Wednesday April 21, 1982

 Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II

The fifty sixth birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. No doubt her thoughts are with Prince Andrew on the high seas heading for the Falklands. 

I climbed out of bed at 6:45 and sang the first two verses of the national anthem [I have trouble with the third]. We wallowed in the bath then had scrambled eggs. The Argentinians have no sovereign around whom to rally. That will contribue to their downfall. 

To the YP. Mum phoned at 11:30 to say that Karen is pregnant and that the baby is due in November. Didn't take a lunch break and left at 4. The phone trilled at 6. It was Jonathan Margolis saying my £30 is in the post. They have found someone in West Germany who has tracked down Princess Felicitas of Prussia [who would be Queen if the successsion had been gender blind in 1901].

Home at 4:45. Washed the windows. The Area Works Department is to quit Daisy Bank and move somewhere behind the [Bradford Royal] Infirmary. This will give Ally something to do. She's been on the verge of resignation brought on by inactivity. Derek Jenkins has taken two days off to attend the funeral of a friend. The deceased only lived at Clayton, not the Outer Hebrides.

Bessie phoned. They are coming to stay with us May7-9. We will miss Mum's FA Cup final orgy, but Dixon visits are rare and must take priority. 

Watched part 2 of 'Woman in White' and went up to bed.

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Tuesday April 20, 1982

 Woke at 5am and was restless afterwards. I dreamt that I had gone grey. Ally was splashing in the bath as I lay observing the bedroom ceiling thinking of sex. Well, it makes a change from worrying about the Falkland Islands.

Poached eggs. Bus to Leeds reading Evelyn Waugh's 1940s journal.

At the YP Kathleen didn't mention Sarah's wedding until about 3 when she casually asked what colour the bride wore. She had a cheese and wine party in the office at the time of Sarah & Trevor's nuptials. Women are such balls of confusion.

The Dowager Viscountess Monckton of Brenchley has died. She was Chris Monckton's step-grandmother and a peeress in her own right as Lady Ruthven of Freeland, and this peerage now merges with the earldom of Carlisle.

Home at 5 to Ally who was in blue. We had lasagne. Bottled our rosé wine.  Felt reassured watching Francis Pym on the news. Evidently, the Argentinians are flocking to watch 'Chariots of Fire', a new English film.

Lynn phoned to ask us to dinner and Friday was agreed upon. Watched TV - Thora Hird, and later Lord Snowdon talking about photography. Bed at 11:30.

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Monday April 19, 1982

 No desire to climb out of bed. Ally was splashing in the bath singing like a lark. 

On Saturday at Malham we discussed joining Mum and Dad in the pub business. We haven't said as much before. I had always assumed she would be very opposed to the idea. 

Back to the YP: reading the Sunday papers. The Queen missed the Badminton Horse Trials for the first time since Prince Edward was born in 1964 to go give Canada it's new constitution. I do not like Pierre Trudeau. Princess Anne was at Badminton where she asked a photographer to 'naff off'. I do love the Royal Family. 

Ships of the Royal Navy are nearing the Falklands, and the negotiations seem to have floundered. Alexander Haig has 'shuttled' between London and Buenos Aires without success. I must say it niggles me that the United States is sitting on the fence. President Reagan should be backing us 100 per cent. His sucking up to the Argentinians is nothing short of abominable. Let us hope that in Margaret Thatcher we have a Winston Churchill.

We had chilli con carne. Bottled beer afterwards.

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Sunday April 18, 1982

 Low Sunday

The Queen's.

Low Sunday, but high spirits. A full-English breakfast in the company of the dreaded trio from Liverpool. One was a science teach, who mentioned this fact in every conversation. Lovely day again. Like summer. We drove to Hubberholme and walked by the river and cuddled. To the George for a drink where we sat on a bench outside. On to the Buck at Buckden which we didn't like. Carpets, piped music and flock wallpaper aren't what the Dales should be. On to the Falcon at Arncliffe [which has a doctors surgery] and we had a ploughman's lunch. Finally to the Queen's at Litton, where Mum and Dad have designs. We were immediately taken by the charm of this place. Lots of stone and panoramic views, &c. Very impressed. Then, to Kilnsey, where we looked at the trout farm. We slept on the grass near the car, but a child called Helen with a laugh like a tommy gun woke us. We walked to Kettlewell and looked at the churchyard. Back to Starbotton for 7. Disorganisation. Mrs Heap served me a trout with almonds. Ally had a mince concoction. We left at 8:30.  Home at 11, via Pine Tops.

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Saturday April 17, 1982

 Feel hideous. I desperately tried to look lively because the success of Ally's weekend depends on my well-being. After breaskfast we went to Malham where I deposited my breakfast outside the Lister Arms. We drove across vast expanses of open moorland for me to make a spectacle of myself, on hands and knees, surrounded by hikers in the bustling village. We went to the Buck Inn and then to the top of Malham Cove. We sat taking in the view eating Mars bars. On to Settle for petrol and then back to Starbotton where we slept until 8 o'clock. In the bar at 9 we had scampi and chips. Three ageing homosexuals couldn't stop staring at me, and then we were cornered by a trio from Liverpool until 12. To bed giggling.

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Friday April 16, 1982

 Sunshine. Up at 7:30. Full-English breakfast. We are always nervous before weddings. I recall Ally shaking before Jill and Tim's nuptials, and yet we didn't take fright at our own joining. To Leeds at 10:30. The YP building told us it was 60 degrees F.

The bride.

It was my first experience of a register office wedding. Like a cross between a crematorium and a cinema. Piped music. __________. A conveyor belt of ceremonies. One bride queueing, middle-aged and surrounded by offspring, was drawing heavily on a cigarette, and blowing the smoke through the wedding veil covering her face. Sarah arrived at about 11 in Richard's Rolls-Royce. The bride was in a cream suit. Delia exclaimed that my black velvet jacket looked as though I'd slept in it.

To the Roman Gardens Restaurant in Horsforth. A curious table seating plan saw Ally and I on different tables for lunch. I sat facing Eileen Robertshaw. _____________.Back to the the Collis pile. Tea was offered, but I only drink alcohol at weddings. We left Delia's at 6:30 and drove straight to Starbotton, where we sat the bar of the Fox & Hounds drinking like fish. We looked ridiculous sitting in a Dales inn dressed in our wedding 'finery'. Mrs Heap, a scatty Lancashire woman, took us to our bedroom. We didn't dwell long before returning to the bar. 

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Thursday April 15, 1982

 Sunny day. We breakfasted on poached eggs. YP busy owing to Sarah's absence. Ally phoned at lunchtime. She has spoken to a Mrs Heap at the Fox & Hounds at Starbotton, and that subsequently we are going to the Yorkshire Dales at the weekend. I am very happy about it.We have toyed with the idea for a while, but had recently decided against it. Ally always makes the final decision in these things. I walked around with a spring in my step thinking about Theakston's ale and the rolling moors.

Home at 6 and we feverishly packed. Ate chicken curried with rice and chips. Spoke to Mum on the blower to tell her of our plans. She told me to look at the Queen's at Litton, shortly to be placed on the market.

Suitcases packed we sat tonight with salad sandwiches. Watched the final part of 'Badger By Owl-light'.

Lord Strange has died. I am ashamed to say I have never heard of him. I can put this down to the fact that my own copy of Burke's is the 1956 edition and the Strange barony was only called out of abeyance with the death of the Duke of Atholl in 1957. Once again the peerage falls into abeyance amongst his three daughters. Bed at 11.

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