September 1995 - A mild and damp month, wet and muddy for walking my dog Sam but one where he was second fiddle to me living in my new relationship with my passionate Wiggly.
With her, we had received the ‘All Clear’ from Dr Edgar at our important clinic appointments.
She had a doubly emotional automobile month having her own old Astra car damaged with hooliganism and breakdowns and then crashing my own Discovery.
Wiggly combined her new role as St Neots Town Councillor with helping me at Redgrave and still enjoying her amateur dramatics, winning her preferred role as Fatima in Sinbad.
Lots of film, theatre and meal outings followed as well as river trips in my boat.
We drove to Glasgow for the Liberal Democrat Party Conference heard Michael Grade, the Channel 4 Director, Jim Wallace MP, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland and met Paddy Ashdown again.
I was still missing the girls but meeting up with them and Daniel whilst attending the pond filters at The Hayling View.
Debbie from her Kimbolton School 6th form party and Della starting the main school.
This month was all about Redgrave too, where we greeted Sarah Francis on her first day as the shop manager.
We completed the Spar forms together and made our decision to go with them as our wholesaler and meetings followed thick and fast.
I briefed local councillors in a private briefing and then addressing a meeting of Redgrave Parish council with some 50 or so local residents present enlisting their support for the revamped shop, ordering £13,500 worth of equipment for a revamp and starting newspaper deliveries.
I met representatives from Post Office Counters who had come to interview me successfully for the job of sub-postmaster.
This month, there was a strong NATO air attack on the Bosnian Serb artillery positions with planes from the US, UK and France taking part with one French plane shot down
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I had not recorded much about the weather during this very busy and eventful month but it was generally mild with enough rain to make wet and muddy fields for dog walking with Sam.
He was not the main priority during a very busy month but Wiggly and I were sharing his exercise and he was well trained and very good often sleeping in the Discovery without complaint..
It was the first month living with my new lover Wiggly and this made for a very emotional and intimate experience as her emotions, youth and libido quite an experience to cope with and manage.
We were making mutually-satisfying love most days with Wiggly in her new sexy black lace-up boots and hold-up stockings with lacy tops showing under a black miniskirt but was often so tired and full of cold that she just wanted to sleep.
I had to realise that, being young, she still needed much more sleep than me and she would often fell asleep on her bed in her clothes as I still took advantage of her and then worked on.
We had good news when Wiggly and I received the ‘All Clear’ from Dr Edgar at our important clinic appointments. It did not help her having her car damaged with paint-stripper all down side whilst we had been away, which was the hazard of living in Eynesbury.
She was taking turns driving distances but failed to take care and leave braking distances and then crashed the Discovery! Fortunately, she then saved the day with her trusty membership of the RAC, whose long suffering staff first recovered the Discovery from the carriageway and then relayed it all the way back to Sawtry.
We then picked up her old Astra to resume a very tiring journey all the way up to Glasgow but more of her car breakdowns then dominated the experience but the RAC again helped with the car. Once we were having it fixed, further car incident followed with an offside rear light lens on the loan car was damaged.
Wiggly combined her new role as St Neots Town Councillor (when we had to get back to St Neots in time for her to attend her Town Council meetings) with helping me at Redgrave and still enjoying her amateur dramatics.
She had high hopes of being offered the role of Fatima the character maid by her theatrical group and then heard from Panto director Phil Collins confirming she had won her preferred role as Fatima in Sinbad which pleased her greatly.
I treated her regularly for lunch as a welcome break and we ended up in the George at Buckden having a nice three course meal on one occasion and then to Horning via the Floating Restaurant where we enjoyed a late meal.
Watching Sweeney Todd at the Studio Theatre another time and then seeing ‘An Inspector Calls’, the JB Priestley war time play which was on at the Theatre Royal.
We still found time to go out and take boat trips including a pleasant trip along the river together with Sam on the Jolly until we moored up opposite the Horning Ferry Inn and took a nice walk towards Bastwick and then we moored up within reach of the Horning Leisure Centre.
This was when we drove to Glasgow for the Liberal Democrat Party Conference arriving for a sound nights sleep in a nice room at the Ambassador Hotel in Kelvin Drive.
After recuperating at our hotel, we were spending the days at The Glasgow Conference Centre for speeches, conversations and fringe meetings. Then it was back to the conference hotel by car for the fringe activities.
The British Film Industry was one topic which interested me as a past Producer of two films, and we were addressed by Michael Grade, the Channel 4 Director, before catching the end of ALDC meeting which Chris Rennard was addressing.
Then a full Liberal Democrat Conference Day listening to Alan Beith and Paddy Ashdown, as I exchanged nods with the latter, who I knew well from his visits to me when campaigning.
The Albert Ingham award was being presented for the person organising the best Liberal Democrat campaign in the last year, for which I had been nominated by my local party but I was glad that I did not win it!
As a break, we took a short walk to the Rotunda and, between this and the conference hotel stood one of the large ship building cranes which had been renovated as a monument to the past ship building industry.
A further Glasgow conference day. but gave us the opportunity to me the chance to watch the closing conference speech by Jim Wallace MP , the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland.
There was then the very tiring journey from Edinburgh to Eynesbury where we arrived too late for Cathy's video viewing of the last play by their group, The Stage-fright Theatre Company.
Home early in the morning and very tired, we then had to experience the LibDem executive meeting about expulsion of Ross McKay and Geoff Morris and there followed a hard office day working on correspondence with continuing problems with John Roscoe who now appears unable to layout the Focus.
I was still tending the pond filters and missing the girls but found Daniel at The Hayling View where he appreciated my help with his car repairs.
Whenever possible I was still taking time with my daughters taking them to the school bus stop. with Debbie now in the 6th form and Della starting the main school.
I collected Debbie from her Kimbolton School 6th form party and Debbie from a school outing. Debbie was most unhappy after receiving a paint-ball hit her upon her precious fringe.
A had a lovely afternoon with Della and a trip to the Bedford Oasis Beach Pool enjoying the swimming, sliding and splashing before she typed about her experience on my Psion.
Amongst other recreations apart from dog-walking we drove to Carrow Road to see City beat Port Vale 2-1 and watching Norwich City draw against Millwall, before shopping in Norfolk Marine for boots and waterproofs for her.
We were fortunate in getting Jim and Julie’s help looking after Sam for a holiday in Wymondham when we went away.
This month was all about Redgrave too, where we greeted Sarah Francis on her first day as the shop manager. She joined us for our 9.30am meeting with Spar where we talked about shop fitting and organisation.
We completed the Spar forms together and made our decision to go with them as our wholesaler and meetings followed thick and fast on the future Management of Redgrave.
The drive over to Redgrave to met Gerry Hooper of Video Box Office with Sarah as Wiggly met Rodney Self, Mid Suffolk District Council Planning Officer, to discuss Redgrave planning issues.
We were starting to prepare the stock check file for Redgrave, ready for the forthcoming stock take and worked on a range of shop priorities working on the computer stock file. There followed the troublesome Redgrave Stock Check day leaving lots of work to do to upload the results.
I wrote the "Redgrave Post" taking the form of a call to arms to the residents of Redgrave to either support the shop or see it closed It was a late journey back via MFI where we sought out Phil Whitman and ordered the shop flat kitchen
Then much administration followed, photocopying and filing at the office, and more hard work on the stock information on this first day that I was actually responsible for the trading activities of Redgrave Store. Many visits with Sarah followed, making plans to organise Redgrave accounts, shop flat kitchen and the RSA epos computer system.
Then a busy Redgrave Day, delivering newsletter around the village, signing up with Video Box Office 93 videos, meeting with fellow neighbours as a private briefing and then addressing a meeting of Redgrave Parish council with some 50 or so local residents present.
A successful day at Bury St Edmunds Magistrates Court was experienced, securing approval for the Wines & Spirits License Transfer for Redgrave Drinks sales.
Visits from Alan Brunton of software company RSA and the arrival of the party of four from Spar which was useful because they were able to tie up on the operation of the computer system with Blakemore data files.
Then with CSL shop-fitting representative, ordering £13,500 worth of equipment. Another busy day then travelling to first fulfil the pay day for Redgrave Stores and meeting representatives from Post Office Counters who had come to interview me for the job of sub-postmaster
I was not taking much notice of external developments but I did hear news of an integrated and strong NATO air attack on the Bosnian Serb artillery positions with planes from the US, UK and France taking part with one French plane shot down