With daytime temperatures in the low 90's, it transpired that we had already experienced both the warmest and the driest summer since the 17th century.
This was the first full month with my time with Wiggly during which we did many things together.
We enjoyed energetic walks with Sam and she was preoccupied with her dramatic vocation as I was helping her with Council duties and tussling with property issues.
There were some benefits with her public service, as we could sit on a special viewing stand to see the St Neots Carnival procession aloft of the crowds and had been invited to the VIP lunch beforehand.
Her medical condition was improving we enjoyed lots of films at the cinema and overnight stays in Cromer, Norwich and Horning.
I was making the effort to keep in touch with my girls; taking then roller-skating, Woburn Safari Park, and rewarded Debbie for her 5 "A" GCSE's amongst 9 with the black mountain bike she wanted.
Even so, these visits were very difficult for Diana and we discussed further her demands for me to stay away, and we could not agree.
I had two main holiday outings this month with Wiggly; cruising on The Paxton Princess for a boating holiday and also driving to Edinburgh to enjoy several days at the Fringe Festival.
This was also a decisive month for my ownership of Redgrave. I was organising the conveyance of Redgrave Stores and the Old Post Office Cottage for tax efficiency.
I was meeting Louis Drake of Spar to agree a promising budget and the water board inspector, the electrician and Keith Warnes the builder about separating the cottage from the shop.
I had contracted former employee Sarah Francis to join us as manager and she and her parents were keen for her to move in and so I had several hectic negotiations with contractors in Diss for a bathroom for the shop flat.
Redgrave Parish Chairman, Cllr Roger Gwyn and his wife who were very supportive of my plans and there was another hectic day for Redgrave Stores getting approval from Bury St Edmunds magistrates court for granting our Protection Order to me to trade in alcohol.
Despite my busy and complicated life, I was trying to keep up with my friends and hobbies. I spent the odd evening with Nigel, trying to play snooker whilst getting somewhat inconsistent relationship advice.
I went across to see my friend Jim Bird who had made great strides in terms of finishing off his dog kennels and garage which he showed me with pride.
I was also trying to progress the Heronshaw rebuilding plans and then bad news from Mr Hurrill of Wroxham builders was that Broads Authority planners were querying our rebuilding design.
I also resolved to spend more personal time with my dog Sam and do some training with him as he was getting into some bad habits.
When parking outside Montague Street, I suffered vandalism and had to replace the Discovery's slashed tyres, also mobilising the neighbours and police accordingly.
I checked in with the family and spoke to Debbie who told me all about her night out clubbing in Cambridge and seems very happy at the moment to have discovered the other sex.
**"Read More" BELOW for the complete story**
After we experienced the warmest day so far, with daytime temperatures in the low 90's by the end of it, it transpired that we had already experienced both the warmest and the driest summer since the 17th century.
This was the first full month with my time with Wiggly during which we did many things together. We were always affectionate getting on well and satisfying each other daily. This was more than evident to the lady opposite who spent time watching us across the narrow street and we did not care to stop her.
Whilst in Eynesbury, we had walks together across the riverside park in St Neots and a cross-country hike along the bank of the River Ouse and back along Hen Brook. We were spending time with Wiggly's friends, such as John and Ann, in Bedford and her theatrical friends.
For much of the month, Wiggly was rehearsing with her St Neots Players drama group and learning two pages of her script a day for a Noel Coward farce Blithe Spirit whilst walking Sam.
This, until her Director friend Kathy’s breast cancer meant that the sessions had to be abandoned and put back at least until after Christmas which came as a shock. We joined Wiggly's theatrical friends to drown their sorrows at a pub in Fulbourne but nobody wanted to talk about Kathy's breast cancer.
Wiggly then went to the first of two audition sessions for the St Neots Players pantomime with no indication as to whether she would be considered for the main part she wanted. In truth, Wiggly was struggling to fulfil her new role a St Neots Town Councillor, writing her Eynesbury FOCUS copy and other ward letters and there were meetings to fit in of the Town Council LibDem group as well as Full Council.
I found her upset with a council decision concerning parking in her road and a row over the management of the Priory Centre followed with Chris Howes going off half-cock. With my help drafting the text, they then supported Wiggly’s motion on Eynesbury parking and she found her GP meeting gave her much better results for her infection than usual as a result.
I also spent time with her sorting out the LibDem Press Release with John Roscoe to regain party unity. There were some benefits with her public service, as we could sit on a special viewing stand to see the St Neots Carnival procession aloft of the crowds and had been invited to the VIP lunch beforehand.
There had been lots of chores and things to do with Wiggly before going away. I had to go to the Cedar House surgery to see Dr Wright and the practise nurse for a minor operation to remove a wart-like growth from my right temple.
After our working days at Horning, we tried to relax and enjoy our leisure and went to Norwich for a swimming session at the Aquapark on another hot day, we called in to Carrow Road for Norwich City season tickets, now we were into the football. We enjoyed Hugh Grant's latest film, "The Englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain".
Later to Cambridge for a great Italian meal at the Grafton Centre and then watched "The Shawshank Redemption" at the adjoining cinema. An enjoyable a trip to Cromer to collect our pre-booked tickets and see the evening performance of Waterworld, Kevin Costner's latest "epic".
We stayed in Cromer awhile afterwards listening to live rock music at the King's Head and taking a walk along the pier and esplanade. On another occasion, we stayed at the Norwich Hotel Nelson having booked a double room for the night and, after washing and changing, walked over to our favourite Floating Restaurant and had a nice meal.
I was intent on finding time with my children after I had left home. I experienced a good but hot day visiting the Girls in Norfolk when they were staying at Harnser, roller skating in Norwich and driving to see the Disney film in Cromer.
I had dropped by to The Hayling View on occasion and picked up three nice cards from Diana and the girls for Fathers Day. Diana was helpful and polite, Della affectionate as usual and Debbie talking more and more of boys and pleased to be going roller-skating again.
I collected the girls from roller-skating and spent the night with the girls at Harnser and they were fine but I was struggling to be comfortable in Harnser.
Cruises followed in The Paxton Princess and on The Jolly with the girls followed and then skating for Debbie and to the Cinema to see Casper, the cuddly ghost film, with Della. I also spent an afternoon and evening with Della at Woburn Safari Park and collected Debbie and took her to Kimbolton to collect her exam results where she got 5 "A" GCSE's amongst 9 and had done so well.
Later, I met Debbie in St Neots by prior arrangement and we walked down to the bicycle shop where I bought her the black mountain bike she had chosen with Di and she met Wiggly or the first time.
I ran into trouble with Diana for dropping by The Hayling and telephoned Diana to discuss further her demands for me to stay away, and we could only agree to disagree
We had two main outings this month; cruising on The Paxton Princess for a boating holiday and also driving to Edinburgh to enjoy the Fringe Festival, which I detail later.
The cruise started gently, as we had dinner at The New Inn and settled down to sleep on The Paxton Princess as a trial run after which we cruised back and completed the preparation and cleaning of the boat. T
he cruise from Horning to Stokesby followed in fine and hot weather and by keeping the canopy top up and the sides down, we were thankful for the breeze. Finding space at Stokesby, we ordered a poor lunch at The Ferry Inn and then slept on board as soon as it was cool enough to do so.
Then to Berney Arms after a walk and shop in Stokesby village, having watched Daimen Hill win the Hungarian Grand Prix on TV. Navigating Breydon Water, we rescued a hire boat stranded on the mud before tying up at the Berney Arms.
We entertained the other customers with a few tunes from the CD jukebox, and Wiggly was convinced they were all homosexuals, which seemed correct when the men started dancing with each other.
The boat was comfortable and relaxing and we enjoyed long, deep and satisfied nights after love-making sessions. After a quiet and restful night at the Berney Arms and walk around the village to shop for groceries, we had a pint at The Red House pub and then cruised up to Brundall and on to finally stop at Bramerton Woods End.
From there we ventured out and had a fast cruise on the RIB and dinner in the pub before bed. After a quiet night moored up, the cruise to Norwich followed, where we met and chatted to the Harbourmaster who remembered me well from past visits.
Some shopping and a fine dinner at the Chinese restaurant in the Prince of Wales Road and then saying farewell to the friendly City harbourmaster the cruise from Norwich to the Stracey Arms via Great Yarmouth and Burgh Castle.
Then home from the Stracey Arms to Horning with Wiggly at the wheel and me philosophising and finally to moor in Ropes Hill Dyke.
This was a decisive month for my ownership of Redgrave. I had ordered Freda some flowers to be delivered in time for her birthday; her 55th but, at the same time, I was talking to Marian Palmann of Pirie Palmann about the conveyance of Redgrave Stores and the Old Post Office Cottage for tax efficiency.
I had a a good meeting Louis Drake of Spar to agree a promising budget for Redgrave and three meetings followed concerning publicity and point of sale software. I had met the water board inspector, the electrician, Keith Warnes the builder and the property manager all in short order.
There followed a challenging day with meetings concerning the future of Redgrave working on the shop finances, and contacting former employee Sarah about joining us as manager.
Sarah was keen to move in and so I had several hectic negotiations with contractors in Diss for a bathroom for the shop flat and spent some time with Sarah’s family at the shop accordingly and there followed confirmation from Sarah Francis accepting the job as manager to start on the 4th September.
I had another early start for a meeting with Redgrave Parish Chairman, Cllr Roger Gwynn. He and his wife who were very supportive of my Redgrave plans. There was another hectic day for Redgrave Stores getting approval from Bury St Edmunds magistrates court for granting our Protection Order to me to trade in alcohol.
Despite my busy and complicated life, I was trying to keep up with my friends and hobbies. I spent the odd evening with Nigel, trying to play snooker whilst getting somewhat inconsistent relationship advice.
I went across to see my friend Jim Bird. He had made great strides in terms of finishing off his dog kennels and garage which he showed me with pride. Whilst I was away, I took Sam off to stay with the family.
When travelling between home and Norfolk, I had always been stopping off on the way to exercise Sam at Barton Mills and did not forget to be organised with his worming tablets.
When walking Sam, I also resolved to spend more personal time and do some training with him as he was getting into some bad habits. Wiggly had been looking after Sam well when I was spending time with the family.
When parking outside Montague Street, I suffered vandalism and had to replace the Discovery's slashed tyres, also mobilising the neighbours and police accordingly.
I was also trying to progress the Heronshaw rebuilding plans and then bad news from Mr Hurrill of Wroxham builders was that Broads Authority planners were querying our rebuilding design.
The long drive from Eynesbury to Edinburgh and a meal at a nearby seafood restaurant. Then to see our first event of the fringe festival, Scottish comedian, Fred Macauley at. the Gilded Balloon.
A long walk after to the Mambo Club where it took a while for the atmosphere to get going but we eventually ended up dancing until tired to bed. Enjoying a typical day at the Edinburgh Fringe withdrawing cash and booking events and shows at Southside and saw one almost immediately called "BSE2".
This was five actors scripted by "anonymous BBC comedy script writers" and portraying a number of numerous sketches in almost TWTWTW or Monty Python-type style. Then to see "West Side Story", the original musical being produced with a huge cast and very well done .
We then we walked to the Jazz centre afterwards and listened to a nice, if non-charismatic and ageing, seven piece jazz band. Busy day at the Edinburgh Fringe after a tired and grumpy start, enjoying performances of Abigail's Party, after which we relaxed in the Gilded Balloon Cafe with a mug of coffee each and a Danish Pasty.
Then, the Cambridge Footlights review, and on to the Pleasance Theatre to see a one-man show by comedy song-writer and singer John Shuttleworth.
Then dinner dinner at The Arches Italian and then energetic climb up Arthur's Seat before back to the main theatre of The Gilded Balloon for a 10.00pm performance of Donna McPhale and the walk back after dropping in to The Minto Hotel after the Festival Club as per usual for a pint and to listen to the night's jazz band.
Our last day ,enjoying the Edinburgh Fringe and overcoming Wiggly’s ‘shoe tantrum’ to see "Like a Virgin" which was so sad it made me cry. Then ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at Southside and a boozy end to the visit at The Advocate pub.
Checked in with the family and spoke to Debbie who told me all about her night out clubbing in Cambridge and seems very happy at the moment to have discovered the other sex. To bed very tired after the day's exertions.
The weather statisticians have told us that the month of August was the warmest and sunniest one ever, even if only the third driest, but the summer remains the driest ever.