A misty, dull and depressing day alone mourning my parents as I went through their belongings and then my passionate release during Parish Business at the Little Paxton Annual Parish Meeting.
I cruelly demolished arguments against traffic calming for Gordon Road by referring to my daughter’s near fatal accident there.
I was rather depressed for much of this day. The weather was misty for most of it compared with news of sunshine in North Norfolk and I would much rather have been there. Out with the dog to see the girls off to school, his walk, the chores in the absence of the gardener and then to my office for the interminable paperwork. Diana had opted to go into Bedford and did not get back until way after lunch - having met Linda and preoccupied herself with other things. I was therefore left to go through Dad's old things in order to progress Mum's affairs and had no company for breaks from it.
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The memories of dad were flooding back; his wallet and driving documents, his napkin we gave him for mopping the saliva from his poor distended mouth, his notes about Koi carp that I made him do to occupy his last weeks and of the visitors and events that he would get confused about if he did not write them down. Always waiting for the surgeons (in whom he had the utmost trust) to decide on an operation when the truth was that one was off on lecture tour and the other did not tell him that he had given up on the fight against the cancer. So sad. More thoughts than progress but I got some work done nevertheless. I put the steamer chairs out on the lawn in the sunshine and had afternoon tea watching the Bank Holiday weekend boats setting off down-river. Della had gone home with a friend, Gemma DelPosso (I call her "Possy") for tea after school and Diana had to go and get her.
She was only just in time to join me at the village hall for the Little Paxton Annual Parish Meeting. The best garden prize was presented, the council reports were given, and other formal business done, but the hall was really full for the item concerning traffic calming in Gordon Road. The Cambridgeshire County Council traffic engineers gave an idea of what would be involved in such a scheme and then the debate began. Several residents saw the problems of it, Ruth Clapham spoke scathingly, and my supporters were discouraged from speaking and then I caught the chairman's eye and made a strong and emotional plea for its acceptance. I referred to Della's accident and its near disastrous outcome and pointed out that the avoidance of the costs of her care at Holly Ward, Hinchingbrooke alone would have paid for the scheme and that the school vicinity was the obvious place to start.
One small life would outweigh the sum total of all of the objections. I rather cruelly dismissed what appeared to be the main objector by asking him whether he had a daughter at the school because if he did, he would surely have a different view. I rather regretted that comment afterwards as he came up to me rather hurt and pronounced himself not against the scheme but wanting to warn of the consequences. He unnecessarily concluded by saying he would vote for the Liberal Democrat councillors in next week's election! I can be quite overpowering with my rhetoric which is a problem at times, but others came up to Diana afterwards and were proud that I said what I did as it balanced the argument. Home after and late talking with Di at the end of a depressing day.