Sunday April 24, 1983

 3rd Sunday after Easter

A sunny, fun-packed day. We decided to go out for a walk and went across to the cemetery which is a very fine one, and well kept, and we strolled amidst the tombs.We laughed at some of the names and looked in horror at one of an old boy who is buried with his pet dog. We returned home after an hour and had a few glasses of beer and then went upstairs and climbed into bed for a couple of hours. A delightful giggle. _______. We later took a hot bath together. A tangled, soapy occasion.

A casserole and Yorkshire puddings. Revisited 'Brideshead Revisited'. I dislike the sloppiness of it all. The book is far better.

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Saturday April 23, 1983

 St George's Day

A quaint little chap wants the prime minister to declare this day a national holiday. Most other nations have a public holiday on their saints day. I agree. May Day with all it's lefty implications should be put aside and this day celebrated instead. 

The morning paper reveals the discovery of Hitler's diary. I am sceptical. Just imagine: 'Sept 1, 1939: Sleep in. Boiled eggs for breakfast. Invade Poland after lunch. Dine with Josef (Goebbels), and Martin (Bormann). Uneventful day.' I find it hard to believe that this evil little man would commit himself to paper. Lord Dacre of Glanton has laid his reputation on the line.

The premier barony of England has changed hands.The 27th Baroness de Ros has died aged 49 and has been succeeded by her son. Lord Mowbray can no longer call himself premier baron. No mention of the garter knights.

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Friday April 22, 1983

 Woke up to the sound of the pleasant thud of a book posted through the letter box. It's the Duchess of Devonshire's book 'Chatsworth'. No communication from a brewery. Made breakfast and switched on the TV. The morning news reveals that the Duke of Norfolk, Admiral Lord Lewin and Lord Richardson of Duntisbourne have been given the Garter. For eight years I have expected the Duke of Norfolk to be honoured. He is the Earl Marshal. Lewin saved the Falklands, and Richardson has been top man at the Bank of England since we came off the gold standard in 1917. No mention of the garters in the Daily Telegraph.

Ally goes off. It's the saddest part of the day when we part. I phoned Susie and asked her to look in the Leeds phone book to give me Geoff Hemingway's home address.. He lives at Fartown, Pudsey. Christopher was brandishing the telephone. The Menston house deal is coming off. I later baked bread and made a gallon of tea wine. Sarah phoned for no particular reason. Eileen is going in next week and they are considering setting her on part-time during the holidays. Played with my Paul Signac (painting) and studied Burke's peerage to work out the co-heirs to the barony of Butler.

Ally home at 5 and we ate simply - eggs and chips. Sat in a heap afterwards. An evening of quiet domesticity. A thunderstorm raged tonight and it was crashing like hell. I am sick of the looming general election. The revolting David Steel thinks that the choice of the all important election date should not be with the PM and that it should be fixed like in the USA. Election day, over the Atlantic, takes place on the first Monday after the sixth Tuesday after the last day of Lent. Stupid fool. If Steel ever became prime minister he would sing to a different tune. The SDP are acutely primative. (Roy) Jenkins is their 'PM designate'. Only the Queen can appoint a pm and it is most improper and constitutionally wrong to pre-suppose Her Majesty's decision, nay constitutional right. A political party can only select a leader.

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Thursday April 21, 1983

 Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II

The fifty seventh birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. Buried in bed beneath my quilt singing along to the National anthem on the radio. Has HM filled the vacancies in the order of the Garter? I expect to see the membership brought up to full strength on Saturday. I like to see good old fashioned aristocratic appointments. 

Biting cold. Went out and bought at Daily Telegraph. Nothing in it by way of scandal or possible stuff for tip money. Lord Buckinghamshire has snuffed it. I was thinking his peerage was doomed to extinction after the dead peer and his successor, but I see the new heir is a baronet with three sons on the Isle of Wight. Lord Brownlow is to sell Belton. Rumour has it that the Prince of Wales wants the place because the princess is reported to be dissatisfied with Highgrove. 

Baked bread and daubed at my Paul Signac copy. Watched an Audie Murphy western on TV. Was he the most decorated American soldier in the Second World War? I think so. 

Ally got off the bus in the company of that horrible tart who used to patronise the Staircase pub up the road. We ate fish pie and watched the news. The Waleses are in New Zealand and we saw them toasting the Queen at a banquet at Government House. Ally says this is such good training for Diana. 

I wrote to Geoff (Hemingway) and Kathleen. Geoff's was a letter of thanks for his assistance with my application forms, and the note to Kathleen was to say thank you for the camera. I never expected to receive such a gift. Carol J had to make do with a dictionary. 

Ally has taken to calling me 'Willie'. I cannot think why. We are in to nick names in a big way and have used them in varying degrees of 'sillyness' since our courtship blossomed in 1979.

We watched the 9 o'clock news together in the dark. An ageing US astronaut is to run for the US presidency in '84. I think Ronald Reagan will stand again. He may well be 93 but he looks great. Many people are capable of making important decisions in advanced age. Look at Lord Denning for instance. In royal news: the Duchess of Kent has had an operation for the removal of an ovarian cyst. Does this mean that HRH is no longer fertile? I am not up on the workings down under. Ally is reading out loud from the Daily Telegraph. She enjoys spotting misprints. We missed 'Soap' on Channel 4.

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Wednesday April 20, 1983

 A bright and sunny morning. Up at 7 and made Ally her egg. Switched on the TV and listened to Selina Scott. TV-am have sacked everyone. Took my daily stroll to the newsagents and returned home and washed all the windows. Mum phoned to say they are to call in on me today. They're doing Lynn and Sue this afternoon and dining later with John and Janette. _________. They arrived at 12 looking fit and well. Business hasn't been too good since Easter but they have a few bookings for Saturday because it's the Three Peaks Run. We had a few drinks together. Dad wants to buy my 'Oude Vinck at Lynden' oil painting and I smiled bashfully. Inspired by praise from Mum and Dad I took up a blank canvas and painted a snow scene copied from Paul Signac's 'Boulevard de Clichy, Paris'. Very successful. Ally was home at 5 and we had chicken curry, and felt hungry afterwards. ____. 'Dallas' was gripping. Sue Ellen found JR in bed with Holly and took to the bottle and crashed her car. What makes matters worse is that she had Lucy's lover Mick with her in the car at the time. Ate scones and jam. Bed at 9:20.

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