The start of our sea voyage on The Paxton Princess after an architect’s meeting about restoring Heronshaw, refuelling at Acle and then cruising on to Great Yarmouth, mooring up at the Town Quay.
Hundreds more Albanians seeking refuge in foreign embassies, US President, George Bush, has proposed that Gorbachev address a meeting of NATO ministers at the end of this year as a measure of the increased understanding between East and West and an Irish peace initiative led by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Brooke, has stalled
I slept the night on board with Daniel and Jason and we were all comfortable and slept well. I made the boys morning tea and had my own breakfast before leaving them to their own devices to have a look round whilst I rushed over to Oulton Broad by car to collect my new scrambling net and coastal & life jackets from the Marine Safety Centre. I was disappointed that they had not already fitted the lights to the jackets but they will post them on to me for me to do later. It was a rush because I had to get back to Heronshaw for 11.00am to see the architect, Mr Tennant. This I just about did and I briefed him in some detail about the thoughts I had been having on its restoration or replacement. The outcome was that they were going to contact a structural surveyor to view Heronshaw and take some panels off to see the state of the building. At the same time, a site survey would be undertaken so that I would end up with a comparative report comparing the costs of the two approaches so that I can make a final decision.
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All this settled, we set off from Horning in the Paxton Princess but, by now, the rain showers had started and we put off a fuel and pump-out stop until Acle Bridge. Jason and Daniel steered and I made them some sandwiches and a drink en route. We made our service stop at Acle (paying £1.50 per gallon for fifty of diesel which was very expensive) and then cruised on to Great Yarmouth, mooring up at the Town Quay by 4.15pm in time to catch the building societies open so as to get some cash for the trip. We came under the Haven Bridge just as it was about to open and let a yacht in. As we came in to the quay, a misguided boat-owner tried to turn us back thinking we were a hire craft which was a bit of a cheek. I took the boys to McDonalds for tea and then spent the evening planning the tides and voyage and listening to the weather forecast. The winds were from the north west and quite fresh and things looked rather hopeless but Steven Bloom still came over to join me at 10.00pm and so our crew was complete in case we could get out. News today is of hundreds more Albanians seeking refuge in foreign embassies.
There is a growing row over the money collected amongst Russian miners and others during the British miners' strike, now with the "International Miners Organisation". The money was raised to support the miners, never got to them, and now the Russians want to have it back and Arthur Scargill is at the centre of it all! US President, George Bush, has proposed that Gorbachev address a meeting of NATO ministers at the end of this year as a measure of the increased understanding between East and West. An Irish peace initiative led by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Brooke, has stalled amidst Republican caution in Dublin after his months of "talks about talks". The House of Lords has defied the Government and voted in favour of the re-introduction of a dog registration scheme.