Debbie and her friend Jo
Debbie and her friend Jo

Completing the FOCUS deliveries on a very cold and frosty morning and then home resting, reading and making plans for next year’s cruising, taking time to study how to install my new Yeoman plotter.

Collecting Debbie and her friend Jo later this evening from her classmate Eddie party which was a poorly organised event. Late to bed on a cold and misty night as all three political parties are getting into a state of hyperactivity over the prospects for a general election

I slightly restless night after all the excitement of yesterday and then reluctant to rise this morning on a very cold and frosty morning. The chores and then the rest of the morning and early afternoon delivering the overdue FOCUS to Diddington and Southoe with Diana helping me to do much of the latter. I printed out some slips to ask for help in both villages and included them in the issue in hope of soliciting a response. Some Rugby League on TV this afternoon and then this evening reading the literature that I brought back from the boat show, including the publications on the French Waterways. Diana and I have decided that we should go over to France after all this summer as we are not getting any younger.

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Time also getting to understand the new Yeoman Plotter handbook such that it seems a very useful instrument to have on board. It seems that it might be necessary to either modify my chart table or add an auxiliary surface to take the large electronic mat. Late this evening, I had to collect Debbie and her friend Jo from a class-mate "Eddie's" party at Raunds Football Club. Despite my request for directions and a map, I had nothing to indicate where it was which I was annoyed about. It seems that everyone else was disappointed as well as there was no food or drinks unless guests had brought money to spend at the bar which none of them had, having had no warning!

It seems that the vogue at the moment is to have the largest possible party (and therefore, I suppose, to collect the maximum number of presents) without a thought as to the hospitality of the guests or success of the event. Late to bed with this effort on a cold and misty night. All three political parties are getting into a state of hyperactivity over the prospects for a general election such that the public are getting fed up with it. Such is the problem with a system that allows the prime minister of the day to call an election for the convenience of the party in power rather than having fixed-term parliaments.