George McRobbie, defending his actions in 1987 and then appointed as a Forestry Commissioner for Scotland  30 years later!
George McRobbie, defending his actions in 1987 and then appointed as a Forestry Commissioner for Scotland 30 years later!

A better day for working and catching up in my office, buying 40,000 shares in Rolls Royce,  as Di took my Range Rover to Cambridge with Della and then my first fish for a while, a nice roach. George McRobbie, my forester for Thormaid was in the news defending our plantings in the Highlands, there is civil unrest in Liverpool and Leeds, with youths attacking and injuring police and then an actual police death in Belfast as the Civil Service unions are divided over taking industrial action

A good early night and sleep afterwards, but woke quite early to the birds singing and the morning sun. To the shower earlier than usual and washed my hair as well, because it was getting a bit greasy. To my office then for half an hour before breakfast, as managed to start work on my papers in good heart. Breakfast with the others, then briefed Di on a few jobs that I wanted her to do and then let her go in the Range Rover to Cambridge for her normal Tuesday trip. I settled back into my office and worked the rest of the morning. I reconciled my credit card account, querying a transaction by phone, then typed up letters to Fountain Forestry, Alf Congers and the Clerk to Little Paxton Parish Council on a number of issues. This morning there was no play in the test match and it was abandoned as a draw. More rain at Wimbledon as well and so there were no distractions for my work. Made myself a fine salad lunch with the start of the ham that we had bought and cooked yesterday. It had been in the oven all evening and was cooked just fine. Went through to the lounge to relax afterwards and see the news and was surprised to see a news item showing my forest in Caithness and including an interview with George McRobbie of Fountain Forestry, defending the latest attack by the RSPB on the plantation of parts of the ‘Flow Country’.

Back to work again this afternoon, but did spend some time watching the tennis, that did eventually start. Following a rise in the British Aerospace share price and news of a large aircraft order, I decided to buy 40,000 shares, in spite of stockbrokers advice to the contrary, and keyed in the order on my Prestel set. This evening I chased Daniel on his exam revision, before settling down to do a little fishing off our river frontage. I ground baited with bread crumbs and grated cheese and then caught a roach of 4/5ozs, using cheese as hook bait. The first fish from our deeply dredged river, but it still seems very weedy, which makes fishing difficult. A dark and cloudy evening, with a downpour only a fraction away, but the day’s improved weather survived with only a few spots of rain. Pete trimmed the hedges nicely, as his main job, put off from yesterday. This evening Di and I watched a moving TV film about the rehabilitation of a mental patient. The news today was first of civil unrest in Liverpool and Leeds, with youths attacking and injuring police. This is a nasty foretaste of things to come if we get a hot summer. Later today the actual killing of a policeman in Belfast took over as a major item and the rise in the number of child abuse cases (and opening of a special unit to cater for them) took precedent. The Civil Service unions are split on the wisdom of industrial action in support of their grievances.