More work on my project, despite it being Sunday, but we did enjoy English breakfast and a roast beef lunch together on our best china and silver. Diana and the girls visited Di’s parents today and neighbour Marilyn’s David took one of their boats out for a spin as it was milder and free of ice. Kohl is the probable victor of the West German elections, Special Branch officers are tasked to try and incriminate investigative journalist Duncan Campbell over the Spy Satellite disclosures and the political aftermath of the Wapping violence will move to The Commons tomorrow
A sound night’s sleep and no early morning call from the alarm system. I shower and dress quite early and am well ready for breakfast and so set up my office for a day’s work before going back to eat it. A nice meal of fried egg, bacon and tomato and the children all had fried egg and extras as well. Then down to work, until time for coffee at 10.45am. A nice drink, out to the ducks and doves after, and then a little read of the papers before resuming. Worked on until 12.30pm and then it was time to prepare the silver and china for lunch, laying up the table at the same time. Soon lunch was served, nice beef, and then we had finished the washing up by 2.30pm.
Then I watched a live football match on TV and was pleased that Nottingham Forest beat Everton by 1 goal to nil as they had failed to win in their last 8 matches, and Everton were unbeaten in the last 7. This gives more chance of a London club, Arsenal, to win the league title. It was 4.00pm before I resumed work (I had already fed the ducks and made the afternoon tea at the football match’s half time). An hour of work and tea and then the evening, until 10.00pm, typing in and the next half an hour or more printing out. Debbie came to me tonight and I did some more arithmetic with her. She had been to her Grandma and Granddad’s this afternoon with Diana and Daniella and had insisted on some tuition there as well! She had also, during the day, been using her plaster-of-paris – she has to work for a modelling badge at Brownies! Mild again today – Marilyn’s David took one of their boats out for a spin – but now the forecast is of more frosts and cold winds to come back again! News today of the West German elections. The computer forecasts say that Chancellor Kohl has won in a turnout of 83%, but with a reduced majority. Special Branch officers, having searched the offices of the New Statesman twice, now concentrate efforts on the home of the journalist, Duncan Campbell. They are under instructions to try to find some incriminating evidence under the Official Secrets Act, over the story on the new surveillance satellite. In another example of state repression, Winnie Mandela has been questioned and detained by South African police. She was then released after several hours of questioning. Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, has taken ‘a very serious view’ of the riot at Wapping last night and, on the other side, there are complaints about the tactics of the police. There will be quite a row in the Commons tomorrow. The eve of the BT engineers strike sees allegations of sabotage by the company and rebuttals of ‘outrageous’ by the telephone engineers union.