After briefing the Hayling View gardener and handyman, hosting D I’s parents for morning coffee and then leaving Paxton for Norfolk only to find pump problems at Harnser.
The water level had been higher than I had expected but everything else was all right. Tea at home and then the drive to Cromer where we saw "Beethoven II" at the cinema and all the family enjoyed it.
The horrific news story today of a man walking into a school with a knife and stabbing young girls in a class to actually kill one and seriously injure another. Government ministers continue to make speeches preparing the cabinet for a climb down on E.E.C. voting.
I had not really got used to the new time standard this morning and so remained tired from my lack of sleep the night before last. Still gamely up and out anyway with Sam who was still all right after his recent tummy upset. It was raining off and on today and even milder than of late but I found a drier spell to be out with Sam.
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I was not so keen on intensive training but just walked him and put him into the water for a few retrieves, also correcting his dummy delivery. First, my breakfast interrupted by the arrival of the new handyman who I briefed concerning the work to be done during our absence and also a chat with the gardener who was making a meal of renovating the fence. Then Di's parents arrived by arrangement, and we had morning coffee together. We heard all about the prospective sale of their Spanish villa and of the incident where they were attacked by a ferocious dog whilst visiting Menorca that bit them both badly.
They had come over to get my help faxing a copy of their villa deeds to their Spanish agent and this I did afterwards; leaving them with an extra copy to take home with them. They seemed to be in good spirits despite their ordeal, but it did help them with their decision to sell the place. Diana then off with the girls to see their cousins in Sandy whilst I cleared my paperwork and then started preparing my things to leave Norfolk. Once Diana returned and we were ready we stopped at the Croxton Happy Eater for lunch and began to relax ready to enjoy a few days.
The journey to Horning went without incident and, Diana having stopped off at Sommerfields on the Wymondham by-pass, I got to the bungalow first and switched on the water and power. I immediately found that the toilet pump had been left on "manual" and so now the contractor kept tripping and the system was inoperative with potentially disastrous consequences. Telephone calls to organise an engineer for the next morning and then out with Sam for a walk amongst memories of sights and sounds for me and smells, no doubt, for him.
The road had taken a further bashing as work was taking place next door. The water level had been higher than I had expected but everything else was all right as Diana soon arrived and we settled in. Tea at home and then the drive to Cromer where we saw "Beethoven II" at the cinema and all of the family enjoyed it. Home to my bedtime drink, my journal and to bed as the family conserved water waste in view of our plumbing difficulties.
The horrific news story today of a man walking into a school with a knife and stabbing young girls in a class to actually kill one and seriously injure another. Government ministers continue to make speeches preparing the cabinet for a climb down on E.E.C. voting.