I had a long day, visiting both Mum and Dad in separate hospitals after completing arrangements for the purchase of Heronshaw. I made sure that they had one another’s contact details and were reassured that they were being properly looked after. Mum seemed comfortable and Dad no worse, but I was left mentally and physically exhausted. The US stock exchange took a 190-point dive in the last hour of trading and deep fears grow for the London stock exchange opening on Monday
I was very cautious about powering on my computer on this day, as there were too many tales of computer viruses being about. These self-perpetuating pieces of code are transferred between machines and are activated by outside later events – such as the superstitiously rare date of Friday the 13th! Today I went to Norfolk, leaving Diana behind in view of my need to be back late; a journey, though, beset by rain. It cleared up by the time I got to Wroxham at 11:30am.
I first went to see Elizabeth Kerr and handed over the completion money for Heronshaw before lunch. I had checked with George Smith and found out that they had completed the 31-foot centre cockpit cruiser, delivered it to Buckden and that it had been sold! I also saw the Admiral’s cottage had been sold and it made me wonder whether we made the right decisions. Di would have stayed at Admiral’s, but she wants nothing to do with Heronshaw. I returned for lunch to the Riverside Café and then looked around the local boat chandlers in Wroxham; the boat auction was yesterday evidently. This afternoon, I drove across to Horning where I went to see John Porter the vendor of Heronshaw. I found the lane rather overgrown and hoped that the branches had not damaged the Range Rover’s respray. I sat and chatted with this old man for a while. He seemed sad at leaving the place, but his health makes this inevitable. He showed me all the property services and systems, how to fly his flag and flagpole and other things. I paid him the £650 (for the day boat, the lug sail dinghy etcetera) and also heard about all of his plants and garden features.
I then made the trip back to Stanton. Mum had been collected and taken to the West Suffolk Hospital and it was sad to see their home locked up and empty. I wondered whether either of them will ever be returning there. I drove onto the West Suffolk and eventually found Mum in Ward 62 and quite comfortable. I helped her to get organised and gave her the telephone credit card number and dad’s details in hospital in case she did not have them. She was quite relaxed and happy to be there and it is less of a worry for the rest of us.
I left her in a state of contentment and drove quickly on to Addenbrooke’s Hospital to see Dad. He was not expecting me and I brought him a letter from mum and another that she had received from an old friend. I was only there long enough to reassure him that Mum was being well looked after and to give him her details. I got home quite mentally and physically exhausted but chatted to Di for a while before bed.
Late today, the US stock exchange took a dive losing 190 points in the last hour of panicky trading. Now we must wait for Monday’s opening on the London stock exchange.