Black Wednesday – I return to Norfolk and store another 500 metres of cladding, as the UK Government fights an economic crisis
I was up with the rest of the family and intending to go back to Heronshaw to do some more work for a few days after completing my National Savings transactions. I sent Diana to the post office to get some Investment Account withdrawal forms but, poor thing, she had to go three times to get them having first got deposit forms and then Ordinary Account withdrawal forms! I applied for the latest issue for Diana and I both with new money and by re-investing matured issues and then got all the forms ready for doing something similar for the childrens' trusts; where they have to go for signature to the two trustees in turn.
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I was aware that there were fun and games on the monetary exchanges this morning but the full impact of them did not hit me until I turned on my car radio on the way to Norfolk in late morning. Then things went from bad to worse and ended in complete chaos. First the government increased rates by 2%, then by another 3%; then they cancelled the latter rise and decided to take sterling out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (the "E.R.M."), thereby effecting a devaluation despite months and years of protestation that they would never do such a thing! On arrival in Norfolk, I first stacked all of the tanalised timber that had arrived in my absence so that it could dry out properly.
There was another 500 metres of cladding that I assembled into a new drying rack with batten spacers, then lengths of rail, posts and boarding that will be used to make a walkway at the front of the new boat-house and inside it as well. Then I made myself some tea of sardine sandwiches before spending a few hours in the new Harnser boat-house kitchen adjusting and fixing wall units. A nice Heronshaw bath, some drinking chocolate whilst watching the amazing news of today’s financial events and then up until late writing up these last couple of days journal. The forecast is for another couple of days of fine weather, and I plan to take advantage of it.