A personal statement from resigning Heritage Minister, David Mellor, whose preference for actresses and willingness to accept free holidays has brought his downfall
A personal statement from resigning Heritage Minister, David Mellor, whose preference for actresses and willingness to accept free holidays has brought his downfall

Working inside staining the boathouse woodwork on another pouring wet day as two merry Welsh brothers and Broadland Motors mechanics delivered my Range Rover back late this afternoon, the vehicle having passed its latest MOT, had its engine Krypton-tuned and the car serviced generally.

A personal statement from resigning Heritage Minister, David Mellor, whose preference for actresses and willingness to accept free holidays has brought his downfall.

It rained for just about the whole day, clearing up for a short while this evening. Although I could work under cover and had plenty to do, the chilly rain and dark light puts a real dampener on the spirits, and I look forward to seeing some sunshine again. I had a good day, even though I felt a little jaundiced from tiredness at the end of it. I was up early and out working at 8.00am darting across to the new Harnser boathouse to escape an early wetting. I had completed the staining of the first bay yesterday and I was trying to complete the second one today. The over-riding priority is to get the scaffold planks back to the hirer as they must be costing a fortune so far. It took me until a late morning break to secure and connect up a fluorescent light and move all of the planks into position in the second bay to give a safe working platform.

** "Read More" BELOW for the complete story **

Then the rest of the day staining this bay until, as darkness fell, I could just about say that I had finished it. The two merry Welsh brothers and Broadland Motors mechanics delivered my Range Rover back late this afternoon, the vehicle having passed its latest MOT, had its engine Krypton-tuned and the car serviced generally. I took it for a trail run to the Wroxham fish-and-chip shop tonight and it seems to be running much better. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, I put it in the garage last thing but, what with the engine being livelier and the space tight, I managed to break the wing-mirror off! So physically-tired from the stretching and brushing this evening, I just slumped in front of the TV with my tea and rested until having to run round to get bathed, hair-washed and ready for my journal and bed. The days are so short now compared with when the building work was started. The emergency sitting of the House of Commons continued today but proceedings were lightened by the personal statement from resigning Heritage Minister, David Mellor, whose preference for actresses and willingness to accept free holidays has brought his downfall. The French Franc survives the currency speculation as the Germans stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them and, for now, the speculators are bested.