A day of Cambridge and St Neots meetings that started slowly with my new diet and my preparation of Ears data (the LibDem election software). The constituency campaign meeting overran as usual and then I had Percy and Michael along to prepare for this evening’s HD Housing Committee meeting and was late for lunch with Diana.
A St Neots party group meeting later to talk about St Neots Museum Finance and then some time on filing old Microcomputer Industry documents, noting correspondence with Paddy Ashdown on Export Controls.
The good news today of the release of Jackie Mann, the retired ex-patriot former R.A.F. pilot who was kidnapped two years ago in Beirut, albeit in a sad, ageing and emaciated condition
I slept well enough but was a little slow to rise, only managing to finish washing and dressing as the girls left. I just had bran flakes, skimmed milk and apple juice for breakfast which was in the best interpretation of my new diet. Overnight, I had received the formats for the EARS data and I copied this for distribution with the other information at this morning's meeting. I left with Diana for Cambridge and we stopped off at The Little Chef on the way for coffee before setting her down in the City Centre and driving on to Glisson Road for the campaign meeting.
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The meeting went over its allotted time as usual and there were differences with the others on the newspaper format but at least the election plan was accepted, and the principle of targeting established. The Cambridge City wards seemed in a bit of a mess with neither a coherent organisation nor candidates for next May and the South Cambridgeshire Rural area were not much better off for candidates, although at least they are starting to organise the area. Percy and Michael came along to Glisson Road afterwards so that we could talk about tonight's housing committee agenda and then I met up with Diana (rather late) for lunch in The Copper Kettle.
We forwent our normal roast beef lunch and had salad sandwiches instead. Di bought a book on Child Stress which she found interesting. She, herself, had suffered greatly as a small girl and she recognised just about all the symptoms! By comparison, we have little to worry about with Della but had to help her through any problems of settling into her new school. Home in mid-afternoon and time for a pot of tea before being called over by two men in a river inspector's boat who had rescued one of our doves from the water.
This evening, I went along to a party group meeting with the question of St Neots Town Finance as the main item. There had been a major approach from the St Neots Museum Committee for funds and it was agreed that any decision to support such an exercise should be conditional upon the District Council providing some funds as well and upon the financial viability of the purchase. They also agreed to start thinking about the priorities for next year's budget which would be the first prepared under Liberal Democrat influence. Home quite late and to bed as tired as usual.
Earlier, I had emptied out my old filing trolley containing the files from my B.M.M.G. and computer industry representation days and was intrigued to find the correspondence, in 1985, with Paddy Ashdown on the subject of export controls. He was a new Liberal M.P. in those days. The good news today is of the release of Jackie Mann, the retired ex-patriot former R.A.F. pilot who was kidnapped two years ago in Beirut. He was in a sad, ageing and emaciated condition but at least alive and this re-awakened hopes for other hostages including Terry Waite.