On another close and hot day, with stubble burning leaving smoke in the air, worrying news from my Mum who is depressed and about LibDem colleague Derek Giles who is in police custody after threatening some gypsies with his shotgun. Word from Trevor Grey next door at Horning about my planning application.
I had expected today to be quiet and without incident; but there were events planned with the children. Diana had made arrangements for a few of Debbie's friends to come over for the day and set off to collect one of them, but the other two could not make it. Then Della's friend, Naomi, was invited over and so the house was again enlivened by the sound of pattering feet (and all else). Angela stayed the night after they had gone out for a drink together and then Daniel took her back to Hertford this morning. Once he was back, I spoke to him about the car and persuaded him that he should call it a day on his tinkering and content himself with the alternator charging performance and then do a few other chores.
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It was then that we first heard from Mum today as she telephoned and spoke to Deborah. She was depressed and was talking about "visiting" and "joining" Dad and "taking the car" tomorrow and Debbie interpreted this as her planning a visit but, when Diana spoke to her later, it seemed that she was fed up with this life and was considering ending it all. We tried speaking to her several times later in the day but it was not until this evening that she sounded more normal. Freda reminded us that tomorrow was our parents wedding anniversary and a particularly poignant time for Mum.
Another call this morning was from Trevor Grey, my other next-door neighbour from Horning, who told me that he would not be objecting to my development but would appreciate us putting obscured glass in the boat-house window facing his side. He also told me of the Horning Parish Council's letter to him encouraging him to object which seemed strange to me. I telephoned my architects later and briefed them on this and they will be pursuing the application later in the week when the relevant planning officer is back in the office. I took the family and their guest to St Neots today and we had lunch in the Bridge Restaurant but first we collected no less than four sets of spectacles from the opticians. Daniel had new lenses in his; there were two new pairs for Deborah, and I was being given glasses for the first time and they all had to be fitted.
It was upon getting home that I had to call Sandie Giles and heard her news. Derek had been arrested for allegedly threatening some Gypsies with a shot gun and was being held at Huntingdon Police Station and Sandie was distraught. It followed several days of court actions and night-time actions to move them on and thwart their occupying other local sites. I got her some legal advice and also reassured her as best as I could and, in the end, he was charged in the evening and arrangements were made for him to appear in Peterborough tomorrow where he will apply for bail. It is all very silly and, although I have said I will stand bail for him, I will be very critical when I see him as he has put our local reputation at risk just after us sorting out the Tony Carmedy debacle.
I got the trailer round to the riverside garden today and also drove out to Brampton Garden Centre to get two compost bins and some Garotta compost agent so that we can make an attack on the huge pile of garden waste that grows by the day. Another very hot and close day and we were glad of our car air-conditioning and swimming pool. The air is strangely misty and Diana thinks that it is the stubble-burning that is causing the problem. This is the last year of voluntary controls before the need for special licenses is a legal requirement.