Soviet Foreign Minister, Edvard Shevardnadze, resigns after giving no prior warning to Gorbechev
Soviet Foreign Minister, Edvard Shevardnadze, resigns after giving no prior warning to Gorbechev

Very achy and shivery today suffering from influenza after a rather better night but still having trouble sitting up and drinking. Reading stories about my campaigns in the local papers and listening to soothing music before dozing off in the evening feeling all weak again.

Soviet Foreign Minister, Edvard Shevardnadze, resigns after giving no prior warning to Gorbechev

I had a rather better night than yesterday and awoke just before Diana arrived with my morning tea. I still had trouble sitting up and drinking it, feeling very achy and shivery at the same time. I managed to eat a breakfast of cereal and fruit juice in bed, however, and once the tablets had worked their magic again, went further and shaved and showered before returning to bed in my pyjamas. I brought the new stereo up to my bedroom and also the paper and managed to enjoy both of them by reading and listening to soothing compact discs. Diana does not like me to be ill and is always upset with me; wanting to collapse in bed herself, particularly when. like now, she is also quite ill. I listened to "Famous British Film Themes" and then the Beatles.

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I was alarmed to see the local paper today which had an article about Sue Sutton being our candidate and me her campaign manager which was jumping the gun a bit but it was good publicity nevertheless. Another paper has good coverage on my anti-Poll Tax speech, and a third an article on Sue's concerns about Thurleigh. I was up for a while later this afternoon and kept Debbie company as she is still suffering with her version of this 'flu. I even had tea at the table with the family, but regressed again this evening and went to bed listening to the radio as I dozed off feeling all weak again. The amazing news today was of the Soviet Foreign Minister, Edvard Shevardnadze, resigning in a public and theatrical gesture whilst apparently giving no prior warning to Gorbechev. All sorts of Western speculation about what this means as he is protesting that the nation is going back to central dictatorial powers rather than reforms towards democracy.