Debbie's last ride on Sundance today
Debbie's last ride on Sundance today

A challenging 24th Anniversary, which saw Debbie's last ride on Sundance with Diana being particularly sad at that. Derek Giles’ mother is dying of cancer, Daniel leaves for Cheshire to be with Angela and I get a hair cut in St Neots and then I read some Samuel Pepys and investigate cruising on the Inland Waterways of France.

The aftermath of the former USSR is painful with numerous disputes and risks, the Serbs and Croats are still hard at it in the former territory of Yugoslavia and at home there are some nasty attacks on old ladies

I had stayed up very late last night watching a moving documentary on the life of John Lennon and so had left a note for Diana to let me lay in this morning. Still woke up at 8.00am and got showered and dressed in time to have breakfast with the others. Took Diana to St Neots shopping after doing my chores and there got my hair cut and bought my 1992 diary insert. Once in town, I met Derek Giles who told me of his mother dying of cancer and being admitted to Moggerhanger Hospice yesterday. At the barbers, I had my hair shampooed by one young lady and then cut by another which was nice. The latter was a slight red-head just three months down from Glasgow.

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Diana had done some shopping in Waitrose and then we met up and came back for her to cook my brace of pheasants. I enjoyed the birds and Debbie and Daniel also ate theirs as well but Diana stoically refused a portion. She was in poor humour today and told me that it was sadness over the casual way in which Debbie is giving up Sundance after all of the sacrifices we have made and expense of making her riding possible. I think that she is also upset with me for not being considerate enough and for having attacks of "Thrush" every time I sleep with her which is surely not my fault. She postponed our exchange of cards until after lunch by which time she had bought me one and was pleased with the silver locket and chain that I had bought for her. Daniel left for Cheshire and a visit to Angela after lunch and then the rest of us stayed in for the rest of the day.

For my part I continued my relaxed spell by reading and watching TV until writing up my journal quite late on. I am reading Samual Pepys again after some years gap and am on the late 1666 section. I was also reading about Provence and the inland waterways of Southern France and still see this destination as being worthy of a future boating challenge. The Bishop family came back today and I called on them and told them of their burglar alarm event of yesterday and that I had called the police as a precaution and they were glad for my attention but there was nothing awry. They had just come back from visiting their daughter in Cannes themselves! The news is of the continued chaos in the former USSR. The elected President of Georgia is still holed up in his headquarters as rebel troops attack the building. At last a cease-fire has been agreed but no end to the siege is in sight.

Russia and the Ukraine squabble over the Black Sea fleet which the Ukraine want to retain as its Navy. Azerbijan and Moldova also want their own independent forces as they too fear Russian domination and the control of the Nuclear Weapons is still a frightening background issue. Yeltzin is in such an indecent hurry after Gorbechev's resignation that he has already taken over the former President's office and desk without giving him a chance to clear it first! The Serbs and Croats are still hard at it in the former territory of Yugoslavia.

The British Labour Party are six points ahead in the latest opinion polls as the whole nation now doubts the government claims of economic recovery. A year of record incidence of reported crime ends with an example that speaks volumes about our social decay. Thugs attack a 74-year-old lady in her home by ripping off her glasses, throwing acid in her face and punching her in the stomach before making off with items worth just £75. What's more, they rip out her telephone line so that she cannot summon early help and she ends up in intensive hospital care from the acid injuries to her eyes and lungs. Another old lady in her 80's is raped elsewhere.