Some time working on the swimming pool first thing, dosing it for the third time with "super-shock" levels of chlorine before supervising John Brown’s election campaign to succeed me culminating in a meeting at Sally’s house where I had to calm passions and conciliate as our campaign was being spread thinly over many wards. I also found time to clear my desk of paperwork, prepare for my nest Norfolk visit and clear my desk of paperwork.
Slept in a little and then got showered and washed my hair in time to have breakfast of croissants with the girls. Several telephone calls, organising this evening's meeting at Sally's and getting people to make good preparation for it. Then out to the swimming pool and to dose it for the third time with "super-shock" levels of chlorine. It has cleared tremendously, the evolution being from green through brown to a sort of milky white and I think that it will soon come round to clear blue by tomorrow when I can start the process of heating it up. Though mild with sunny spells today, there was a strong south-westerly wind that made life outside unpleasant.
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I suggested that John Brown check and maintain his flagboards and then monitor his delivery force to see if any of them need help in view of the recent heavy calls upon their time. Time to update my journal this morning and then to try getting a few more administrative chores out of the way and my office tidied in consequence. My plan was to start preparing for my visit to Norfolk, now planned from Monday to Wednesday. Steven Bloom is still not yet back from helping his friend Derek commission his boat, but I left a message with Mary and hope that he will be able to advise me on the issues before I go and speak to the Structural Engineer and Building Control Officer. Diana tended the household today and resumed war with the ants as another colony marched into the utility room! This afternoon working on my paperwork and gradually clearing my desk of outstanding problems.
One of my last acts was to fill in application forms for more National Savings Certificates and then to reconcile my cheque account. For some time afterwards, copying and batching election campaign information for the briefing that I had called for this evening. This meeting, at Sally's house, was useful though set against a background of some frustration due to the lack of manpower we have to fight a campaign spread over so many wards at the same time. I had made them prepare figures concerning the extent of the wards canvassed and then the relative support for the parties in each of the wards after which I started a discussion about which of the campaigns should benefit from the additional canvassers that we expecting to come and help.
There was some conflict over this with friction between Ross McKay and Derek Giles until Percy then stepped in and read the riot act making the meeting take a turn for the worse. I managed to get a compromise agreed and it ended up with no more damage than a few bruised egos. A drink afterwards with John Brown and John Roscoe and then late home to bed.