We experienced the winter cold and frosty weather at home and then suffered unseasonable rain in Los Angeles, so we all had coughs and colds as a consequence, but Della was no longer nervously plucking such that she re-grew her eyelashes and most of her eyebrows.
The girls’ terms ended with very good school reports, and we saw Daniel a few times during his 21st birthday month and were glad to have him at home to look after Sam during our US holiday. We also managed a Mother’s Day visit to Stanton.
I spent some time with Nigel, looking at rifles, buying new telescopes, binoculars and planning our next sporting trip to Scotland and embarked upon a new range of property investments. My trips to Horning enabled me to tidy up the garden area, disposing of the scrap and excess wood and stacking the rest neatly.
I was invited by David Winser to join a GSPA training session to do some trial exercises with my GSP Sam before heading for the Club meeting at Harlow with 30 other dogs.
Our major event of the month was the US Holiday where we first took in Universal Studios, Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm in Anaheim, but we had a poor experience visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain. This, before catching our flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco and on to the Travelodge Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf.
As well as enjoying this Bay Area institution, there followed visits to computer shops, cable car rides, and also walking along to Pier 39 to see our favourite sea-lions hauling out. Whilst we were there, the Clinton Health hearings opened examining the sorry tale of the failed US Health system.
Back home, the Tories were trying their very best to tear apart the NHS, a much better system. It seemed that the whole world was also suffering from more lawlessness as there had now been multiple break-ins at both of my properties
** "Read More" BELOW for the complete story **
The month started with us lighting log fires at home with a layer of snow as we visited Peterborough, England, and it ended with unseasonable rain in Los Angeles, USA. In between times, our home days started chilly with rain in the air, and we awoke to at least one cold and frosty morning until much milder and drier weather arrived with the sunshine. There followed a couple of gloriously mild and warm days and a beautifully sunny and warm afternoon, reminding us that Spring was just around the corner. This did not prevail, as the weather became a mixture of hot sun and cold wind to make my chest infection very much worse.
In all, it was mainly a damp and chilly spring month on both continents, and we all had coughs and colds at some time or other, with Diana and mine being particularly troublesome. I had been suffering badly for a few days with a chest infection after my cold and the coughing and my temperature seemed to be getting worse until I slightly began to recover from my coughing fits as the weather deteriorated into a very wet and mild days. The dull and cloudy weather followed us to Anaheim, which was a disappointment. The days there were a mixture of sunny intervals and cloudy periods with cool mountain air, and we were glad to have our British-style coats and jumpers along with us.
The girls also suffered and at times both girls and Diana were either ill or incapacitated with injuries or flue. Della was now much more willing to go to school and not nervously plucking such that she re-grew her eyelashes and most of her eyebrows during the month, which was a great relief. The girls’ terms had ended with very good school reports and so we also had similarly positive Kimbolton parents’ evenings for them both and so they could both then enjoy their holiday thereafter. We saw Daniel a few times during his 21st birthday month and were glad to have him at home to look after Sam during our US holiday, once his term ended.
He hosted his friends Gary and Jason to help him with a party at The Hayling View and having forgot to celebrate Daniel's 21st Birthday on the day, I then visiting him at his Philadelphia Road flat on my way through Norwich and so celebrated this event thereafter and he was grateful if a little overcome. Despite our colds, normal outings were enjoyed, and I still took Diana on to the Queensgate Shopping Centre in Peterborough, and we managed a delayed trip to Cambridge, which unfortunately resulted in her purchasing passion-killing nighties for our forthcoming holiday.
We had an evening at the Bedford cinema watching Dracula, a film that was far too long, and she invited her family to visit us in Horning to see Norwich and Harnser; enjoy morning coffee in Jarrold’s, shop in the City and then come back to Horning for lunch at The Olde Tea Shoppe before taking afternoon tea together. For my poor Mum, we managed a Mother’s Day visit to Stanton, and arrived with a flower arrangement and a cake and thankfully found her all right and keen to talk about her childhood to the girls. She particularly recollected her time as a child in Church Street Edmonton, and the girls asked her how it was to be in a family of thirteen children!
I spent some time with Nigel, looking at rifles, buying new telescopes, binoculars and planning our next sporting trip to Scotland. I could not get my preferred Remington 243, but Nigel bought a Parke Hale and two microscopes for his biology hobby. This, as his wife Lynn underwent a hysterectomy operation and was recovering in Bedford Hospital for which some were flowers sent and sympathies expressed. He was presently struggling with some false accusations of fraudulent deception and is determined to prove his innocence.
I discussed with Nigel renovating a derelict property in Cambridge and then agreed with him a proposition for redeveloping it. I was also diversifying my investments and was viewing properties for investment with Mary Bloom and was pleased to hear on Budget Day news that the Stamp Duty threshold was being raised to £60,000 saving us around £400 on each house bought. I made a property offer for 23 Almond Road, St Neots. and also progressed my plans for 14 Regents Close, Eaton Socon. There was also much administration and paperwork to do whilst getting my affairs in order. I was also helping Sandie Giles with her election plans and literature.
I had a few trips to Ropes Hill Dyke and tidied up the garden area, disposing of the scrap and excess wood and stacking the rest neatly. I arranged for more dumper-loads of bark shavings and levelled out the gardens, eliminating the damp bits. I was also preparing for future cruises by updating my navigational charts with Steven's help after I had driven to Lowestoft to get the latest charts and updates and celebrated by coming back with supplies for a tea of herrings and cockles.
I also had to spend another late night reading up on operating manual after time spent with Steve repairing my boat hydraulics and together connecting up electronic navigation systems, instrumental and our passage computer. Diana joined me and continued her traditional support of Jarrold’s and Oliver’s in Norwich and The Olde Tea Shoppe in Horning. The battle over our Harnser planning conditions took a turn for the worse and we realised it would not be easy to solve. I enjoyed a few good films during the month with Diana including the long Dracula.
Sam had his first experience of running with other dogs of his breed and underwent his first communal training session under the aegis of the Pointer Club. He became steadily better trained as the month progressed and reached the magic six months when experts say a dog can readily accept training! He also saw the vet and got a clean bill of health over his suspected heart murmur. I was invited by David Winser to join a GSPA training session and drove to see him at Wistow where we did some trial exercises with Sam before heading for a GSP Club meeting at Harlow. A busy training session with 30 other dogs went quite well.
The major event of the month was the US Holiday, and my cold was developing on badly but I was well prepared for it by sorting out our papers ordering and collecting plenty of US dollars. It started with the by the very long British Airways flight from Heathrow Terminal 4 to Los Angeles where we collected a Lincoln Continental Town Car and drove to The Holiday Inn, Main Gate Anaheim. We had an early start and meal at Carl Jnrs the following day before driving across LA to spend the day at Universal Studios.
There were a few new experiences, and it was mainly the same old tour but we took in the ET ride, and the experiences of Backdraft and Screen Spectacular. We enjoyed a meal at Coco's on the way back and then went to bed at 7.00-7.30pm for an early night. The following morning, having had a slightly unsatisfactory breakfast at Denny’s, we used our experience at at Disneyland by waiting in the China shop at the end of Maine Street for them to open the back door so that we had a100 yards start on the main throng of people when the rope barrier dropped! We went first to Star Tours and then just around the corner to Space Mountain before we joined the queues for the rest of the usual rides.
After a rainy night, the drove to Knotts Berry Farm for lunch (a ‘second breakfast’) at Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant where I revisited the sites history by Walter and Cordelia Knott. I always enjoy the Horseshow Saloon show at Ghost Town, The Indian Camp, Camp Snoopy and much more This encouraged us to have a second even more enjoyable day at Knotts Berry Farm again, without queues, unlike Disneyland, this time enjoying the Dinosaur and Mine rides, the Bird Cage Theatre and the Indian Hoop dances. Then the Wild West Show where Della was fooled by an actor shot from the top of a building. Back to the hotel via McDonalds takeaway meal again after a second lunchtime Mrs Knotts Chicken Dinner. T
he following day, after breakfast at Coco’s, a further, more relaxed, but early visit to Disneyland again, via the China Store, this time spent in Fantasyland, returning after dark to the fort on Tom Sawyers Island. We had a poor experience visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain; their ‘Funnel Cake’ was only for real fatties! After all this fun, we had a morning rush to overcome logistical problems to catch our flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco and to the Travelodge Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf and I was glad to be away from the Southern Californian rat-race. I did get a chance to call round the computer shops in San Francisco to see about getting one of the new DX250 Texas Instruments colour "lap-top" portable computers; also taking the cable car around San Francisco but also walking along to Pier 39 to see our favourite sea-lions who are still "hauling-out" on the pier K pontoons having started this habit in 1989.
Unfortunately, Debbie had left one of her cuddlies in LA and we failed trying to locate it. We were there for The Academy Awards Oscar day where Cliff Eastwood won Best Actor and Emma Thompson best actress. The people of Los Angeles were remembering the Rodney King assault as the defendants came on trial. The Clinton Health hearings opened examining the sorry tale of the failed US Health system sees the poor person; Medicaid growing like topsy. Back home, the Tories were trying to tear apart a much better system. It seemed that the whole world is also suffering from more lawlessness as there had now been multiple break-ins at both of my properties. I watched the English Rugby Union team unexpectedly losing their match and the end of the fishing season was now upon us and the hordes of anglers that were out the previous weekend were now gone.