Tuesday May 10, 1983

 Rain. I got a soaking going out for my Daily Telegraph. We ate rounds of toast. Ally stood in the bathroom clutching the sink.  ___________.

I hope we hear from a brewery soon. Steve O'Connor came at 12 and bagged up the debris in the garden and went up a ladder with a hod of cement. They pottered around until about 4:30 and went away without saying anything.

I read 'Dorian Gray' and watched an interesting programme on the BBC about the exinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Ally phoned to say she was coming home early and arrived at 4:15. She was beaming up at the workmen on the roof.

I am feeling under the weather. Dry throat, blocked ears and nose. I have the beginning of a cold. A dreadful thirst too, swigging coffee all night. Mum phoned at 6:30 and I spoke to both of them. They visited Guiseley today to see Christopher and rushed back. Business is poor. They have only had one guest since John stayed two weeks ago.

Dad says he might not vote at all at the coming general election. He is annoyed at the PMs decision to go to the country a year early, and with a majority of 30. Papa has always been a political animal and he would have been furious with me had I expressed a decision not to vote when I lived at home. It is age for you. Apathy comes with wrinkles and grey hair. I think I might be out of favour for not going up to Horton since my birthday. We have had too much on. 

Watched Daphne Du Maurier's 'Jamaica Inn' which dragged on all night. A new comet has passed over within 3,000,000 miles of earth and I went out at 10:30 to detect it but too much cloud prevented me seeing even a glimmer. It was such a thing which collided with earth 65m years ago killing the dinosaurs. When will it be our turn to go? 

Bed at 11:30.

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Monday May 9, 1983

 My alarm went off at 6:44 just like in the days of old __________.

I made eggs and toast. Photographs arrived in the post. The ones I took at the YP on the day I leftt are bad, but I hadn't mastered the instruction leaflet at that stage. 

Pouring rain. Ally went out, and I pleaded with her to take it easy. She spoke to Derek (Jenkins) and told him of her gynaecological condition. She phoned me at lunch from Duckworth Lane. 

Saw Steve O'Connor in the van but he didn't come here. I fear the roof repairs are going to drag on all summer. We have a room full of washing, and I took the iron upstairs and spent three hours like a male Hilda Ogden. The radio informs me that the PM has held an emergency cabinet meeting and has gone to see the Queen. Oh dear. At 2:15 it was announced that Parliament is to be dissolved on Friday and that the general election is to be held on June 9. She (Thatcher) cannot possibly be defeated and certainly Michael Foot is the best opposition leader she could put up against. If she survives until 1988 then she will be the Queen's longest serving prime minister. By June 9 we'll be gaga with all this electioneering. I hope that Foot will live that long. Denis Healey would be a more formidable opponent, but still no match for the divine Margaret.

I came downstairs wilting like one of the daffodils outside now crushed by Steve O'Connor and his broken roof tiles.

Len Fairclough has been remanded on bail for sexually assaulting two eight year-old girls. He will have to be written out of the Coronation Street script.

Retired at 10:15.

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