Sarah was settling into the shop and improving its prospects.
Sarah was settling into the shop and improving its prospects.

Cool and unseasonably changeable weather at home but much worse for those climbing Mount Everest where a catastrophic storm struck, resulting in eight fatalities.

A bad earthquake occurred in  Inner Mongolia, and a deadly and destructive tornado struck north-central Bangladesh.

This daft UK government’s introduced sanctions against the EEC for declining to accept our BSE-stricken beef products.

Accidents and fatalities dominated the news as fourteen U.S. servicemen were killed one morning when two U.S. Marine helicopters collided during massive U.S.-British war games.

Then a ValuJet Airlines Flight 592, a Douglas DC-9, crashed into the Florida Everglades after a fire broke out in its cargo hold.

When the MV Bukoba ferry tragically sank in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, resulting in one of Africa's most devastating maritime accidents with nearly 1,000 lives lost.

A big month for space exploration as The European Space Agency successfully launched the Ariane 5 rocket for its first test flight from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

Then STS 77 (Endeavour 11), launches into orbit and was the 77th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th mission for the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Iraq agreed to UN Resolution 986, which provided Iraq with the opportunity to sell $1 billion of oil.

In Europe, right-wing José María Aznar was appointed Prime Minister of Spain and German voters decisively rejected a proposed merger between the states of Berlin and Brandenburg.

In Africa, South Africa's Constitutional Assembly adopted a permanent post-apartheid constitution further consolidating the democratic transformation initiated by Nelson Mandela's ANC presidency.

Elsewhere, Conservative politician Benjamin Netanyahu was elected as Israel's prime minister, marking a significant shift in the country's political landscape.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was elected as Prime Minister of India, replacing P. V. Narasimha Rao.

Iraqi forces deliberately impeded United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) inspection teams, refusing initial access to five designated inspection sites.

The Burmese military regime arrested 71 supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) claimed it had murdered seven monks two days earlier.

At the 49th Cannes Film Festival: "Secrets & Lies" directed by Mike Leigh wins the Palme d'Or.  “Primal Fear”, a film starring Richard Gere Independence Day dominated the ratings.

I was resuming my journal in Horning after a break as Wiggly was good company with some nice play between times! I was struggling to recover from a worrying spell of dizziness but woke up the next day feeling much better.

There was more work to do fixing the water leak in The Jolly and also in Harnser after taking the boat out for breakfast in the village.

A strange occurrence at the shop this month as Sarah called anxiously after the computer had printed out a report for a £1,700 day!

Also a call from Sarah about us possibly taking on an early-morning paper organiser from rival Farrant’s, which proved to be a good scheme.

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This month brought cool and unseasonably changeable weather at home but this was much worse for those climbing Mount Everest where a catastrophic storm struck, creating one of the deadliest days in the mountain's climbing history resulting in eight fatalities.

A bad earthquake occurred early in the month with the epicentre located near BaotouInner MongoliaChina. A deadly and destructive tornado struck 80 - 90 villages in north-central Bangladesh in the middle of the month

The biggest news that struck the UK was probably this daft government’s sanctions against the EEC for declining to accept our BSE-stricken  beef products.

The worst avoidable accident took place when fourteen U.S. servicemen were killed one morning when two U.S. Marine helicopters collided during massive U.S.-British war games.

Another was a catastrophic aviation accident occurred when ValuJet Airlines Flight 592, a Douglas DC-9, crashed into the Florida Everglades after a fire broke out in its cargo hold due to improperly handled chemical oxygen generators.

The most serious was when the MV Bukoba ferry tragically sank in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, resulting in one of Africa's most devastating maritime accidents with nearly 1,000 lives lost.

A big month for space exploration as The European Space Agency successfully launched the Ariane 5 rocket for its first test flight from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

Then STS 77 (Endeavour 11), launches into orbit and was the 77th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th mission for the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Also, the X Prize Foundation officially launched the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a ground breaking competition designed to stimulate private space exploration.

In other news, the body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he mysteriously disappeared and Iraq agreed to UN Resolution 986, which provided Iraq with the opportunity to sell $1 billion of oil.

The US dominated the sports news as New York Yankees pitcher Dwight Gooden achieved a remarkable feat by throwing a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners, winning the game 2-0.

This performance was a significant milestone in Gooden's career, demonstrating his exceptional pitching skills. Sammy Sosa also made baseball history with the bat by becoming the first Chicago Cubs player to hit two home runs in a single inning, showcasing his exceptional batting prowess and power hitting.

In Europe, José María Aznar was appointed Prime Minister of Spain, ending 13 years of Socialist party governance and marking a significant political transition for the country.

In a significant regional referendum, German voters decisively rejected a proposed merger between the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, demonstrating the complexity of post-reunification territorial reorganization in Germany.

In Africa, South Africa's Constitutional Assembly adopted a permanent post-apartheid constitution. South Africa's National Party then withdrew from the coalition government it had formed two years earlier, marking a significant milestone in the country's post-apartheid political landscape.

This move allowed the African National Congress (ANC) to assume full political control, further consolidating the democratic transformation initiated by Nelson Mandela's presidency.

Conservative politician Benjamin Netanyahu was elected as Israel's prime minister, marking a significant shift in the country's political landscape.

For the first time, the prime minister was elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the Knesset. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was elected as Prime Minister of India, replacing P. V. Narasimha Rao.

Elsewhere, Iraqi forces deliberately impeded United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) inspection teams, refusing initial access to five designated inspection sites.

The Indonesian military conducted a successful rescue operation against the Free Papua Organization (OPM), freeing nine hostages in Irian Jaya (now Papua).

The Burmese military regime arrested 71 supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, attempting to prevent a planned pro-democracy meeting and further suppress political opposition. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) claimed it had murdered seven monks two days earlier.

In the arts, a revival of Oscar Wilde's stage play "An Ideal Husband" opened at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City; and ran for 308 performances.

At the 49th Cannes Film Festival: "Secrets & Lies" directed by Mike Leigh wins the Palme d'Or.  "Spy Hard" starring Leslie Nielsen was released. “Primal Fear”, a film starring Richard Gere Independence Day was an 1996 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Emmerich and the film's producer Dean Devlin and it dominated the ratings.  In the 41st Eurovision Song Contest: Eimear Quinn for Ireland won singing "The Voice" in Oslo. 

In other aspects of my leisure, I was resuming my journal in Horning after a break as Wiggly mowed the lawns and was then good company at Jerry Chan’s Chinese Restaurant for a nice meal in the evening. and some nice play between times in Horning.

I resumed cleaning The Paxton Princess as well with the power washer set. Watching my favourite film, “The Sting” in the evening struggling to recover from a worrying spell of dizziness by watching the television whilst Wiggly drove into Wroxham to get some shopping.

I woke up the next day feeling much better before leaving Horning. I was tidying up the gardens and commissioning the boats before driving home to St Neots via Redgrave and Suton.

There was more work to do fixing the water leak in The Jolly and also in Harnser after taking the boat out for breakfast in the village.

A strange occurrence at the shop this month as Sarah called anxiously after the computer had printed out a report for a £1,700 day! Also a call from Sarah about us possibly taking on an early-morning paper organiser from rival Farrant’s, which proved to be a good scheme.