A good day visiting attractions with the children in West London after a torrid experience in the hotel for breakfast and then an equally frustrating return in bad traffic but it had been fine until the rain started later. Terry Wait is working quietly in the Lebanon to try and get our hostages released, Argentina is upset about the new Falklands exclusion zone, US-backed fighting continues in Nicaragua and Sein Fein joins the Irish political process
A poor night. Suffocatingly hot in our hotel room, noisy, with traffic roaring around outside all night, and Della being awake on at least three occasions. Then the process of getting ready and down to breakfast. The children a problem and, on arrival at the restaurant, over occupancy, so that we had to wait in the lounge for a table. The rooms are of quite good appointment, but these points spoil the stay. All into the car after, and a long and slow drive, in damp drizzle and heavy traffic, to Kensington for the Toy Museum. A good choice, as we managed to park easily and then enjoyed the museum immensely. The range of doll’s houses, cars, lorries and models was legion.
A highlight was the ‘Bay West’ miniature city, but poor Della cried at a simulated house fire and visit from an alien spaceship. Another tough, slow and congested car journey to Hampton Court Palace, but stopped for a Macdonald’s burger and chips at Kingston. Debbie was disappointed to find that yesterday was the last day for the Maze, which was very bad luck. Still, we all appreciated the tour of the apartments, with an incredible array of pictures, décor and furniture. Pity about the aftermath of the fire in the King’s apartments, but at least only two rooms and a solitary picture was damaged. Strange that they let these old army widows live in the flats above. Apart from the above disaster (where an old lady had knocked over a candle) we also heard of an accident that occurred 9 months ago. A lady’s washing machine flooded and spoilt a fine painted ceiling that had to be restored. A truly working building, but something of an anachronism in this day and age. Home in the rain once more and again got some cheese sandwiches up to our rooms for the children, before they had their baths. Della to sleep after a rather tired and irritable day and then we left the other children to watch a Witches film on the TV and we went off to Leicester Square in search of the film, ‘Out of Africa’, as we have missed it so often. Took the Range Rover and had little difficulty with the traffic getting there, parking in a street adjacent to the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square. Tried to have a nice meal at an American hamburger restaurant, but service was so slow that we opted for a little café instead, where the service was good and quick, if the facilities modest. A good film, if somewhat long, but when we came out, the streets were jam-packed with people and cars, so that we could hardly get away. A half hour to get a few hundred yards and a total of an hour and a half to get back to the hotel. All the time, the rain continued to fall slightly. News tonight is the continued cloak of silence around Terence Waite’s mediation attempts in the Lebanon. He is travelling via Cyprus and reports ‘continued optimism’ about securing the hostages release. Argentina has lodged a formal protest in London over the British introduction of a 150 mile so-called ‘conservation zone’ around the Falklands. Heavy fighting is reported from Nicaragua, where right-wing rebels (supported by the USA) organised attacks and fled across the Honduras border. Sien Fein (the political wing of the IRA) is to change a policy of abstaining from the political system and will probably take up elected places in the Doyle, the Republic of Irelands Parliament.