1990 Vrancea earthquakes
1990 Vrancea earthquakes

Packing up and leaving Paxton Princess and Heronshaw on another hot and sunny day after receiving a visit from the latest builder who casts doubt on the viability of rescuing the building and getting Chris’s help to measure the boat dimensions for bridging etc. Back home to a mountain of post and phone messages.

A major earthquake situated in northern Romania, affects many Eastern European countries,  the Gorbachev/Bush summit starts today and France unilaterally implemented a complete ban on the import of British Beef due to the "Mad Cow" disease

I spent most of the morning packing up my things and tending to the Paxton Princess. I filled up the water, charged the batteries and locked the boat up ready to be left for a couple of weeks. My visitor arrived today as arranged. It was Colin Lingwood, a senior manager with one of the larger construction companies, who looked over Heronshaw and gave his views as to how to proceed. They could do the piling to modern standards and bring the equipment in by water that would save the unmade road, but they could not specify the piles unless we had a structural survey on the construction and condition of Heronshaw. The project would cost about £1000 per pile, for 10/12 piles, and then some £20,000 for galvanised steel interlock sheeting for making the bank protection permanent. The numbers are making the restoration of Heronshaw unlikely. I am beginning to bow to the inevitable conclusion that this money is better spent on complete demolition and building of a new property to make best economic use of the site. I have tried my best, but the builders are against me.

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I asked the Butterfields to try designing an accommodation layout for me, as they have the experience of living there. I also had time this morning to get the help of Chris in making up a gauge and measuring the beam and air draft of the Paxton Princess. It still looks favourable for getting the boat up to Paxton with a bridge clearance of less than 8ft, but the beam of 10ft 9ins means that Eaton Socon is probably our limit. I stayed for my last sandwich lunch with Freda and then left for home. I arrived in late afternoon to find everybody out and so I returned a few telephone calls and read another mountain of post. Then I unpacked and sat and chatted with the family for a good while before taking my first shower for a week and going to bed early with Diana at the end of another hot and sunny day.

The news is of physical as well as political earthquakes rocking the countries across Eastern Europe. A major earthquake had its epicentre in northern Romania, but cities in the Soviet Union, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Poland were also affected. As the Gorbachev/Bush summit starts today, the break up of the Soviet Union into a loose federation is being proposed by a Gorbachev associate. It is difficult to keep up with developments in Eastern Europe. At home, there was an even greater shock to the beef industry and government as France unilaterally implemented a complete ban on the import of British Beef due to the "Mad Cow" disease. The UK stock exchange is racing away again regardless, following Wall Street, despite an interest warning by the British Chancellor.