David A Broad
A personal story
More than 40 years, told day by day
This of 1995, was a very significant time in my life. It started cold and icy with cruel storms and high tides threatening the Norfolk coast and we struggled with flood water in Horning.
Gales followed later in Eastern England with many trees down. We found gloriously hot weather in California but we returned to experience both the warmest and the driest summer since the 17th century.
The autumn followed mild and damp but there was a storm surge of up to 15 feet in Florida, and a powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Mexico occurred.
The lowest ever UK temperature was recorded at -27.2°C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands
In October, astronomers discovered 51 Pegasi b, the first confirmed extrasolar planet as NASA launched Space Shuttle Columbia on the STS-73 mission.
As I started working with my Psion 3a for mobile communications, this month was all about my relationship with Wiggly accelerating and me ending my marriage.
I still had some family time and took them to California for the last time, and then opted not to go on a possible day trip from San Diego to Mexico in favour of a more relaxing Pacific Beach outing in the sun.
My health was a major issue before I left as I suffered from an acute food poisoning rash but I still tried to spend time with the girls, checking in with the family regularly and keeping up with 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!
This month started with my relationship with Wiggly accelerating and threatening my marriage but I still made the effort to keep family life together and even fulfilling the holiday with Diana and the girls to California.
Once back, I still tried to spend time with family trips out, helping Debbie with her exam revision but, by May, my affair came to a head and my marriage became virtually over.
My holiday outings resumed with Wiggly; cruising on The Paxton Princess for a boating holiday and also driving to Edinburgh to enjoy several days at the Fringe Festival.
I still attended Debbie's 16th Birthday Party and Della's 11th Birthday Party and Kimbolton Prep Swimming Gala.
I was making the effort to keep in touch with my girls; taking then roller-skating, Woburn Safari Park, and rewarded Debbie (for her five grade "A" GCSE's amongst nine) with the black mountain bike that she wanted. Later,
Debbie enjoyed her Kimbolton School 6th form party and Della started at the main school.
The disease, caught courtesy of Wiggly, was being treated but accelerated this separation as I had to protect Di’s health by abstaining. We later had received the ‘All Clear’ from Dr Edgar at our important clinic appointments. There followed a Norfolk holiday with Wiggly at Harnser and aboard The Paxton Princess and I moved into Montague Street with Wiggly, reorganising our working space there and she performed the role of mistress and temptress. There were some benefits with her public service as newly-elected Councillor, 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.
I was still the regional organiser, arbitrating on many LibDem squabbles, welcoming new members and getting colleagues elected to key posts and helping my fellow St Ives LibDems to settle their differences. I still found time to work on elections, managing the party election commitments and winning all of the Eynesbury and Eaton Socon by-election District seats. This whilst still fighting the St Neots Town Council races and supporting fund-raising events and activities.
Wiggly combined her new role as St Neots Town Councillor with helping me at Redgrave and still enjoying her amateur dramatics, winning her preferred role as Fatima in Sinbad.
I had a busy time with property management; resubmitting the Cambridge Street planning application with Nigel.
I was trying to progress the Heronshaw rebuilding plans but the bad news from Mr Hurrill of Wroxham builders was that Broads Authority planners were querying our rebuilding design. I agreed to the design for the Heronshaw replacement, and a £3,500 alteration to Harnser.
However, this was a decisive time for my ownership of Redgrave. Freda and Alf, had let the Redgrave property deteriorate in absolute squalor and made the future of the stores more difficult when they turned down the chance of having a National Lottery terminal!
I agreed with Louis Drake of Spar a promising budget and with Keith Warnes, the builder, about separating the cottage from the shop and for a bathroom for the shop flat.
I contracted former employee, Sarah Francis, to join us as manager and she and her parents were keen for her to move in.
We then greeted her to take over as the shop manager and I was successfully interviews for the job of sub-postmaster.
We completed the Spar forms together and made our decision to go with them as our wholesaler and meetings followed thick and fast.
I found the Redgrave Parish Chairman, Cllr Roger Gwyn and his wife very supportive of my plans and I secured approval from Bury St Edmunds magistrates court for granting our Protection Order to me to trade in alcohol.
I managed a trip to my forest of Broubster with Wiggly to discuss management issues with Fountain Forestry but my dog Sam injured his foot but otherwise excelled.
Back home, he did well in training and field trials, learning all the while. Wiggly and I met up with her sister in Newcastle on the way back.
Once home, I met up with Jim and Nigel to share relationship issues and for dog-training and shooting outings.
Nigel's Gypsy shooting incident was the subject of TV news broadcasts with his subsequent arrest being an issue I had to help with.
Norwich City were struggling in the Premier League, losing form and doing badly, but they drew an exciting match with Manchester City and triumphed 3-0 against local rivals Ipswich Town.
I saw England beat Scotland to take the Calcutta Cup, the Grand Slam and the Five Nations Championship in their international Rugby matches all in one go. T
The European Court of Justice ruled that all EU football players have the right to a free transfer between European Union member states at the end of their contracts in a landmark decision, known as the 'Bosman ruling'.
The Tory government was being hassled over teachers’ pay and struggling with NHS problems as their anti-Europe sceptic members pulled them apart. This, as Labour won the South Wales by-election. Elsewhere, there were acute problems with the UK Prison's Service as one inmate died through lack of supervision and many more escaped from Parkhurst with officer's morale at rock bottom.
A serious and deepening financial crisis developed as the City of London was hit by its oldest merchant bank, Barings, failing after losing £400m on foreign exchange dealings in Singapore. Tory leader John Major was now offering himself for re-election as his authority over the Conservative party was waning.
He had major problems on his hands over the European Common's vote and Tony Blair was hosting a breakfast at The Dorchester with many top businessmen to compete for support. The pound sterling hit new lows and interest rate rises seem to be on the cards. More than 80% of local authorities have cut back in their provision of Social Services following government grant cuts.
Major Parker-Bowles, husband of the Prince of Wales’s former mistress Camilla, has announced their plans for divorce after a two-year separation leading to speculation that Prince Charles will divorce Lady Diana and marry Camilla.Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother successfully underwent hip surgery.
Elsewhere, Russian forces take over the rebel Chechen town of Grozny after 10’s of thousands die on both sides. Twenty world leaders will attend the Polish commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Auschwitz. Talks between the PLO and Israel have led to hope that the present stand-off can be solved and a return to the peace process made.
US President Clinton was urging restraint after some politicians advocated revenge on Islamic militants fighting in the former Yugoslavia where Bosnian Serbs were holding British United Nations peacekeeping troops captive as hostages to ward off further air-raids but then they were being released and the immediate crisis seems to be over for the moment.
As now ‘normal’, there were mass shootings and terrorist attacks in the US and their police reputation continued to fall.
The biggest shock and news was of Indira Gandhi, India's first female prime minister, being assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in a shocking act of political violence.
In the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a right-wing Jewish extremist, who opposed his peace efforts with the Palestinians.
In December, he Israeli army withdrew from Nablus, and Palestinians took control of Bethlehem, as significant steps in the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements after which Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres addressed both houses of the US Congress.
PLO leader Yasser Arafat makes a surprising and significant diplomatic gesture by visiting Israel to pay respects to the family.
Three big aircraft crashed in December, killing a total of 371 passengers.
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Sharing the news headlines was the lowest ever UK temperature being recorded of -27.2°C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands and three big aircraft crashed this month, killing a total of 371 passengers.
Queen Elizabeth II formally requested the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana as Ireland became the last European country to legalise divorce.
Elsewhere, Sri Lankan successfully captured the strategic Tamil stronghold of Jaffna marking a crucial turning point in the long-running conflict between the government and separatist forces.
The US FDA approved Saquinavir, marking a significant milestone in HIV/AIDS treatmentand the WHO confirmed a new case of the Ebola virus in the Ivory Coast after it had already claimed 250 lives in Zaire.
Harry Gold was sentenced to 30 years in prison for passing sensitive nuclear research information from the Manhattan Project to Soviet agents.
The Israeli army withdrew from Nablus, and Palestinians took control of Bethlehem, as significant steps in the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements after which Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres addressed both houses of the US Congress.
The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments ending the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Aleksander Kwaśniewski was inaugurated as the President of Poland narrowly defeating Lech Wałęsa, the iconic Solidarity movement leader as.
The First Chechen War was reaching a critical stage as an intense armed conflict between the Russian Federation and the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Poland's first post-communist president.
Elsewhere, Mariah Carey, in collaboration with Boyz II Men, achieved a ground-breaking musical milestone by becoming the first artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut simultaneously at No. 1.
Bill Cottrell, a long-serving cameraman at Walt Disney Company and key contributor to the development of Disneyland, was recognized for his remarkable 50-year career in animation.
Legendary entertainer Dean Martin gave his last public performance at the age of 78.
The beloved comic strip 'Calvin and Hobbes' by cartoonist Bill Watterson concludes its remarkable run after 10 years, believing he had achieved all he could in the medium.
The European Court of Justice ruled that all EU football players have the right to a free transfer between European Union member states at the end of their contracts in a landmark decision, known as the 'Bosman ruling'.
During a Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was controversially no-balled for throwing.
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The beloved comic strip 'Calvin and Hobbes' by cartoonist Bill Watterson concludes its remarkable run, marking the end of one of the most iconic and critically acclaimed comic strips in modern history.
The final comic is published, bringing closure to the imaginative world of a young boy and his philosophical tiger companion.
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Lowest ever UK temperature recorded of -27.2°C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands, equalling the record set at Braemar, Aberdeenshire on February 11, 1895 and January 10, 1982
ltnaharra has a Met Office weather station. The village's northerly latitude and inland location mean that in winter it often features in the daily weather extremes for the United Kingdom.
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The First Chechen War was an intense armed conflict between the Russian Federation and the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which began in December 1994 and continued through 1996.
By late December 1995, the war had reached a critical stage, with significant military operations and humanitarian consequences.
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Russian military forces continued their artillery bombardment of Chechen villages, specifically targeting Achkhoi-Martan southwest of Grozny, escalating the ongoing Chechen conflict during the mid-1990s.
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