At a time dominated by international conflict and floods closer to home, I started the month finishing one of two October trips to Caithness and ended it coming back from yet another vacation in Norfolk.
There were floods swelling the stream near Harlow during Sam's victorious training session at the start of the month which was a warning of what was to follow. The worse floods since 1912 back home in Horning following a rain deluge.
This, whilst conflict took place internationally with two serious IRA bombings as dissident tanks and heavy artillery were shelling the Russian Parliament building, setting it on fire. All this, as the full pollution effect of the Gulf War starts to evolve revealing the chemical contamination.
The UK loses out to Germany over the siting of the E.E.C. central bank as Margaret Thatcher plagues John Major by leaking of her memoirs on the eve of the Conservative Party Conference.
I enjoy another great sporting holiday with Nigel and Jim at my Caithness plantation where I shot a prize 13-point Imperial Stag as a victorious Sam wins his trial and begins to be useful. A great month of family fun featuring a weekend away at the London Hilton with Diana for her 45th Birthday, whilst still enjoying many other cinema and meal outings besides.
More effort spent on administration and investment management this month, but I still found time to buy a nice pair of 8x56 Zeiss stalking binoculars and managed to put my Theoben Rapide-7 pneumatic air rifle to rights. I also expended effort upgrading my navigational charts for The Paxton Princess.
My friend Steven Bloom gets his promotion and his wife Mary also got work to give them much-needed security after their long spells of unemployment. Sporting success also Norwich City win a famous victory against Bayern Munich in Germany.
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There was a day or two of sun and showers, but we were met by almost incessant rain during our second trip to Scotland in the middle of the month and ended it with a near blizzard as we battled our way down south. Home to find that there had been a right panic with Ropes Hill Dyke and much of riverside Horning under water after torrential rains made worse by the north-westerly wind and high tides.
It was only later that I could get over and witness how all the riverside gardens were under and many bungalows including the Grey's house next door. The Horning Ferry area was under with water up to the car windows in the car park and the sight of the flooded River Ant valley was quite something and looked more like a lake than a river. In all, this was the worse flooding in the area in living memory and since the great deluge of 1912 and my neighbour’s bungalow was flooded It turned colder later in the month as the winter began.
It was a month of glory for Sam as, having just celebrated his 1st birthday, he beat all the other opposition in a working test to be declared "Best Puppy" by the Eastern Region of the German Short-haired Pointer Club. He did well on his two trips to Scotland, being accompanied by another dog Ben to travel and sleep in the car for the second of them and also enjoyed his first training day with my new friend Jim Bird, at Mildenhall. By now, he had begun to be steady to launcher-dummies and was making the transition to having just a single meal a day. It was not all good news, and he had a nasty infection of the eye and had to be coaxed through the diet change and had still to learn how to point and hold the dummy properly.
I had to spend quite a lot of time arranging that second trip to Scotland at short notice to suit Nigel but the effort was well worthwhile as Jim Bird appreciated a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help me stalk and shoot a prize stag and to let his dog have experience of grouse. The week came close to cancellation as I had a bout of feverish influenza the day before and then Jim actually came down with it overnight on the eve of our departure but we both recovered in time. Then the Land Rover sprung a cooling-hose leak on the journey, and I managed to get it stuck in the mud whilst we were there but my friend Charlie Sutherland saved us on both occasions.
We had the bizarre episode of meeting a pair of drunken Aberdonian brothers at the wood and made friends with Peter McGregor and Tom Weston for future goose shooting. It was on Saorach that we bagged our geese this time with a big ambush on our last evening, after overcoming another embarrassing rights dispute, but I was particularly pleased to see the geese roosting on The White Loch for future sport. Nigel got his Sika stag and the dogs were learning their trade on the red grouse as I started to understand their habits and habitat; but the main triumph was that 13-point Imperial Stag; a real prize trophy for me to have stalked in my own trees and after a two-day campaign.
Between all these excursions, I had a lot of administration, paperwork and planning to do with bank statements and financial transactions top of the list. I managed some achievements at home such as getting a nice pair of 8x56 Zeiss stalking binoculars and putting my Theoben Rapide-7 pneumatic air rifle to rights. I also accomplished chores such as pulling a neighbour’s car out of the mud, cleaning the mud-encrusted Discovery and retrieving my unsold Rolls Royce from the agent.
Then in Norfolk of checking on our beloved Harnser that was surrounded by water and attending the meeting that finally approved the detailed conditions that we wanted for the building work. I purchased and installed a dehumidifier in The Paxton Princess and there was also the job of updating my navigational charts and helping my flooded neighbours carry goods and pull sodden carpets out of one of them. Better news from my friend Steven Bloom as I hear of his promotion and of Mary also getting work to give them much-needed security after their long spells of unemployment.
Time with the family as well this month as we went away to London's Hilton Hotel at Diana's request for her 45th birthday weekend and went and saw "Grease" and visited Regents Park and Madame Tassaulds. For once in the month the sun shone and we still enjoyed the trip despite the congestion and poor service. Shopping outings to St Ives and Cambridge where we met Diana's parents on their return from Menorca. Trips also to Little Chefs and to see "Rising Sun" at Peterborough.
Most of our leisure in Norfolk where, not discouraged by the floods, we made regular shopping and library trips to Norwich and Wroxham, many others for refreshment to the Horning Tea Shoppe and occasional forays to Stalham and Potter Heigham likewise. In Norwich, there was a Burgher King tea after The Theatre Royale production of "Two Gentlemen from Veronna" and it was a McDonalds lunch after the girls roller skating, snacks in the new Castle Mall. A dinner with Diana at The Wroxham Hotel after we found the Riverside Restaurant closed and flooded but we went together to Wroxham Barns for a nice Sunday lunch. Films of "Secret Garden" at Norwich and "Homeward Bound" in Cromer as we provided the girls with plenty of entertainment but still they argued and spoilt things at times.
Diana still enjoyed the visit and, as usual, did not want to come home. She is fine at the moment and managed to get her Fiesta through its first MOT test and re-taxed satisfactorily. Debbie tried a Norwich salon for her skin treatment and liked it and we stocked up with mammoth amounts of contact lens fluids again for the family. Once home, we also had Della's parents' evening during which we found out that she was doing all right with nothing to worry about. Daniel has found a job with Nigel and the work experience has turned into a permanent position. He had three of his former U.E.A. friends and flat-mates to visit during the month and one of them, Simon, has set up house in Eynesbury which is rather nice.
Elsewhere, there is international conflict as Russian President Boris Yeltzin takes on and defeats Parliament Speaker and Vice President in first a war or words and then the real thing as his tanks and heavy artillery shell the Parliament building and set it on fire. With others flocking to see the conflict, there was the macabre spectacle of Russians killing Russians as other Russians watch on from grandstand seats.
The other tragedy was Ulster, as usual, as the I.R.A. bombed a busy fish shop in the Shankill Road, killing many and then the U.D.F. retaliate by rushing into a pub on Halloween and shooting indiscriminately whilst shouting "Trick-or-Treat" - The girl replying "That's not funny" being the first to die. Sick. There seemed the real prospect of productive peace talks with a joint John Hume/Gerry Adams initiative that could have had Sein Fein coming in from the cold after renouncing violence but this came to nought when Adams helped bear the chip-shop terrorist's coffin at his funeral.
The Gulf War history starts to evolve and we hear that the U.S. bombing Iraqi chemical and biological dumps and factories led to massive contamination and troops on both sides suffering the chronic after-effects. All of this as I had suspected at the time in the face of Allied denials. Germany gets the decision to host the forerunner of the E.E.C. central bank with the United Kingdom, who had the best claim, losing out because of its lack of Euro enthusiasm and being fobbed off with the drug and medicines agency.
The Tories lack of unity on Europe still haunts them as Margaret Thatcher plagues John Major by leaks of her published memoirs on the eve of the Conservative Party Conference with her views of John Major being uncomplimentary. Labour fare little better with their Shadow Cabinet elections where their parliamentary members rebel from a scheme to elect more women and actually return only four against six last time.
The Chancellor hardly helps party popularity by refusing to retreat from his publicised intention to put VAT on clothes, fuel and books. The writing is on the wall from the example of the Canadian Conservative government that is swept from power this month and ends up with only two seats! It could be crime level that puts the final nail in their coffin as the streets of London sees shoot-outs between drug gangs this month.
In sport, we celebrate Norwich City's famous victory after Bayern Munich, the Great Britain Rugby League team win the series against the Kiwis but Nigel Benn is unlucky only to be given a draw against Chris Eubank in the boxing title bout.