with Paddy  Ashdown the new SLD leader this evening
with Paddy Ashdown the new SLD leader this evening

First to inspect my lawns with gardener Pete which are looking good, but no more moles have been caught. After lunch with a delegation to meet the local police chiefs to argue the case for a village in eastern and then this evening sometime at the HDC Housing committee and to the east Cambs SLD meeting and to hear Paddy Ashdown address the letter with a rousing speech. Russell Harty dies of a liver failure, England avoid a West Indian test cricket defeat but Wales lose the rugby on their New Zealand tour

Slept OK and was ready for breakfast with the others. Read the daily paper and the mail and then tried to do a little work this morning. No luck with my mole catching – they keep setting off my traps but leaving them full of earth. It must have just been luck with my first capture. Pete was working today again and, with yesterday as well, he has managed to get the lawns and gardens looking nice again. After lunch, it was time for our visit to the Commander for Huntingdonshire Police, Superintendent Whyte, and I first collected Mike Pope from St Neots and then Little Paxton Parish Chairman Alf Cousins from his Fire Station at Hinchingbrooke. We all met at Huntingdon Police Station with Inspector Fechter, of St Neots, in attendance as well. We exchanged views and got some measure of common resolve to get on top of the problems. Although the prospect of our own Community Policeman is still a way off, we should get better coverage in both quality and quantity as a result. We will look at a Byelaw and the project of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme for the houses in the area of the Playing Field and will both try to find ways of keeping the offending lads occupied with much more worthwhile pursuits. I also made our points about closer relationships, less police car vs the beat, and the type of sympathetic response that is needed to residents calls for assistance. Home after and time for tea. This evening I mixed attendance at the HDC Housing Committee with a trip to the East Cambs SLD meeting, where I heard Paddy Ashdown address the faithful.

The latter delivered a good and rousing speech, if a little too rehearsed, which left all present with a good impression. The change of party leadership will do a lot of good and add a measure of new vitality. Paddy is definitely left of centre, and anti-Thatcher, but follows the party line of acknowledging the better policies of the other two parties. At the HDC Committee, it was another session that started at 7.00pm and ended at 10.00pm. Labour’s Jim Lomax is a thorn in the side of the Lady Housing Committee Chairman and the two keep scrapping. He was harking on about a ‘Springfield Estate cock-up’ and accused her and the Tory Group Leader of being ‘Economical with the truth’. All good copy for the journalist present. Home late but satisfied with the achievements of a busy day. I had also found John Mathhewman and Bill Walston at the SLD event and completed my FOCUS edit agreements! News tonight was rather dull, and nothing comes to mind to report, other than the sad death of Russell Harty, the TV show compere, who had a liver failure, which I am sure is only half the story. Also watched some TV cricket today and took satisfaction from fine batting performances from Graham Gooch and David Gower that blocked any chance of a West Indian victory. The Welsh rugby team are getting really hammered on their New Zealand tour.