A full day sweeping leaves in the morning and mowing lawns in the afternoon with generous breaks when I rested and had calls from the local newspapers and also a visit from the new owner of The Lady, Mrs Diana Hoult, the German wife of a British serviceman, who has renamed it ‘The Pied Piper’ and used the boat well this summer. As Vice-Chairman, I had to chair the Little Paxton Village Hall Management Committee Meeting this evening in the unexpected absence of the Chairman.
It was quite cold again last night, and I avoided going out too early this morning. Di woke me with my morning tea after a little lay in and then I read the paper with the girls as I had breakfast and opened the mail. It was after 9.00am before I got going and went out to do some sweeping around the back garden and swimming pool. In fact, it was so chilly that I needed to wear gloves and a big sweater to keep warm. I spent the entire morning afterwards clearing leaves from all of the front and back gardens and then the entire afternoon mowing all of the lawns. It is good weather for the grass at the moment and it is greening up and growing quite nicely having been somewhat damaged by the drought and the "leather-jackets" that burrow underneath and attack the roots.
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The air was quite still for most of the time and so I was not plagued too much with leaves falling as I worked but there was quite an accumulation to clear. I treated myself to three longish breaks as it was quite a physical job and I took telephone calls from the Hunts Post and the Citizen on local political matters between sessions. I cleared up before tea and then received the new owner of "The Lady" afterwards, who came to collect the winter cover, the steps and the file of background information on the boat. The lady was Mrs Diana Hoult, the German wife of a British serviceman, who lives in Waterbeach. She told me that they had got good use of the boat this summer, going across the Middle Level to the Nene and then, because of the drought and its closure, they had to come back via The Wash through Kings Lynn. I do not think the boat has been out to sea before.
They are now calling it "The Pied Piper" because she comes from Hamlyn in Germany. She had to come back and collect her handbag having forgotten it the first time. I then got shaved and changed and went along to the Village Hall Management Committee Meeting. I was surprised to find that the Chairman, Alan Cromack, was not there and, having waited a while for him to arrive and looked out for him, I was urged to take the chair as the Vice-Chairman and get the meeting under way. We had some difficult items about maintenance in his absence and then the matter of the youth satellite party and aerial dish to tackle. For this youth party, they have to get this equipment mounted on the roof of the village hall and most of the committee were concerned about the chances of the hall being vandalised as a result. The meeting ended by 9.00pm and I came home somewhat tired by my recent physical exertions.