The family, friends and I enjoying the swimming after dark by underwater lighting as pleasant recreation and recovery after a hot and sweaty day with Daniel’s school exam results improving, me struggling to progress the work on The Lady, and being left to clear up late into the evening. More oppression planned after the Tottenham riots and Maxwell closes the Bath printing works now
A slightly earlier bedtime and so awake feeling more rested this morning. Shaved, showered before breakfast of wheat flakes. Both last night and this morning, I had ear drops inserted with cotton wool, to try to soften the build-up of wax in my ears. This, together with the dampening of underwater swimming, has made me quite deaf yesterday. News in the Financial Times this morning of Kode shares going up 40p yesterday to 275p, on better than expected interim figures. With the increase yesterday as well, we could have increased our recent revenue from sale of Kode shares by well over £100,000! Doves fed and then straight out to The Lady to look over the rear cabin and sliding roof support. I chipped away at the spoilt varnish, then tried shaping some copper strip to cover the channels, which worked.
Then to phone around for possible supplies, but both builders merchants and, even Smiths the non-ferrous metal dealers of Biggleswade could not get the dimensions that I needed to do the job that way. I dug into the support woodwork a little and found wet rot had penetrated very badly. The rest of the day was spent stripping off the varnish, removing and cutting away a section, then digging away at the cabin sides underneath, to clear out all of the rotting wood. Chatted to Marilyn a little today and Di persuaded her to dip in the pool. Unhappily, I was not allowed in, as she was shy of her figure, but I wanted to get on anyway. In fact, I left it until last thing tonight and after dark with the pool light on, before I went swimming and it was a cool end to a hot and sweaty day. I had gone through Daniel’s school exam results with him and he had done well in Chemistry and French. I await physics tomorrow, to see if he has earned the right to use his computers again. He then had his friends round to swim and also Debbie had Amy to swim as well. I read Debbie a short story tonight, for the first time in a while, as Di was too busy to do it. I covered The Lady over for the night, to stop the dew dampening the exposed woodwork, watered the flower baskets and then took my swim. A hot and sunny day again today, but temperatures ‘only’ up to 81degF. News today is of the publication of report recommendations on last year’s Tottenham riots, with the police being further armed with longer truncheons, CS gas and rubber bullets, which is a shame. South African trade unions have demanded an end to the harassment of union officials, the release of those detained, and steps to end the apartheid policies by July 10th, after which unspecified ‘effective measures’ will be taken. A frightening development in Wiltshire, as two soldiers and two others have been arrested after misappropriating nine anti-tank rockets and launchers and we have yet to learn of their intentions for them. Robert Maxwell has closed a printing plant in Bath, with the loss of 500 jobs. About 90 people, including 6 policemen, were overcome by fumes in Carmarthen shopping precinct, as it is believed a large freezer lost its circulation fluid in the hot weather.