Some time this morning reviewing the HDC computer installation plans and agreeing a course of action with the computer manager and then this afternoon drafting press releases in the aftermath of the Environmental Services Committee after which I took Debbie horse riding and delivered my press releases. Then this evening attending the Southern Area Members Consultative Committee meeting of the council where I promote the ideas of a St Neots Cinema and Sports Centre. A British army helicopter was downed in Northern Ireland after its tail section was shot away, York’s Rowntree is given in and accepted an offer from Swiss Nestlé, and hundreds of people are feared dead in a Turkish landslide near the Black Sea.
Awoke today to another bright and sunny morning, with warm and close conditions set for the day. A little late down to my breakfast of boiled egg and then I spent the morning on a number of things that I had not intended. In particular, the mail was full of council papers and an item on the Council’s computer installation caught my eye. They had expanded to a near mainframe and the classical debate was taking place on whether to continue to write their own software, or buy in, packages for the new Poll Tax and Competitive Tendering Schemes imposed by central government. I made a number of phone calls researching the background, then spoke to the District Council Computer Manager and was then reassured to hear that his ideas were in tune with mine. By this time lunch was ready and I spent this afternoon drafting press releases and accompanying letters for the stories arising from the Environmental Services Committee.
Tea and then I rushed off in the car to take Debbie horse riding and then drove off to Huntingdon and St Ives to deliver my press releases. Home again and immediately off to St Neots for a meeting of the local District Councillors in the forum of Southern Area Members Consultative Committee. A meeting in two halves, with me having stolen a march on the Tories by putting up matters for the agenda. The first half was all about roads and footpaths, with the others – the Tories – blaming the Alliance controlled County Council in a fit of recrimination. The second half was much more positive, with a number of suggestions for recreation for our community youngsters. The ides of a St Neots cinema, sports centre, McDonalds were supported and plea to local bus companies to run late buses on certain evenings for youngster’s transport. They should have been glad I put the matters on the agenda, but they weren’t of course. Main news this evening was of a British Army helicopter being forced down in Northern Ireland, after its tail section was shot away. Expert investigations are tasking place to see what kind of weaponry the IRA used to achieve this feat. York’s Rowntree has given in and accepted the latest offer from Nestle – the Swiss confectionary concern, which is a sad day for one of the few firms headquartered in the North of England that had a close regard for their present and retired workforce. The unfortunate Barlow Clowes investors, whose money was misappropriated, are planning their moves to seek recompense from their financial advisors. At least 150 people are feared dead in a landslide in Catak, Turkey, buried as buildings and a road were destroyed in a district near the Black Sea. Catak, 350 miles northeast of Ankara in a deep valley near the Black Sea port of Trabzon, was a scene of devastation. A 30-foot-mound of sodden debris covered a line of vehicles on a main road and enveloped scores of homes and businesses