby them as well and so it was quite a team effort all round.
We had not followed domestic news very much, but there was a train crash at Reading with many injured, Britain were doing well in the European Athletics Championships winning three more gold medals for a total of five. There was news of a probable recall of parliament to discuss the Gulf Crisis at the request of the opposition leader, Neil Kinnock, as the Iran/Iraq situation had turned into a full-blown crisis with war threatened. We had also not followed the story very well, but we did note that oil prices had rocketed to $30 a barrel as a dispute flared up, the UK and USA were out on a limb with their blockade until they could get UN backing but then the United Nations endorses the use of force if necessary, to carry out a naval blockade against Iraq and Bush warns that Iraq will be held responsible for the safety of US citizens.
The US mobilised its reserve forces and the American troop build-up in Gulf grew and a military confrontation was increasingly on the cards with the US and Britain rejecting talks until Iraq withdrew from Kuwait but UN Secretary-General Peres de Cuellar met the Iraqi Foreign Minister for "an exchange of views". Despite Iraq’s demands, most countries refuse to close their Kuwait embassies and Iraqi tanks and troops surround them. The Iraq leader appeared on TV with some of the hostages to help his propaganda, but it disgusted its western audience as an obviously put-up job. British women and children in Iraq and Kuwait were being gathered together in a Baghdad hotel in the hope of being freed by Sadam but, as the month closed, Western women and children still could not leave Iraq despite frantic efforts by foreign nations.
Later, for once, the Iraq crisis plays second fiddle to the main news which was the expected release of the Irish hostage in the Lebanon, Mr Brendan Keenan.
For the record the crisis unfolded in August day-by-day chronology as follows:- 1st; Iraq pulls out of Jeddah talks with Kuwait over territory, oil pricing and Kuwaiti Gulf War loans to Iraq. 2nd; Saddam Hussein's Iraq invades Kuwait before dawn and President Bush orders US economic embargo against Iraq. 3rd; Iraqi troops mass on Saudi Arabian border. 4th; Iraq announces short-lived military government for Kuwait and EEC announces trade embargo against Iraq. 5th; Iraq announces troop withdrawal from Kuwait but it fails to materialise and Japan suspends Iraqi oil imports. 6th; UN Security Council orders world-wide embargo on trade with Iraq. 7th; Bush orders US troops and war-planes to Saudi Arabia and warships to the region and Turkey cuts off exports from Iraqi oil pipeline. 8th; Saddam Hussein declares Kuwait as part of Iraq and Britain agrees to join multilateral force in the Gulf. 9th; US troops take up position in Saudi Arabia, Iraq closes its borders to foreigners trapping thousands of Westerners in Iraq and Kuwait. 10th; 12 of the 21 Arab League vote to join US in defence of Saudi Arabia but Saddam Hussein urges all Arabs to sweep "emirs of oil" from power in the Gulf. 11th to 12th; Hussein says he is ready to resolve the crisis if Israel withdraws from occupied territories but Iraq's opponents dismiss the idea as propaganda. 13th; Iraqi troops round up US and British citizens from Kuwaiti hotels for transport to Iraq and Jordon's King Hussein meets Sadam Hussein in Baghdad. 14th King Hussein flies to Washington to try to mediate in US/Iraq confrontation. 15th; Saddam announces Iraqi withdrawal from Iranian territory and release of Iranian prisoners of war so as not to be fighting on two fronts. 16th; Saddam orders US and British citizens in Kuwait to assemble at hotels. 17th; Iraq announces move to place Westerners at Iraqi military and economic locations to act as a human shield. 18th; Iraq offers to release Westerners if US forces withdraw from the region but this is rejected. 19th; Iraq orders foreign embassies in Kuwait to close. 20th; Bush warns that Iraq will be held responsible for the safety of US citizens. 21st; Saddam demands that the US should "look for peaceful solutions" to the Gulf Crisis or "face a grave disaster" but US and Britain reject talks until Iraq withdraws from Kuwait. 22nd; Bush calls up military reserves as American troop build-up in Gulf increases and oil reaches $30 a barrel. Most countries refuse to close their Kuwait embassies. 23rd; Saddam appears on TV with a group of hostages for propaganda reasons and Jordon, "overwhelmed with refugees", closes its border with Iraq. 24th; Iraqi tanks and troops surround embassies in Kuwait. 25th; United Nations endorses the use of force if necessary to carry out naval blockade against Iraq. 26th; Iraqi Foreign Minister agrees to meet UN Secretary General at end of the month in Jordon and Iran opens its borders to refugees. 27th; France and Britain reject negotiations with Iraq unless it withdraws from Kuwait. 28th; Iraq declares Kuwait as its 19th province and Saddam suddenly announces in another TV interview that foreign women and children will be free to leave Kuwait and Iraq. 29th; Ten Opec countries agree on rapid rise in oil production to fulfil Iraq/Kuwait loss. 30th and 31st; Western women and children still cannot yet leave yet despite frantic efforts by foreign nations.