Off to Norfolk in my thermal underwear on another very cold morning leaving early to arrive at the Broads Authority Planning Committee at Norfolk County Hall with my architect John Sennit. The disorganised bunch agreed to a site visit for our application.
A lightening visit found both Heronshaw and The Paxton Princess in a good situation and soon had the boat engines started and seemed to have survived the freezing weather all right with ice forming on the the dyke. Also dropped off a card for Jack and Dolly Edwards. I then dropped in to Redgrave where Freda and Alf had progressed roof repairs but they still had no management accounts for the business after eighteen months from taking over and after six months with their new accountants.
Home through some fog patches in the latter stages. John Major's negotiations in Maastricht showed that he can unite his own party over the deal which was his prime objective. Pity the result will be bad for us in Europe and that the stock market will sink down again as soon as the economic realities come home to roost.
I got Di to wake me very early this morning so that I could load up and leave soon after 7.00am for Norfolk. It was still very cold and, swallowing my pride, I donned my thermal underwear again as I find that my circulation hardly keeps my legs and feet warm these days. It was just getting light as I passed over Priory Hill and the red-tinged sky was quite interesting. Some time before the car was warm and I could remove my hat and gloves but then I settled down listening to the car radio.
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The journey to Norwich went well and I arrived before 9.00am and pulled over to telephone for directions for the Broads Authority Planning Committee meeting. It was on the southern ring road at County Hall and I was parked and inside the building in time to be the first member of the public there. I was joined later by John Sennitt, my architect, and we sat through the proceedings until our application was dealt with and then had a snack afterwards to discuss the result. They are a strange bunch; quite disorganised and illogical in their decision-making compared with my Huntingdonshire colleagues and with the planning officers so deferential and giving so little guidance that they easily lose their way. For me, they were considering exactly the same application as they refused last time, but now they agreed to a site visit in early January where we could stand a chance of swinging them!
After discussing tactics and a plan of action, we went our separate ways which, for me, was a lightning visit to Horning. I found both Heronshaw and The Paxton Princess in a good situation and soon had the boat engines started and was checking them over. They seemed to have survived the freezing weather all right but, with ice forming on the water of the dyke, I emptied the fresh water tanks and checked the electric background heaters. The bungalow was also all right and so I switched off the internal heater. Before leaving Horning, I popped into the village centre and bought a card for Jack and Dolly Edwards and, as luck would have it, I found them at the shops too and so did not have to go far to give it to them. Then towards home, stopping off at Redgrave to see Freda and Alf and trying to catch up with progress.
They had done the roof repairs over the area that would provide en-suite toilet facilities for Mum but had done little else yet. Also, they still had no management accounts for the business after eighteen months from taking over and after six months with their new accountants. I fear that Freda will never make a good business person but at least they cannot lose too much money at what they are doing. Home in early evening after my exertions fighting the fog on the latter stages of my journey and then to rest and chat to the family before they went to bed. I stayed up late to doubly enjoy "Tutti-Frutti" and other programmes and was not into bed until after midnight. The stock exchange has been rebounding after John Major's negotiations in Maastricht showed that he can unite his own party over the deal which was his prime objective. Pity the result will be bad for us in Europe and that the stock market will sink down again as soon as the economic realities come home to roost.