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Daniel did well at his Physics Practical exam today, after his late night, on a warmer and brighter day as the builders started knocking through to the conservatory from the lounge. Some ward issues on the telephone, Debbie had her first evening riding at Staughton and survived a fall and then I contributed to a Parish Council Amenities meeting dealing with a host of playing field improvements.
The government has refused to finance part of the cost of a high-speed rail link for the channel tunnel, another IRA attack has taken place in West Germany on a forces training school classroom and club-wielding "miners" called up by the Romanian government have been beating-up anti-government demonstrators and have also reportedly ransacked the offices of the National Liberal and National Peasants parties, the main democratic opposition
The weather was a bit brighter and warmer this morning and still dry, but not sunny. I was late to get going after my exertions the other night and, by the time I got to the table, the others had already eaten, and Daniel was on his way out to school. It transpires that Daniel had a Physics Practical Exam this morning and I did not remember that when I had my row with him and kept him up late last night. I was upset at all this but still managed to wish him good luck even though he was a bit groggy at the time. As I was eating, some of the builders arrived and got started on the demolition; first taking down the fitted furniture and then knocking a hole through the wall. They were most interested in the pond and size of the fish which had grown a lot since they helped build the conservatory.
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A stressful start on another cool and dull day as Daniel had forgotten his calculator and pencil case with an "A"-level Maths exam today so that I had to drive to Kimbolton and take them to him. Fortunately, he did well in the exam. Some preparations in the house, prior to building work the following day and a chat to my mum on the phone on her birthday. The Butterfields have now moved in and taken over Redgrave Post Office and stores.
A Tory ethics row as former Cabinet Minister - Lord Young - has taken over a top job as executive chairman of Cable and Wireless after he had promised them only last June that they would have one of the three personal communications licenses when he used to be responsible for telecommunications policy at the DTI! Three scientists have challenged the government's view that their measures have made British Beef safe from BSE. In Romania, thousands of demonstrators stormed the television compound and set fire to the police headquarters after feeling that the governing party has too close links with the former communist regime. Iliescu’s National Salvation Front won a landslide victory in last month's elections after there was widespread electoral irregularity
Yet another cool and dull day that threatened to produce rain which never came. I was still up early even though I was awake until after 3.00am and had the expected phone calls to arrange the collection of the FOCUS artwork and its treatment thereafter. Daniel had an "A"-level Maths exam today and set off late before letting us know by telephone that he had forgotten his calculator and pencil-case! I opted to take them to Kimbolton myself whilst Di took Della to school and I arrived to get the things to him in good time. When he came back later, he reported that he had done very well in the exam which is good news. I got my tools in from the shed today and worked on the two bedrooms that are to be knocked into one by the builders tomorrow. I disconnected the electrical wiring from the fitted furniture to prepare for their arrival before lunch and then continued afterwards by removing the two chests of drawers to use for tools in the sheds.
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Content to stay at home on another dull and chilly day, I incorporated another story in our LibDem FOCUS newsletter and then welcomed the Chairman of the South-West Cambridgeshire Constituency Liberal Democrats, who tried to talk me into accepting the P P Candidacy and standing for Parliament, which I declined/deferred.
Later to help move Sundance from Offord to his new livery at Great Staughton and to witness the cruel treatment by Fiona of long-term helper Sarah Morby, who was being abruptly sent away. An evening meeting as a Trustee of the Village Hall Maintenance Committee, where we agreed to re-roof the whole of the front and middle of the hall and to go ahead with a new wood-block floor. Then settling down for a very late working session to complete the FOCUS artwork going to bed after 3.00am.
Thatcher’s cabinet are dead locked over the reforms needed to the Poll Tax, the States of the Soviet Union are looking more like they are willing to negotiate a confederation and Penguin books have dropped plans to publish Salmon Rushdie's Satanic Verses in paper-back after caving in to the political pressure
Another dull and chilly day which meant that I was just about content to stay in and do things most of the time. I got the log fire going before breakfast and had another reasonably early start, clearing up my office and then my chores and making a few telephone calls to my colleagues about the St Neots Pool story. With the details breaking in the press, it was ridiculous not to have a story in FOCUS, putting our side of the issue. Then my visitor arrived. It was the Chairman of the South-West Cambridgeshire Constituency Liberal Democrats, Murray White, come to try to talk me into accepting the Prospective Parliamentary Candidacy and standing for Parliament. We also chatted about election strategy and what I was doing on the local scene. I had to explain to him that I did not want to do the job at the moment and, in any case, I felt that a victory could not be achieved without a radical increase in active membership and a deal with the other opposition parties. We decided to leave the matter in abeyance for the time being as there was nobody better able to stand and they still hope that I will be willing to do so.
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I started this busy day very early, completing my chores before breakfast so tat I could spend the day creating the set of FOCUS newsletters but I did not manage to complete this very difficult task, and watching World Cup football on the TV did not help. Being a chiller day, a lit a log fire in my office. Daniel had three Physics "A"-level examinations today and Debbie went to Guides this evening for her enrolment.
The Norwegian super-tanker aground 57 miles off Galveston, Texas, Mega Borg, is still burning fiercely with its cargo of 38 million gallons of oil seeping out, Former US Admiral Poindexter, a former Reagan right-hand man, has been jailed for 6 months for perjury and Barclays announces that it will have to write off £100m in respect of B.& C. losses. the pound sterling and UK stock market surges ahead as the Financial Times carries a story that the government are now planning an entry of Sterling into the ERM of the EMS this Autumn.
I knew that I had a busy day ahead and so I rose early and tended the conservatory, fish and doves so I could be clear of all that before breakfast. I spent the whole day progressing my FOCUS work. For some of the time I was fully pre-occupied with this and, for the rest, I was watching the TV World Cup Football at the same time. In this latter case, I hardly made much progress, but I could not work continually at the computer screen with no break. As far as the FOCUS's were concerned, I finished the common central section and two of the four back-and-front sets of text to cover half of the wards that we had to circulate with the leaflet. This afternoon's match was the first for Scotland in the World Cup Finals and they lost to a poor team who played negative tactics and then had a single goal-scoring effort go in to the horror of the "Tartan Army" of followers. England's first match this evening was a torrid affair against Ireland with the latter booting and heading the ball up in the air all the time in a swirling wind to negate the better English Footballing skills. It ended as a 1-1 draw with an English Penalty disallowed which seemed unfair on our side.
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