The day bill paying & telephoning friends and walking the girls back to the school bus stop and some time with Wiggly.
Pressure is mounting on John Major to recognise the IRA's sincerity and this showed as he had a flaming row at No10 with the extreme Ulster Unionist the Rev Ian Paisley.
My old sparring partner Conservative Leader Derek Holley, had been into Papworth for quadruple heart bypass surgery and will not be active until November which is sad.
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I still had a desk full of paperwork to contemplate this morning but first I was woken early so as to get out with Sam before it was time for the girls to leave for their first day back at school.
I walked him and them to the bus stop and they were all very relaxed about the prospect. There was a new face there in the person of Hugh, an entrant in Prep Middles. Debbie recognised his brother who walked over with his father to make sure he was all right and our girls saw him onto the bus with the correct regard to seating, luggage etc.
Despite the high level of fees, neither of the girls classes have lost any pupils which is surprising. I had to pay these bills today (£3,285 in aggregate for their single summer term) amongst many others that I had put off. Considering that many ladies only earn £2.50-£2.75 an hour, this is a huge amount to find for middle-income families.
On with Sam afterwards and some difficulty steadying him to the Mill Lane traffic which he has not been used to in the countryside this summer. I found that the Hayling Way road beside the empty Windmill Cottage has now been blocked off by chaining the gate and I confess to being irritated by it.
Some time on St Neots Common instead and then back to start a morning's paperwork. A host of letters to write, bills to pay and disputes to settle and then telephone calls to and from political colleagues and other friends who have now realised that I am back at home from my Norfolk Summer.
A couple of periods resting in the lounge and watching the news but pretty much a full day nevertheless. The news was of yesterday's historic meeting between Albert Reynolds and Gerry Adams and then a short meeting today between Mr Reynolds and the US Vice-President Al Gore.
Pressure is mounting on John Major to recognise the IRA's sincerity and this showed as he had a flaming row at No10 with the extreme Ulster Unionist the Rev Ian Paisley who would not accept his word that a secret deal had not been done with the IRA. His thoughts turned to Europe today as he had to jet off to the continent to try and overcome another impasse with his EEC colleagues.
Sad news in the papers today that my old sparring partner, Conservative Leader Derek Holley, had been into Papworth for quadruple heart bypass surgery and will not be active until November which is sad. Following on from the death of the brave Roy Castle and the heart attack for Ernie Wise it seems that there is no prominent walk of life where the stress is manageable.
A late run into St Neots this afternoon to post all of my letters and get more money out before also getting a haircut and home to Sam and tea. A sparrow hawk caught one of my new baby fantail doves in mid-air and killed it which was a bit gruesome.
The weather started well enough today, if cool, but then a real thunderstorm developed later. A shower and hair wash after tea and then out for an evening with Nigel being the alibi as I dropped round to see the lonely Wiggly again. I fitted her new lock and door knocker and moved her house number again so that her front door is now completely furnished.
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She confessed that she thinks about me all of the time and of feeling sad about the things that we cannot do together which is my next worry. I heard of the fun and games here last night where a riverside shed went up in flames a few plots along and Diana had to call the fire brigade. Two appliances attended and had to find a hydrant in Gordon Road to keep the effort supplied with sufficient water. In the end the whole street was out to watch but, of course, I was not amongst them, and Debbie slept through the whole thing even though the flashing lights and sirens were right outside her window!