Easter Monday - A sad day of tragedies with the shocking Hampton Court fire and the crash of a Mexican airliner the worst of them, but riots in Ulster over march disputes and the abolition of the GLC and other metropolitan authorities will probably have longer term implications. We were at St Ives for the bank holiday antiques fair having gone by car and not by boat for once.
Di had slept in the box room last night, as she did not feel very well and she brought me a drink this morning to wake me up. I didn’t feel quite so cold this morning, even though I could not light the central heating boiler last night, as the wind had abated somewhat. Down to a breakfast of cereal and then I got Di to cut my hair – it had been too long for some time – and then I also washed my hair as I showered. Dressed and then to help Di finish off tidying up and get the children to do the same. No Joan today, of course, and we then fed the ducks and doves (10 eggs today!) and set off for St Ives Bank Holiday market and antique fair. All this weekend we had been sad that we did not take The Lady down to St Ives, but Easter is so early this year and the weather so bad it was unthinkable.
The town was full of cars and the streets were congested – the quays were nearly empty and we see the difference between parking and mooring problems. I dropped the family off in town and then drove out to the St Ivo centre for the antiques fair. It was very crowded and cramped, but I spotted an old country-made child’s folding chair and bought it for £9.50. There was also a walnut butler’s tray and stand for £85, but I will wait for one to come up in mahogany. Back to the Waits Quay, where I found Daniel and then the rest of them. I bought a hamburger each for them and we set off for Hinchingbrooke. Another look at the mahogany carriage table, but we all agree that £300+ is too much in view of the wear and damage to the upper legs. I did find another smaller one for only £35 that a prints & maps lady was using to display her wares and settled for that instead. On to Brampton Garden Centre for a pruning saw and then home at last. A mixture of work and TV for the rest of the day, but I managed to fix two indicator bolts to the pool toilets before retiring late again. News today was of the tragic damage by fire to Hampton Court Palace and the death of one of the widows in the apartments above. It happened over night and Kenneth Baker was on station this morning and later the Queen, Prince Charles and Princess Margaret inspected the damage and were shocked by it. Such a priceless building so badly damaged, including the long gallery with the roof collapsed, but at least most of the contents were moved out in time. Trouble in Ulster today in clashes at Portadown, where Loyalist demonstrators rioted after the attempted banning of the Apprentice Boy’s march. 13 police and 36 others were hurt. A Mexican airliner has crashed in rain & fog, with 170 people on board, on its way to Los Angeles. England lose another one day test against the West Indies and with it the series. As the GLC is abolished at midnight tonight, thousands of Londoners mourn its end with a large fireworks display, but the message across the banner on The City Hall is ‘We’ll meet again.’ A showery and unsettled day that did not quite spoil the Bank Holiday Market, and the forecast is for a cold night and more cool showery weather tomorrow.