The start of The Gulf War was regrettable this month as the war-makers won over the peacemakers with the weather in keeping with very high winds and rainstorms followed by steady chills with bronchial infections widespread.
I struggled to get over a bad cough and poor Diana had her ear and throat infection and continued quite deaf. Della passed her Kimbolton School Entrance Exams and, like Debbie, who enjoying her much more satisfactory Staughton livery was doing well at horse riding as well as outings with Di and I. Daniel was enjoying his UEA Computer education, his own room and receiving passionate letters from Angela and visiting me in Horning to help and do his washing. Just Freda was a cause of concern in her new retail role as Mum seemed to be managing.
Plans for completing The Hayling View were proceeding and I was visiting Heronshaw to carry on work there, first with Di and then alone as Daniel also visited and helped. I visited the Boat Show with Stephen Bloom. I was still leading the opposition to my local Tory Council over their Poll Tax plans, with radio and press interviews, attending all manner of Parish, District and Constituency meetings whilst still finding time for the local Little Paxton Cubs history project. This whilst still undertaking my administration and upgrading my alarm system and recovering my fitness after illness and witnessing the demise of my Onsite Training investment.
There was a fatal rail accident at Cannon Street with a growing death toll, but the Iraq War was dominating the headlines. The Gulf War began with a US warship off-shore firing a Cruise Tomahawk missile fusillade and hundreds of Allied warplanes attacking strategic Iraqi targets opposed by just surface to air missiles and gunnery.
Iraq retaliated by attacking Israel with Scud missiles and the true aircraft casualties were kept secret on both sides. Iraqis were then able to launch a total of 10 Scuds at Saudi Arabia, three at the eastern military bases of Dharhan and the rest at the capital, Riyadh which wrong-footed the Allies who were defending Israel, but they could not prevent Scud attacks killing 100 Israelis due to the collapse of a two-storey apartment building as the air war continued.
Soon, following the mass exodus of 100 Iraqi war planes to Iran, Iraq was suffering land and sea attacks without their air cover. Then a huge oil spill started growing and spreading southwards along the western coast of the Gulf from an off-shore oil terminal and scuttled tankers with this oil slick then threatening the regions drinking water by clogging the Gulf sea-water intakes of its de-salination plants. At Al Khafgi, some 5,000 Iraqis and around 50 tanks took the Allies by surprise and occupied it
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It has been a month dominated by the expiry of the United Nations deadline and the start of the Gulf War. For my part, I did not want this war and felt that more could have been done to avoid it. The use of force of arms whilst economic sanctions were still freshly applied (and with so great a cost and risk that the effects cannot be estimated to me) is an act of folly. The war-makers won over the peacemakers and then the latter joined in the popular acclaim with a patriotic fervour that I found extremely worrying. We must protect and save sovereign countries it is true but did not do so for Palestine and may others who happened not to be strategically important to the Americans. Ours should have been a more detached role in common concert with Europe. The Americans could fight, and we could help win the peace afterwards. As it is, we are going to lose this war whatever the result as we will end up with enemies throughout the Middle East. Also the technology and effectiveness of the western killing machines will kill half a nation of Iraqis before the matter is done and throw us into even deeper recession. A glum note on which to start the new year. At least our own situation is more hopeful.
In keeping with this theme this month was the storms and heavy rain followed by cold, still and chilling weather. No sharp frosts but just steady chills day after day. I hope that February brings something better. There were slightly milder and quieter days after strong winds and rain, but when it was raining hard again many of the roads were under water for a while and very high winds and storms were lashing the western half of the British Isles. Often, the heavens opened with rain and gale-force winds making conditions very unpleasant with the rain and wind moderating between the succession of depressions. Many people were suffering from the bronchial infections as the after effect of the cold and 'flu this winter as the weather continued cold, chilly and quite dull, There were record rainstorms and flooding in Australia as the world weather patterns show their recent more volatile face. Statisticians confirm that last year was officially the hottest since records began in the UK.
We had our customary New Year's Day visit to Di’s family at Old Warden Abbey on wet and windy day after a frosty start There had been much illness and infection to cope with and it was well into the month before I had recovered from a chest infection. I can only think that it has firstly been a colder winter after several mild ones but I also suspect that Gulf-related infections have been transmitted via the huge logistical transport operations between East Anglia and the Middle East. After false hopes of fitness, my cough kept returning and recovery was set back, sometimes slumping onto the settee all afternoon to rest after I took down Christmas decorations on 12th night. Poor Diana has had a rotten month with her ear and throat infection and continued quite deaf and was in need of further medical help. I accompanied Diana to the doctor to have her ears, nose and throat examined after constant infections and she will have a hearing test soon and then came news of her legs deteriorating with thrombosis due, in my view, to the increased weight that she is carrying I cheered her up with a modest Little Chef meal as we are resuming diets ahead of our planned Summer US visit.
Della struggled with her school interview and entrance exams, but we had the good news of her acceptance by Kimbolton Preparatory School and she also passed her horse-riding exam. Debbie was often horse-riding in good company at her much more satisfactory Staughton livery, which included a ‘riding picnic’ and was also reading "Black Beauty”. Daniel was enjoying his successful work experience with Systems Support of Cambridge and was pleased to be receiving long and passionate letters from Angela. We drove to the East Anglian University Plain to see his room. Daniel came back from UEA and work experience with video games and was very popular We had taken the girls for a Centre Parks Visit to meet up with the Bloom family, who had paid for us as guests, and to Bedford for the January Sales and to see the Peacocks auction lots as well but I had also taken the family to ‘Rollers’ in Milton Keynes roller skating. My mother was seemed to be managing reasonably well health when I dropped in to see her at Stanton and set up her new phone system and was tending Dad's grave from time to time up to Little Paxton Cemetery and brightened it up again with some daffodils; but my sister is another cause for concern with her lack of financial plans and accounts for the business.
The major aspects of the Heronshaw garage work were completed, which was a relief; and the plans laid for transforming the central entrance of The Hayling View to organise a Utiliity area, which was one matter that Diana was worrying about. In fact, Di and I had been having problems with our own company when we were taking time without the children. We had dropped off Debbie and her friend off at the stables for our Norfolk day-trip, where we restored the mooring lines and electricity supply to the boat and had a fine Sunday lunch at the Bridge Restaurant in Wroxham. and home via Stanton to and then the Cranston’s to collect Debbie. I then started making my own trips to Norfolk, driving to Horning and Heronshaw where I did some work on the boats before settling down for the evening. Daniel joined me and used the washing machine there and also helped install the crossing sleepers that formed the new garage floor as we worked well all day. I wanted to visit the Boat Show, but Di and Dan were not interested and so I went by train to visit The London Boat Show with my friend Steven where I decided to order an auto-pilot and get my navigation software updated before we went by taxi to Leicester Square afterwards and had a nice Chinese meal at the Fu Kung Restaurant. The boat manufacturers were finding the going a bit rough with the sky-high interest rates and onset of a Gulf War,
Amongst other visits was a painful non-ending visit from the mad Chrisula was frustrating, a more productive visit as the father of Debbie’s old riding friend Sarah Morby arrives and installs our first Satellite TV aerial, and some local boys visit looking for jobs and wanting to see my Koi carp. I also sorted out my helper Hilary Knightley, with her microcomputer problem
The council and political work continued to be quite a workload and I struggled to keep up to date with day-to-day matters so as to be able to progress the outstanding projects. I was working with and leading my HDC colleagues, preparing for meetings of the Parish, District locally and to Cambridge for meetings of the S.W. Cambs Executive to discuss party issues and our candidate Sue Sutton’s campaign. I chaired a joint meeting of representatives from the Village Hall and Parish Council to ensure funding for the important hall work. My work included interviews with Radio Chiltern to attack the Tory Council’s Poll Tax plans and Radio Cambridgeshire about the use of bailiffs to collect the Poll Tax and also had a satisfying Council meeting of leaders to agree representation after our recent election victories. I donated my time early to clear up the rubbish from our recycling, whilst pressing the authorities for better facilities.
When not working for the public good, there was always the need to spend time working in my office, attending to correspondence and preparing more of my books for sale. I slept in, wrote, and I worked on building society accounts and things with a lit fire in my office each side of a Radio Chiltern interview. Visits from fellow-councillors Percy and Derek this afternoon to co-ordinate our activities and then this evening and supporting local colleagues with Council Affairs Council and FOCUS work After progressing my FOCUS work I was preparing for my afternoon Pathfinder House meeting and then prepare for this evening’s Sue Sutton Selection Meeting which went well.
Then to a Southoe Parish Council Meeting which reported failure get the use of any nearby land for a playing field for the children. A little work outside and then a Council meeting in Huntingdon after taking some phone calls from the press and District Council. To Cambridge one evening to a meeting of the S.W. Cambs Executive to discuss party issues. Then working at home the next morning preparing for my evening HDC Finance & GP Committee and taking and making all manner of phone calls. The meeting went well, as I successfully highlighted the poor council service plans for next year. |There followed a good LibDem meeting this evening to plan our forthcoming local elections. A talk later to Little Paxton cubs and their parents on the history of the village for their "Historian Badge".
I was still recovering fitness after my illness but working on my accounts, Financial Summaries, building society investments and other administration/correspondence, packing away Christmas lights and then tackling the hall/utility area alarm wiring. My Onsite Board Meeting was a depressing affair with no successful business formula for the company nor a way of solving their acute cash flow position. I got down to working on the alarm wiring in the new utility room and ended up documenting the entire system, buying a new soldering iron and some other materials with which to make my system changes.
Domestically, Labour was attacking the Tories on their economic policies. John Lewis went into receivership due to high interest rates in the middle of an economic recession, there was a fatal rail accident at Cannon Street with a growing death toll and the IRA managed to destroy quite a few prestige stores in Northern Ireland. The Iraq War was dominating the headlines and an MOD laptop with Gulf activities was stolen from an official’s car. To begin with, there was lots of posturing and not much negotiation or discussion taking place, as the US and UK were against that, and so a bloody war was more and more inevitable with our nation in war fever.
USA intelligence agrees with the Iraqi claims that they have over half of a million troops and more than 4000 tanks dug in on the front line as the UK Foreign Minister, Douglas Hurd, frantically lobbied other European governments by telephone against their idea of getting some talks going. The USA and Iraqi delegations met for three sessions of two hours each in negotiations without success and a last-minute US proposal for talks with Iraq did not lead to anything nor was intended to. The financial markets were falling in expectation of a war as the French tried to get a five-point plan agreed between the allies and Iraq on the eve of the conflict but Peres de Cueliar, the United Nations Secretary-General, had little chance trying to help Iraq and the USA find a peaceful and diplomatic end to the Gulf conflict USSR were also pursuing an intense diplomatic effort which was destined to failure. For us, our proximity to the main attack air base of Alconbury was a consideration and I bought a small TV to watch the Gulf War news in my office. London club Brookes of St James's was damaged by a bomb as the Gulf-related terrorist campaign began.
The Gulf War began with a US warship off-shore Cruise Tomahawk missile fusillade and hundreds of Allied warplanes attacking strategic Iraqi targets opposed by just surface to air missiles and gunnery. The Allies then spent a stressful day trying all forms of diplomacy to try to persuade Israel not to retaliate as Iraq escalated Gulf War by attacking Israel with Scud missiles and the true aircraft casualties were kept secret on both sides. With further Scud missiles hitting Israel there was a massive US air lift to Tel Aviv of Patriot II anti-missile missiles arriving every 15 minutes in huge Galaxy transport aircraft. By deploying these, the US hopes to keep Israel out of the war and thus the Arab coalition together. The Iraqis were then able to launch a total of 10 Scuds at Saudi Arabia, three at the eastern military bases of Dharhan and the rest at the capital, Riyadh which wrong-footed the Allies who were defending Israel. The propaganda war began as nine captured pilots from America, Britain, Kuwait were paraded on Baghdad TV as the Scud attacks on Saudi Arabia continued and the House of Commons debated the war.
The number of Israeli injured rose sharply with Scud attacks to just under 100 due to the collapse of a two-storey apartment building as the air war continued. More skirmishes with Iraqi planes resulted as they undertook more sorties but they lost two more planes shot down but some of their missiles hit home in Riyadh. The US military then confirmed 22 Scuds fired on Saudi Arabia (18 shot down) and 13 on Israel (1 destroyed) which is more than previously admitted. Our UK aircraft losses in the Gulf war were a worry as were continuing Scud missile attacks on Tel Aviv. Then, the first two dozen Iraqi planes sought protection in neutral Iran and would be held there for the duration of the war.
A huge oil spill started growing and spreading southwards along the western coast of the Gulf from an off-shore oil terminal and scuttled tankers with the growing oil slick then threatening the regions drinking water by clogging the Gulf sea-water intakes of its de-salination plants. Following the mass exodus of Iraqi war planes to Iran, Iraq were suffering land and sea attacks without their air cover as 100 of their planes were then stored for safety in Iran.
News followed concerning the continuing battle of Al Khafgi, where some 5,000 Iraqis and around 50 tanks took the Allies by surprise and occupied it and the Saudi ‘Liberation’ of Al Khafgi was planned as over 1,000 Iraqi military vehicles massed on the Saudi border. There has been more trouble in the Baltic states with the Soviet authorities using "black-berets" to attack the local nationalist efforts to secede from the USSR.