David A Broad
A personal story
More than 40 years, told day by day
Bank Holiday Monday 30th May 1994 - Distracted by my Cambridgeshire EuroElection colleagues, who should have been supporting Mark Rainer for the more likely local election.
Tired to then chair a difficult Ropes Hill Dyke Meeting before we recovered with an outing to Winterton
This was the morning planned for some time as a meeting of the Ropes Hill Dyke residents and, as present Chairman, I was going to have to run the meeting at least to start with. I had a poor night getting used to the bed and then the car alarm kept going off in the small hours when I had got off and so started the day tense and tired to start with.
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To St James Church for the Little Paxton Family Service always organised for those months having a fifth Sunday and then to welcome Jim for dog training on the Molesworth set-aside before off to Horning to join the family.
The news is still of the Prime Minister's attack on the begging homeless which has rebounded badly on him as the former minister who ended social security for 17 and 18-year-olds.
A good sleep and little lay in but an argument also with Diana over her wanting to go early to Norfolk today before I was going to be ready. In the end, I let her go off to Norfolk with the girls after the church service. It was the Little Paxton Family Service always organised for those months having a fifth Sunday and we enjoyed walking over to St James Church in the sunshine and attending it.
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Arranging a by-election meeting in the Hemingford Abbotts pub and persuading Mark Rainer to agree better arrangements for canvassing to involve more colleagues.
Earlier in the day my efforts had been to get out with Sam twice for some exercise and training and then with the family for lunch.
With Derek this evening to share his grief and family agonies over a close relative dying slowly of cancer.
I soon established in the course of a few telephone calls this morning that Mark Rainer was struggling with his election campaign. The first canvas of the remainder of the ward was unfavourable but then we usually leave the worst bits to last, and they may well have felt deserted until now.
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The long drive back from Thurso to Paxton, collecting the Stags head and stopping off at Dumbar to run Sam and have a break.
Stan Bertin (husband of our late Mum's youngest sister) had died suddenly, and the funeral might be that very day and so I could not go.
News from the by-election was not too good either as we were losing ground to the Conservatives
We had planned an early start, but it was only 3.30am when Diana called me. After too much alcohol last night and too little sleep all week, I was even more reluctant than usual to heed the call. Some grumpiness, therefore, from me initially until we had got everything loaded up and were ready to set off.
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A walk with Diana and Sam before breakfast along the River Forss to the sea. Then in the car for the trip to Wick and beyond where the first port of call was the Caithness Glass Factory to buy two vases.
Also to the ruined Sinclair Castle at Noss which was impressively situated. Some conversation about fishing permits for my White Loch trout as I catch a few more
Having tried fishing and stalking this week, I was happy for the sporting activities to take a back seat and join Diana for some touring today. A lay in this morning was also welcome after the 4.00am starts of the first few days!
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Back to Broubster for an enjoyable day fishing and stalking but without much success.
The National Executive of The Labour Party has opted for an early summer election for a leader to replace the late John Smith and Deputy Leader Margaret Beckett is also resigning to make it a dual election.
We had retired to bed at 9.00pm so that, by the time I got up early again at 4.00am, I had managed to get seven hours sleep. The weather was dry and sunny again to start with as I drove over to Broubster and started spying for deer.
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