A trip to Bedford in the Range Rover with ‘DIF-LOCK’ engaged as a protection from the frosty roads and then time researching in the Bedford library and its Reference Room and then to finish copying Les Forscutt’s cuttings and Mrs Davis’s photo before returning home to find my weather vane having fallen to the ground. This evening, finishing the bulk of my Norman Chapter and listening to the news where Ken Baker is trying to take the school curriculum’s away from schools and under his central control. Ernest Saunders of Guinness is in disgrace over takeover transgressions, Reagan is out of hospital but straight back into Iran arms sales controversy and a bomb explodes in a Johannesburg department store
Another comfortable and warm night within our electrically heated bed. Still sound asleep when Di woke me to my morning tea and had to sit in bed writing up yesterday’s journal, which took a long time. Not yet washed or dressed, therefore, when I went down to breakfast and had to hurry to get ready after. It was time then to get the Range Rover out and the family ready for our trip to Bedford. Another heavy frost, but little breeze and so the cold was not too penetrating. Put the car into 4-wheel drive ‘DIF-LOCK,’ to be safe on the frosty roads and it still handled normally. Parked at Lurke Street car park and walked to Debenhams for morning coffee. Di spotted a notice in the window of our old coffee house and it said, to her disgust, that planning permission is being sought to turn it into a ‘Pizza Hut’. Ughh! After a nice break, I left Di to go shopping in the Early Learning Centre sale and I went to Bedford Library. First I compared the Huntingdon VCH manorial history for Little Paxton with The Calendar of Hunts Feet of Fines and found out that the entries post 1603 are not covered and I probably have that information already.
Then sought permission to enter the Reference Room and studied more of the Calendars and found Henry VII Inquisitions most interesting. Found some old names for land in Little Paxton of ‘Halams, ‘Cokstevyns’ and ‘Bundyes’ for about 1503. No trace of these names these days. Back for lunch at Debenhams and then more time in the library, before time to leave for home. Stopped in St Neots on the way and got photocopies of Mr Forscutt’s cuttings and also the return of Mrs Davis’s photographs from copying. Found back at Little Paxton that my weather vane had fallen off of the chimney and embedded itself in the lawn! A strange event, as there was no wind to notice. The Water Board had been doing some burrowing and installed an underground stopcock, but they had yet to arrive when Pete saw it topple over and fall! I had been relying on its weight to hold it in the socket, but the fit is a loose one and will have to be modified, after the vane is repaired. No word from Mr Ramply and I will have to chase him up next week with a new approach. I had to go out again to feed the ducks and doves (though the ducks seem to have been fed already – perhaps at Marilyn’s table) and then carry through the weather vane to the inner garage for safe keeping. Before and after tea, I resumed my Norman chapter, after tidying up my office, which had papers and books everywhere. Tea was grilled trout and the girls also enjoyed some of it. Sweet was pears and they were likewise enthusiastic, for a change. Tonight I read Debbie the rest of yesterday’s Country Companion, in front of my office log fire, which I had made to cheer me up. This afternoon I also heard from the estate agents, who asked me if the purchasers are entitled to the items left in the house – yes!, I said, whether they want them or not. Later a family visited with keys to have a look round and I take them for our new neighbours. Finished the bulk of my Norman chapter tonight (less most of the manorial history) and printed it out (10 pages in all) whilst writing this journal. Di is set on copying her family’s old cine-film onto video and asked her Mother for the loan of her Dad’s films to do so. She heard that the family elder, ‘Uncle Tom’ (who took pictures of her parent’s and our weddings) had burglars steal his equipment and Di wonders whether the family film archives are gone as well. She is now on tenterhooks. Today’s main news was the resignation of Mr Ernest Saunders, the Guinness Chairman and Chief Executive, after the Board of Directors had heard even more damaging accounts of the company’s difficulties. They had broken a number of stock exchange rules during the Distillers takeover and the DTI investigators are on their tail. More regulations to tighten press freedom in South Africa, as a bomb goes off in a central Johannesburg department store. The foreign exchanges in even more turmoil, as the German mark seems set for realignment and the world stock exchanges are still driving forward. Education Secretary, Kenneth Baker, is setting himself the task of introducing central control of the school curriculum – something that local schoolteachers have always decided and that is close to their hearts. The danger is seen as ‘thought-control’ and the setting of curricula for party-political ends. A second hostage is freed from the Barlinnie prison siege, leaving only one prison officer still held by the rebelling prisoners. Reagan is out of hospital, but straight back into the storms over the Iran arms sales. His office has now admitted some connection between these sales and the release of hostages (something that they denied a while ago) but deny that the President knew about filtering-off of funds for Nicaragua as well.