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Another late start being tired on a chilly day as I first had to buy an 80th birthday card and small present for caretaker Jack, who I eventually caught up at The Black Horse, where he was celebrating his 80th birthday with his extended family. Steve Bloom had arrived unexpectedly and helped me jack the garage up a little but declined an invitation to stay over.
The news was of Gorbachev calling for world unity to liberate Kuwait by peaceful means and Thatcher failing to get the EEC summit to discuss farm liberalisation for GATT as the Franco-German alliance insisted on debating monetary reform and further EEC unity
Another lay this morning and it had turned rather chilly which discouraged too much physical activity too early. It took me until 9.15am to have breakfast, wash, shave and dress and I then went into Horning village to do some shopping. I needed milk and some food, and I also had to get a card and small present to mark Jack's birthday. I bought gift wrapping paper and some Sellotape to wrap his present in and was on my way back to Heronshaw, when I saw him arriving. I pulled off the track and prepared his things and then went looking for him when I got back to the bungalow. He had left his car in front of my garage and was not far away. Then Steven Bloom arrived out of the blue as he was in Wroxham and just dropped in. I welcomed him and we had morning coffee together and, although I tried to look out for Jack, he slipped away thinking that, having company, I would not want to be disturbed which was silly. We caught up with him at The Black Horse at lunchtime, where Steve and I had a steak and kidney pie and Jack was not only surprised to see me, but also had a surprise gathering of all of his family and friends as well.
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Being tired, I only woke up at 8am and made breakfast and settled down with my HDC papers and made calls to organise my council business until the rain subsided after which I worked on repairing the wooden frame of the garage ready for jacking it up out of the rising water.
My neighbour Doris Vincent’s grandchildren helped me carry the table from the car up the stairs to the Heronshaw lounge. Di called me to say that she was pleased with her new car and that Daniel might visit me tomorrow, Debbie was riding Sundance with her friend Helen Cranston who was staying.
I did not wake up until 8.00am this morning and so must have been very tired. I staggered into the kitchen and made a pot of tea and prepared myself a bowl of cereal before shaving and bathing ready to start work at 9.00am but I found that it was pouring with rain which was not very encouraging. I let it rain for a while and settled down with my papers for the forthcoming HDC Policy Committee meeting as there was much to read urgently. I made calls to Sally and Percy, raising queries, and ordering the priorities for the issues that we are to raise. I also called Diana to tell her that I had arrived safely; and then the architect to discuss the latest ideas on a replacement building for Heronshaw. By midday, I was in Wroxham, doing some shopping, getting a local paper and visiting the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society about my mother's money. I had lunch at the cafe and was back working at Heronshaw by 1.30pm.
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A day attending to my Council and Heronshaw chores and administration delays the start of my Heronshaw trip but I manage to take the Ercol refectory table and arrive tired in the evening.
Thatcher grudgingly acknowledges Ted Heath's successful humanitarian visit to Iraq, the Anglo-Irish talks founder as Dublin faces domestic issues, Asda Nasir’s Polly Peck goes into administration and the U.S. steps up its ground troops in The Gulf by 100,000 men to make a total of 300,000.
Another fresh morning but the sun was shining, and the garden was looking very nice as I went out to feed the doves. I have put a de-humidifier in the inner garage to protect my classic cars and emptying it daily gives me another chore as well as tending my filters and fish every morning. I was tied to my desk to begin with, answering important correspondence and preparing the Liberal Democrat motions and questions for the next HDC Council meeting. My plans to leave for Norfolk by lunchtime were thus delayed. I therefore had an opportunity to go out and deliver my correspondence and motions and also to take a lot of scrap down to the tip in St Neots.
I subsequently drove from Horning to Heronshaw after tea once it had become dusk and the roads were therefore not too congested as a result. I had managed to get the long Ercol refectory table into the Range Rover (which was quite an achievement), but I was less sure how I was going to get it out at the other end. I also took the seats for Daniel's speedboat for him to work on. I arrived quite late and simply unloaded my clothes and food, made myself a hot chocolate and went to bed very tired.
The news today is of the grudging acknowledgement by Thatcher in the House of Commons of Ted Heath's successful humanitarian visit to Iraq; but Douglas Hurd meets and de-briefs him upon his return. The Anglo-Irish talks founder after the Dublin government becomes pre-occupied with a domestic political crisis that could unseat Charles Haughey's government. Polly Peck, the former FT100 company of Turkish Cypriot, Asda Nasir, has finally foundered and gone into "administration" and all seems lost. The U.S. steps up its commitment to provide ground troops in The Gulf by 100,000 men to make a total of 300,000.
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A chillier night leading to heavy dews and a day of occasional showers which started with an early meeting with other HDC political leaders to discuss much more representation on the committees and working parties of the council and then home to some DIY house jobs after which I trimmed the lawn edges until lunchtime.
To the school with Della this afternoon for her ‘mini-party’ and then to clean and store the Rolls Royce under cover before an evening HDC Planning Seminar. The IRA have used 'Human Bombs" to blow up security crossing points, killing 5/6 members of the security forces after coercing them to drive there.
The nights are getting chillier now and we are also getting heavy dews and occasional showers. With this moisture around, the garden and lawns are recovering nicely and the blue lobelia in the beds are developing and flowering at last which is much later than originally intended. I had to get going early this morning as there was a meeting arranged for 9.00am at Pathfinder House with the other political leaders on the District Council. We are rising a little later than usual with Debbie on holiday and so I had a bit of a rush to do my chores before I could get out. I then arrived at about 8.40am in Godmanchester only to find the roads blocked solid with a traffic jam and so I got to the Chief Executive's office a few minutes late.
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