Stiil finding time to supervise Daniel's school work during a busy day
Stiil finding time to supervise Daniel's school work during a busy day

A cold day after a cold night spent monitoring the financial markets and progressing my Little Paxton History which involved transcribing more of the Hall and Hazelton interview tapes and meeting the two owners of the former Paxton Park North and West Lodge before home for a late lunch made by Norma and to more typing and to supervise Daniel’s homework. A massive police effort in Ulster arrests 40 IRA suspects, two more police shooting incidents in Englandand the East/West arms talks are back on again

Awoke to a very cold bedroom. It had been a cold night and turned out to be a bitterly cold day to follow. We can conclude that autumn has ended and winter has begun. Got showered and dressed early, so as to be ready for more work and had enough time to ensure that the children tidied up their rooms before breakfast. A poor meal of wheat flakes and apple juice to drink and then straight to my office for an early start. I got a couple of hours work in, sorting more of the Hall and Hazelton interview text files into subject order. I also scanned the Prestel business information and watched Plessey shares particularly closely after my recent disappointment. The stock exchange improved a little today, and Plessey with it, and I took my brokers advice and kept the shares. Soon it was time to prepare my things for this morning’s interview with Mrs Connie Morris of North Lodge. Learnt a little from it, particularly about the late Mr Morris, who mended the villager’s bicycles for years.

Pity her dog is so jumpy and yappy that she kept on interfering. Could see how North Lodge had been extended sometime in the distant past to include a new scullery. Mr John Lloyd, the eccentric from West Lodge (self-styled ‘Village Idiot’) arrived for some eggs and I will go and see them there some time. He is actually a nice man, from a good family, whose memory has been affected by a stroke, but I like him and do not find him embarrassing at all. Home somewhat late for lunch. Di was out at playschool and elsewhere, and her Mum was home looking after Daniella. She made me some lunch of salad, which I ate. Worked all afternoon and evening and completed the sorting of interview text, then managed to print out a quarter of the subjects before bedtime. Out to feed the birds at dusk and found the weather just as cold as before. Also checked Daniel’s schoolwork and got him to do some history and English for his assessed GCSE work. The news today was of a massive police effort in the Republic of Ireland, where 40 suspected IRA men were arrested as they searched for recent arms shipments. Two separate shooting incidents now in England within the last 24 hours, where the assailants were shot dead by police. At least this time a robber had shot a policeman in the leg and so the self-defence plea is credible. The East/West arms summit seems on the road again, after a Shultz/Shevardnadze meeting at short notice, but timescales are tight. The world’s financial markets were rather mixed about the Congressional/Administration expenditure deal, which was singularly uninspiring.