Snow and snowman building
Snow and snowman building

Successful family day with the Sunday Times journalist Jane Bird featuring my themes in her Ministerial interview coverage as the first snow in Rome for over 14 years and frost makes for icy hazards as the US/USSR prepare for ‘Star War’ arms talks.  We build a snowman and further snow falls and so do we …..

A fair lay in and awake with my morning tea and The Sunday Times. After reading the main political and business news, I am then pleased to see that Jane Bird had picked up my theme on the moratorium in her interview with Geoffrey Pattie, the IT Minister. Indeed it is taken up as the Memo to Maggie and her article is headed ‘Pattie the IT scrounge’ with content to match, drawing on my account of the PITCOM meeting to back it up. The weather is still cold with much more snow and I am called out in late morning to help build a snowman after having a warming breakfast of fried duck egg, bacon and bread. A quick wash, shave and dress and then out to help the children. Debbie starts the small snowballs and rolls them to gather more and then Daniel takes over and I help them roll them together in the back garden to build a snowman.

After the kids go in, I use the board scraper to clear all the paths. By this time a thaw is in progress and I quickly clear the paths at both houses and the paths in between. I stop to talk to the next door neighbour and manage to bring the conversation round to his selling his house. It seems that with their children growing up, they had already been considering a move and had looked at a number of houses last weekend. I ask him to let us know if his plans developed further, as we could well be interested in buying it. In to a lunch of roast pork, vegetables, apple sauce and gravy followed by cheesecake and chocolate crisp cake. After, Dad and I to Papworth where we find Mum up and sitting by her bed, the therapist just about to take her for a walk. She walked all around the ward and is looking greatly improved today. As well as being more mobile, she is also more sensible and gaining health fast. Home with a good thaw going as I fed and put away the ducks. Inside to light the fire and catch up on some computer journals before a trolley full of buns, cake and drinks for a sit-round tea in the lounge. Dad has returned by then and played with Daniella. Daniel and I, after, to the office and Dan played with the radio controlled jeep as I sorted my office papers out. I have a pile of financial transactions to complete and a list of correspondence for the computer industry contacts. Back to the house, but on the way both Daniel and I slipped and fell on the icy paths. It seems that more snow and the night’s frost had made the conditions treacherous. An evening warming in front of the log fire and watching the return of ‘By the Sword Divided’ to the television. News tonight of the preparation for the USA/USSR arms talks. A two day session will try to set the schedule and the two sides are posturing already in Geneva. There are also continuing discussions in the American camp about the scope for ‘Star Wars’. In Libya the people’s congresses and formal law courts are considering the fate of the British hostages. The icy weather has brought a heavy snow fall to London and the cold winds have left Europe even colder – eight inches of snow in the Riviera and the first snow in Rome for over 14 years. The forecast is for these cold winds from Siberia to continue.