Peter Brooke the Northern Ireland Minister acts the fool and sings "Clementine" on Irish television
Peter Brooke the Northern Ireland Minister acts the fool and sings "Clementine" on Irish television

Feeling groggy from late nights and cholesterol pills, I get up and out to Hinchingbrooke for my foot hospital appointment and start musing about the future and Diana’s commitment to boating and my Norfolk project.

Off to Pathfinder House to make a key contribution to a planning meeting after which I revealed to Percy that I might not stand for re-election in May. Peter Brooke, the Northern Ireland Minister, acts the fool and sings "Clementine" on Irish television and the retail statistics for Christmas are poor and the recession shows no sign of abating

I was feeling very groggy this morning. Given that I had been having a succession of very late nights, this might (as Diana thinks) have something to do with it; but I think that it is the tablets that I have to take each evening. I was down late for breakfast and then some little time working on my "in-tray" before it was time to drive to Hinchingbrooke for an appointment to have my latest surgical in-sole fitted. It does not seem to be of any help to me, but I am going through the system anyway. I also have my appointment with the "Ear, Nose and Throat specialist" on Wednesday and seem to be going through the wars at the moment. I dropped off some letters in Paxton on my way home and then relaxed with coffee until Di came back to make a beef salad lunch.

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I was wondering whether Diana will want to spend such a long time in Norfolk if I get the boathouse built and Heronshaw restored. She is not committed to boating or East Anglia for her holidays and seems to want to have hotel and air holidays in Europe and elsewhere. I received a number of responses and return telephone calls this afternoon, after chasing people again and at last it seems that there will be progress on my boat upgrades and repairs. I sorted some more papers out and then went this evening to Pathfinder House for a meeting of the Planning Committee of the District Council. I had prepared little and was going to let the other councillors get on with it, but I had to intervene on a couple of matters which were going astray and was surprisingly successful in doing so.

After the meeting, I asked to speak to Percy and went back with him to Offord D'Arcy where I explained over coffee that I remained most reluctant to stand for the Council next May due to the range of other activities and commitments that I now had. Apart from needing to take sufficient holidays to provide the family with variety, I had my Norfolk and Caithness affairs to manage and all manner of other matters to deal with such that my time has to be shared out. It was unfortunately a depressing message, but at least I am trying to consult my colleagues with an honest appraisal of what I wish to do.

I went to bed very late again, but this time without the tablets for my Cholesterol which I find make me feel groggy in the mind and achy about the back and trunk. I do not believe that too many tablets are good for you and would prefer a more balanced diet with fish oils as the alternative. The news is of poor Peter Brooke, the Northern Ireland Minister, who acts the fool and sings "Clemantine" on Irish television just hours after the van full of building workers are murdered by bomb in Belfast. The Unionist politicians, who oppose his peace efforts, have a field day. The retail statistics for Christmas are poor and the recession shows no sign of abating as the Tories try to turn the debate onto Labour's taxation plans.