The Lady loaded at Buckden for transport to Brundall and The Norfolk Broads
The Lady loaded at Buckden for transport to Brundall and The Norfolk Broads

Watching and filming The Lady being loaded aboard a trailer at Buckden Marina to be transported to Brooms at Brundall and then helping Daniel fit a new stereo to his boat ready for our Norfolk holiday and reviewing the stock market with my broker as the children swam in the pool and arranged my speaking date for the St Neots LHS. The USSR are supporting the Zero Option for medium range Nuclear Disarmament in Europe and Asia, a political cartoonist has been shot in the head in Chelsea and High Court injunctions are lifted against three newspapers though there is an appeal.

A rather restless night, thinking about the boat transport planned for the morning. Awake to my morning tea, showered and down early for breakfast. A boiled duck egg today for each of us, except Diana. Soon after breakfast, Daniel & I took the Range Rover over to Buckden Marina and loaded the last few things onto The Lady whilst we waited for the crane driver and low loader transport to arrive. Not long to wait and by 8.30am the operation was underway. I filmed the lift and load, which was quite spectacular. First The Lady was brought alongside and a square cradle and two straps lifted around the hull. Slowly up, round and then on to the trailer, as side supporting jacks were positioned and the boat secured down with straps. The tender was put up on the aft cabin roof and tied securely down as well and off they went.

The idea of collecting and loading The Lady yesterday afternoon was so that it could have been delivered this morning and another transport effected. I agreed that The Lady could be dropped back at their base and another boat transported, provided they arranged it with Broom Boats at Brundall, who were expecting to launch The Lady this afternoon. Daniel took still pictures of the loading and I took a video to remember it by. Home by mid-morning and so I took Daniel to St Neots to look at car radio/cassette units. He wanted to buy one to fit to his boat for the holiday and so I let him withdraw £40 from the Abbey National and buy a nice one. I bought a couple of tools that I needed as well. Home to find Di returned from her shopping and I read the papers as Di prepared the lunch and Daniel tried fitting his new radio. To his horror, there were no knobs in the box and he also lost the sales receipt and was frightened to go back to the shop to query it. Di would not take him and so, after lunch, I went back and got the parts for him. He fitted the radio and it worked well and was a great success. I made a couple of phone calls to Stockbrokers this afternoon. The exchange prices have been falling and I was wondering about buying some securities for the children’s trusts. He advised me to wait, as the market had some way to go. An early tea and then off to Offord with Debbie for her last horse riding lesson before our holiday. She had a new pony, Dillon, today, who is quite strong and troublesome. It ran away with her once or twice, but she did quite well to control it in the end. Home to spend a bit more time at my desk. I interrogated Prestel and found a few shares to keep in mind for purchase. Photographer, Colin Howard, came round tonight, delivered the negatives for the series of prints he had done last winter and collected a payment of £55. Daniel and his friend Jason Chambers went swimming in the pool, which has stayed heated at 80degF after being back-flushed. Out at dusk to tend the birds, then in to watch a TV film and update my journal. I also telephoned the secretary of St Neots History Society, at long last, and agreed to speak on October 2nd and again next year(!). We had a short power cut this evening, but not long enough to worry us. Today was dull, breezy and cold, but neither rain nor sun were in evidence. The forecast is none too encouraging either. Main news story today is of support from the USSR for the ‘Zero Option’ nuclear arms deal proposed by the West and also the welcome by the US of the USSR call for the elimination of medium-range missiles from Europe and Asia. The arms talks seem to be progressing again. In London, Chelsea, a political cartoonist (Mr Ali Naji Awad al Adhami) was shot in the head at close range and Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist branch are investigating. In the High Court, injunctions against three newspapers (forbidding them printing extracts from the MI5 Spycatcher book) are lifted, but they still cannot print, as the Attorney General has lodged an appeal. US-flagged Kuwaiti tankers pass through The Straits of Hormuz in the Gulf without incident.