Driving from Paxton to Wroxham where I visited Jeckells to see about a carpet quotation and then other suppliers before having lunch and then casting off on Paxton Princess and cruising back to Heronshaw. Then an unsatisfactory meeting with Arthur Edmunds before a lift back to Wroxham with Jack.
Home to Paxton after visiting Mum in Stanton for the first time in a while and finding her fine. There was an I.R.A. bomb explosion at London Bridge Station this evening with more than twenty hurt and several kept in hospital overnight.
I asked Diana to wake me early to give me a good start to my busy day and I had already loaded the car last night. I still stayed for breakfast with the girls and then set off at around 8.00am for Norfolk. It took just under two hours to get to Wroxham and the traffic and road conditions were not too bad. I first checked out Heronshaw and found it much as I had left it except the bungalow continues to sink steadily and the doors become ever more difficult to open. I was due to collect the boat and take it back down river but first I visited Jeckells to see about a carpet quotation and then MarinePower to try to get installation quotes. I then had lunch at the "Ice Cream" Cafe and checked in at Barnes Brinkcraft.
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They had made a good strong job of the davits and also fashioned a real heavy-duty emergency steering mechanism that looks man for the job even though I will now probably never have to use it in earnest. All seemed well and so I cast off and cruised off to Horning. It was a nice quiet day with almost no river traffic and few anglers. Quite a contrast to the summer congestion. I saw neighbour Doris Vincent as I drifted in to moor but she did not come out to greet me (being upset, I think, with my plans for boat-shed and new dyke). just had time to moor up and sort things out when I spotted builder Arthur Edmunds and his some come to quote for my boat-shed. I had a less than satisfactory session with them as they were talking nonsense and "bull". They took me for a fool and were trying to tell me all sorts of things that I knew to be untrue.
I bid them farewell, making a mental note not to deal with them, and then along came Jack who I was glad to see after so long. He is now 82 and now suffering from double vision in addition to his hernia and other problems but he still keeps an eye on Heronshaw for me. I gave him £30 and he offered me a lift back to my car in Wroxham before he left. He may soon have to give up his car because of the cost and his health which is a shame. I used the rest of the time until dusk taking apart my boat refrigerator and seeing how I could improve the installation and then locked up and left for home.
Stopped off on the way to see my Mum, who I had not visited this last couple of months, what with Della's recovery and my operation. She was happy and fine and glad to see me, though unreasonably worried about a supply of gas being made to Shepherd's Grove Park! I was pleased to see her managing and stayed quite a while to chat and look through some old war photographs of Dad, sent back from Suez and the Gold Coast. Home late and very tired and then to bed with Diana. There was an I.R.A. bomb explosion at London Bridge Station this evening with more than twenty hurt and several kept in hospital overnight.