Very cold day catching up and preparing for Comart Board Meeting as the bank assures us of their every attention and Wyse agrees to visit before an evening on my family tree as an armed gang steals jewels from Christies and 22,000 job losses are the main political issue
On time to the office on a very cold morning. Temperatures had dropped down to zero degrees Fahrenheit in some places in the UK last night. A troubled morning, first clearing the mail and effects of two days out of the office, and then dealing with today’s mail and problems of the moment. Then to prepare the agenda for Thursday’s Comart Board Meeting, the Personnel Department’s Report and Absence Returns before finishing the morning with instructions to collate the results of all Department’s Reports into a total briefing.
I have planned Tuesday’s meeting to be a hard presentation for all of us with a minimum of bluster and waffle which will not suit everybody. After lunch to complete Ian Nicksons appraisal and decide upon the relevant increases for Ian and myself before reporting the results to Derek Weatherby for private payroll purposes. A good letter in from the bank today, humbly assuring us of their closest considerations which is as well. Also from Wyse assuring us that they will indeed be prepared to meet us at the factory on Wednesday next. Then to meetings with Peter King over personnel and administration matters and a round robin of chats with other Managers and Directors to ensure they had received and understood their instructions for next week’s meeting. Home quite early and an evening of reading and relaxation and noting the activities of the day. Also to update my family tree with yesterday’s discoveries. News today of a controversial speech by Enoch Powell criticizing the Queen for being as concerned for the Commonwealth as she is for the inhabitants of Britain. Also an armed gang escaped with valuable jewels from Christie’s Auction House but remote controlled cameras recorded the event and should help to catch them. In Greenock, grave concern over the rundown at Scott Lithgo Shipyard where thousands of lost jobs are the latest news. All of which contrasts with the speech of Chancellor Nigel Lawson who says that employment is on the up. A job survey this week, however, logged announcements of 22,000 more jobs lost.