Della being nursed in Hospital after her accident
Della being nursed in Hospital after her accident

A difficult cold, wet and windy month with some frosts during which Daniella's Convalescence was interrupted with trips to Scotland and Norfolk. It opened with Della in an uncomfortable traction in Holly Ward, Hinchingbrooke, and continued with the problems of getting that leg straight for healing and ended up with the plaster and problems of comfort that this brought. This plaster encased her chest, hips and all her broken leg down to the tips of her toes.

She became quite inconsolable after a while, thrashing around and scratching until two nurses managed to console her and I stayed to eventually get her off to sleep. At least Della was home and happy by the end of the month, and I was able to take a break, watching sport and catching up with work. With our employed nurse, we eventually managed to get back to some sort of normality and Debbie recovered from the trauma of the experience and resumed her horse-riding. Kimbolton Prep were attentive and learnt from the experience and deployed additional bus safety measures. Della’s moods change from complete happiness and serenity at best to black depression at times, but she ended up playing well with Debbie.

I did manage to make flying visits to Norfolk to lay up my boat, adjusting the moorings and exchanging the boat cover and leaving the bungalow in good shape and to Scotland where, despite it pouring with rain and I damaged my nose, I found that all was well with my forest. Once back home, I was sorting out the problems amongst my St Neots Liberal Democrat Town Council colleagues with the fall-out between Michael Pope and Ross McKay the big issue. My leadership of the Hunts DC LibDem group was no problem and went well by contrast.

There was not much time for Freda or Mum as the plans and progress there seemed to have been delayed. The outside world was still full of news about negotiations for European unity and for Yugoslavian peace the struggle between Serbs and Croats in Yugoslavia continued unabated. The Government's Autumn Statement on the economy also went down like a lead balloon. More newsworthy was the mysterious death of Robert Maxwell, the Mirror Group Chairman, lost overboard at sea from his yacht allegedly when trying to pee!

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The month began with wet, windy and quite cold days, which then turned frosty which had me worried about the damage to Heronshaw and the Paxton Princess but then ended up milder, windier and wetter but not quite so cold.

A very difficult month indeed which opened with Della in an uncomfortable traction in Holly Ward, Hinchingbrooke, continued with the problems of getting that leg straight for healing and ended up with the plaster and problems of comfort. It was difficult throughout to get any real information from the medical staff who seem somehow reluctant to volunteer information unless you really press for it. There was mounting concern over Della's Traction after an X-ray showed the two slanting surfaces of her broken thigh bone too compressed for knitting together. We were then informed that a large swelling of new bone tissue would form around the fracture and that the splinters of dead bone would soften and dissolve.  We then had a meeting with the fracture ward sister and senior Houseman who adjusted her treatment and made her leg more secure and then coping with a worrying day with Della's traction which had been readjusted and was causing pain.

At least Della was home and happy by the end of the month, and we had cause to appreciate the real help of Daniel and Angela, Helen Young, Pat Law, Helena and The Rev Peter Lewis. Many others, such as Janice Salvadori, kept enquiring after Della but their enquiries were more disruptive and stressful in themselves rather than being of help. I was often taking the last turn attending Della as she got tired and went through the session of involuntary body jerks as she relaxed into sleep. We celebrated the first settled night and full comfortable day for Della on my 44th Birthday which was the best present ever. On Guy Fawkes night I was again sitting with Della as she went off to sleep and relaxed without the aid of any painkillers or relaxants for the first time. Mr Vaughan-Lane had returned for his round with his complete team to examine Della and we learnt that she would have a general anaesthetic after which the leg would be straightened and adjusted before being encased in a plaster that would come up to her chest

We had a testing day after Della's operation and the installation of a very uncomfortable and itchy Plaster that encased her chest, hips and all of her broken leg down to the tips of her toes. She became quite inconsolable after a while, thrashing around and scratching until two nurses managed to console her and I stayed to eventually get her off to sleep and came home. When you are very stressed and tired and snatching a few moments respite, the last thing that you want are telephone calls for information that make you go through it all over again. I had my first break one afternoon, watching as England narrowly failed to beat Australia in a thrilling final to the Rugby World Cup and I took Di to the Brampton Garden Centre for lunch and a break from all this.

At least Debbie recovered from the trauma of the experience and resumed her horse-riding, and the employment of a weekday morning nurse has been a boon as we struggle to get back to some sort of normality. It was good that Kimbolton Prep had been practicing crossing the road yesterday afternoon and that the bus prefects now had a duty to see them across when they were being dropped off. Then the school bus was diverted from ever stopping in Gordon Road! Also, when Di and I went to the parents evening at the Prep Department in Kimbolton where we were given time in preference to the other parents to discuss Della. Daniel had taken in the new TV and trolley, after which I finished the evening with Della in Holly Ward watching Bambi on the video! It was poignant when I made a moving speech to open The Grand Bazaar and Jumble Sale in aid of the little Clive Peacock on my late Dad's Birthday.

It was a pity that Diana and Debbie had to go down with a tummy upset just as Della got home and this, plus all else, has left me ending the month very tired physically and emotionally. Although my birthday advanced my age by a year to 44, it felt like seven to 50! a letter to the BNA confirming the acceptance of Nurse Michelle Howard from Eaton Socon as Della’s home nurse. This was the last full day away for Della as she toured the quiet hospital on her wheelchair. Della comes home from hospital after a fuss over the loan of a wheelchair and she settles in and we stopped at the Happy Eater at Croxton and had a late lunch, and we were pleased to see Della eating well again. Della’s moods change from complete happiness and serenity at best to black depression at times, but she ended up playing well with Debbie. Diana was very tired and went to bed whilst I sat up reading in the lounge until Della had gone to sleep Nurse Michelle Howard arrives and is a godsend to look after Della as first Diana and then Debbie fall ill with a tummy bug. The police returned and got Debbie to give a statement about Della's accident, but they are unlikely to pursue criminal prosecutions

All this was very energy-sapping, but I did manage to make flying visits to Norfolk to lay up my boat, adjusting the moorings and exchanging the boat cover and leaving the bungalow in good shape and to Scotland where I found that all was well with my forest. Nigel had kept in touch to make plans for visiting Thormaid and he had worked out the flights to Scotland for our trip. I would have found this latter trip fun if it were not for the pouring rain and the damage to my nose!  I set off for my Thormaid Estate in the Scottish Highlands with the drive to Birmingham Airport, the plane to Wick, changing at Aberdeen on to the Gulfstream G1 and meeting Nigel for the drive to Thurso for the night.

A very enjoyable, if very wet, visit to Thormaid being shown around by area forester David Edwards and some "sport" both before and after drying out at the Forss Bridge Hotel in the company of host Ian McGregor, the proprietor. I had managed to injure my nose by falling over a chair in the dark but still tried to enjoy another wet sporting day whilst also exploring my estate and all of its features. We then went back to the hotel where we met Alan Brooks in the bar and talked about developing the White Loch for sporting use. I tried progressing Nigel's idea for fostering grouse-shooting at Thormaid on my return, but it may be that the recession was biting so hard that it would be difficult to get the guns together, but we shall see. We finally drove as far as Edinburgh and booked into a Thistle Hotel for the night causing some consternation by taking the guns upstairs! Obviously, all this had taken up just about all of my time during the month but, in the time I salvaged from all this, my Reliant got some attention with its trailer delivered and original registration number promised for restoration into its rightful ownership. A lay in on Poppy-Day and to see the poignant Remembrance Parade later at The Cenotaph but also to take Debbie to her horse-riding at Great Staughton in the meantime.

I also used time to meet my most important meetings and commitments and to sort out the problems amongst my St Neots Liberal Democrat colleagues. As Della’s care became more stable, I was able to attend Council Meetings and at least found Little Paxton Parish Council in a positive and expansive mood. The relationship problems within my family was an issue, but those between my LibDem colleagues on St Neots Town Council was my major problem. Di, Debbie and Della could be pacified but the fall-out between Michael Pope and Ross McKay looked to be more intransigent. I was working hard to try and sort out the party row with Michael being elusive and probably sick with the tension and even orchestrated a LibDem Town Group Conciliation Meeting, but without Michael again. Elsewhere, I typed up the minutes of the last HDC LibDem Group Meeting as their Group Leader and then chaired a LibDem HDC group meeting at Sally Guinee’s house as I also caught up with HDC papers and all that was going well.

I also attended a full HDC Council Meeting and then give history talk to the Kimbolton History Society in the State Room at Kimbolton Castle. Council colleague Tory Terry Hayward was also admitted to the same hospital with a heart attack, and I sent him a ‘get-well’ message. No time for Freda this month who has not yet reported on her Redgrave plans and progress not for Mum who is fretting about not having a toilet there for Christmas. I heard from Mum who was worrying about the alterations to Redgrave to house her.

The outside world was still full of news about negotiations for European unity and for Yugoslavian peace. John Major and Douglas Hurd were frantically negotiating with the rest of the EEC over aspects of greater European unity when their own Tory party was split down the middle! The European debate in the House of Commons with John Major was low key, Thatcher was in spoiling mood and Kinnock fiery was voiced all to little avail and so the struggle between Serbs and Croats in Yugoslavia continues unabated. More newsworthy was the mysterious death of Robert Maxwell, the Mirror Group Chairman, lost overboard at sea and then the world's stock exchanges also going overboard to threaten the end of the recession about which I have long been sceptical. The Government's Autumn Statement on the economy also went down like a lead balloon. Some poignant news was the critical condition of England Football Team Captain Gary Lineker's baby boy, George, with leukaemia, but he went on to fully recover.