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Setting off for Godmanchester on The Lady after a very hectic office day of one-to-one meetings with senior managers and noting a very welcome and profitable July profit outcome
A warm day with outside temperatures up to 82degF from an overnight low of 56degF. The barometer unchanged again at 1025. A hectic office day today. No formal meetings but lots of activity on a one-to-one basis with John, Derek, Ian and David and Derrick. John to ascertain the agenda for next Thursdays Byte Shop Glasgow Board meeting, Derek to discuss company finance as he met a licensed dealer in securities today, Ian on the job specification for a whole host of development staff, David on plans for disposing of the Byte Shop Tecmar stock and Derrick on our plans for the new customer service building.
This morning we implemented the promotion of a service supervisor and recognised his progress by an audience and discussion. We wish to build up the positive aspects of the department, having accentuated the negative by recent reprimands. Peter King is managing well and is in control of the Byte Shop during my absence. The month of July saw the Comart group totalling nearly £39K profit against a budgeted £9K loss for this off-peak summer month – a splendid start.
Tonight I hurry home and board The Lady for our week’s voyage. Diana tutors Marilyn in the art of duck keeping and, after a hectic last provisioning, we set off round the Paper Mill lock island and downstream to Offord lock. We moor for a chicken salad tea by the lock and then some local boys, urchins really, help us through for twenty pence each. They are real characters – poor but content and very happy with their hobby. On towards Brampton in the fading light until we lock through with searchlight and sidelights blazing and moor close to one of the old mill races in Godmanchester. We read and write the hour away to bedtime started on our boating holiday.
Today I noticed how charming the accounts computer operator and receptionist had become.
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Productive and decisive Byte Shop board meeting as Comart goes public on Cromemco and then home to diffuse a family quarrel as conflict grows in the Philippines
A sunny but cool day with temperatures kept similar to yesterday by a cool breeze. Barometer more or less unchanged overall. A late morning with preparations and breakfast in haste for the office. First to review the mail, liaise with June over the applicants for the personnel assistant and junior secretary vacancies and then to chair a Byte Shop Board meeting from 10am to 2.30pm. Good news of a far better performance than budgeted for July with over £20K net profit in the balance sheet against a loss forecast.
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Concentrating on Comart Company management and personnel issues as the subsidiaries take second place on a much cooler day before an evening working on The Lady
A much cooler day today; the overnight minimum of 56degF rising to 72degF today. The barometer up to nearly 1025mb, which is surprising. Another hard day’s work personally catching up on personnel matters and paperwork. I draft Peter Kings contract terms, complete the minutes of recent meetings and work closely with June to maximise our efforts to catch up with the personnel backlog. I am conscious of not spending time with Peter and Geoff although I am managing to get round the Comart Directors to monitor their problems. Ian Nickson off today to view a £100,000 automatic test system with Colin – a sobering thought. Accounts struggling hard to consolidate the Byte Shop results on this fraught holiday and early year season. I am concerned late today to hear that Peter King has a stomach upset, more because I am conscious of the strain he is under – the new job, extensive UK travel, Nottingham’s David Slater with a breakdown, and a deal of concern over his new baby, moving house and all the rest. Perhaps I am unduly concerned – I hope so.
Tonight I get home early on a dull evening and paint the rear cabin roof of The Lady. Diana also cleans the windows and I leave the battery charging. We still hope to take next week aboard The Lady, job problems allowing.
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Comart Board meeting after early personnel and payroll preparation as Diana takes the family to Wickstead Park and the older ducks lay eggs
For the last two days, the thermometer range has been 58 to 86degF maximum and, whilst I still mistrust the higher readings, there has been no doubt about the warm moist weather. It has been trying to rain, with overcast skies, but no real rain has resulted and a thunderstorm is well overdue. The pressure has risen to 1019mb but it is not clear and sunny.
A busy day today, clearing the remaining personnel reviews first thing and running through the new personnel organisational charts and outstanding vacancies. After a hectic search through the mail, I enter the boardroom knowing that June can ready the payroll information. An unfortunate tussle with Ian first thing. He is upset that I was asking after him yesterday afternoon and does take offence so easily. He seems more composed, however, in our Board Meeting and we conduct business efficiently until 1.30pm. Financial and Sales results look very good. Concern over stock and debtor control but interest and pleasure over the new financial cost centre reporting. Arrangements are well in hand for discontinuing Tandon disk drive components due to poor quality and Cromemco representation for simplicity. Tecmar is already terminated and Comart are well set to concentrate on manufacturing operations.
Today Diana and the children visit Wickstead Park and Daniel was particularly taken with the ‘anti-gravity’ machine that rotates and suspends its occupants in mid-air. The ducks are steadily laying 5 eggs per day and we eagerly await contributions from the second generation.
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Intensive working day on tricky personnel matters evening reading of Comart board papers as the newspapers report frivolous items in the silly season
Back to the office for a very intensive working day. Much concern for personnel matters with many reviews completed and increases notified. Several very difficult disciplinary matters to handle including a final warning for one service engineer. A good start made on overhauling the workload but by the end of the day we had not got the final details notified to the payroll department. I confess to being rather frustrated with the summer season. The weather stays sultry and clammy, the frustration of holiday absences are always with us, and the customers of course always expect continuous service. I keep June late and list all outstanding action items to aid tomorrow and we should complete payroll information first thing.
Late arrival home tonight with copies of the Board Reports for reading prior to tomorrow’s Board meeting. I stay up late noting 25odd points for clarification but the results are satisfactory.
News tonight of an assassination in foreign parts, of a serious train crash in the Irish Republic with 6 dead, and of mistaken identity on a young lady invited to Balmoral for the weekend as company for Prince Andrew – I dismay of the media today. More proper concern over the MORI opinion poll in the daily papers and conclusions about UK poverty.