Reagan's historic 'Tear Down The Berlin Wall' speech today
Reagan's historic 'Tear Down The Berlin Wall' speech today

Working on my storm drain sump as Diana hosts a playgroup BBQ at the Hayling View and Thatcher wins a 100+ majority and claims that her priorities are for Inner Cities, Education & Housing. Labour gain 20 seats but The Alliance get very little success for their 23% share of the vote. Reagan is visiting The Berlin Wall as anti-US demonstrations take place and Pope Paul prays at the Gdansk shipyard, the birth place of Solidarity.

Did not get to bed until 3.00 am and then slept in until 8.00 o’clock this morning, when Di had to wake me with my breakfast in bed. A late effort to get dressed and showered and rather groggily got ready to do something useful. I went out to measure the storm drain sump for a piece of ply shuttering and then drove into St Neots to get this and do some other shopping. Could not find the waders that I required and drove on to Godmanchester and bought them there. Also got a couple of fishing licenses, valid for the Norfolk Broads as well as this area. There was quite a storm in that village and I feared for the playgroup barbecue that Diana was hosting. When I got back, I could see that there was a sharp shower in progress, but Little Paxton fortunately missed the worst of the rain. Just as well, because over 60 servings and guests were there, spilling into the front and back garden and inside the house as well. I joined the queue at the barbecue as well and they gave us a hamburger and sausage salad each for letting the Playgroup use The Hayling View. Several children tried out the swimming pool and enjoyed it.

It was after 2.00 pm by the time I could get around the house to unload the car, don my waders, and get into the sump to start digging out the debris and mud. Could not find a bottom, but made plenty of space for the concreting of the front wall. I phoned around to identify a pump capable of handling the flow and I plan to use one when concreting the front. The rest of the afternoon and evening digging out clay from the bank and continuing the process of making good the riverside bank behind the camp-shedding. Took time off to check Daniel’s geography project tonight and he is being a bit slow and lazy with it. A bit of a problem today as Pete & Joan were asked by Di to leave at 12.00 midday and I was not back to pay them their money! The news today was of the election result – Thatcher in with a majority of just more than 100 and setting her priorities for the parliamentary term ahead. She is doing a Cabinet reshuffle this evening and several moderate Tories are at risk. There were 4 black MPs elected – all for Labour who gained 20 seats, 17 from the Conservatives. Thatcher claims that her priorities are for Inner Cities, Education & Housing, which is a welcome move to One Nation emphasis. Perhaps magnanimity comes with time. Neil Kinnock and Labour have not lost heart and pledge to go on and on and on opposing Thatcherism. A bitterly disappointing night for the Alliance, as just two percentage are lost, but several seats went with them. Under the first-past-the-post voting system, 23% brings very few seats. The dual leadership is seen as an anomaly and a merger of the two Alliance parties seems on the agenda. The result sees the Labour Party dominating England, Scotland, Wales and the North of England, and the Tories the Midlands and South-East. The Tories do not have a single MP in a metropolitan seat in any of the three largest cities. In Belfast, another part-time soldier is shot dead at a golf course. President Reagan visited the Berlin Wall and called on Gorbachev to tear it down. His visit was preceded by riots and demonstrations against the US in West Berlin. Pope Paul is visiting his native Poland again and prays outside the shipyard in Gdansk, the birth place of Solidarity. Later, riot police charged a crowd of demonstrators, even though the Pontiff appealed for prayer today, not protest.