Gill got me up at 7 as I'd agreed to go and stand outside a polling station at 8am. I got there at 7.45 as it only too me 15 minutes to cycle across Low Moor and over Millennium Bridge to St Chad's Church Hall. The Green Party 'door smiler' told me that in the first 40 minutes of voting, there had been 80 voters! I took the Green rosette and did 2 hours of 'door smiling'. We don't take poll numbers, as this is to find people who have promised to vote for a party, but then haven't turned up at the polling station, so that in the last couple of hours of the poll, the party activists can go and ask the voter if they have voted, and even invite them to have a ride in a car to the polling station. The Green Party stand outside polling stations mainly to remind people that we have a candidate... and with the hope that by doing so, we might get a few more votes!
After this, I went to see Pauline. I changed into my usual scruffy clothes there (I was tidy for the polling station!) and had a coffee and chat, then sawed up some scrap wood for her.
I called in on Country Fresh on the way home and bought some fruit and veg, and picked up a small sack of biodegradables. Freshways also only had a small sack.
After lunch I picked up a prescription for Gill and voted. The polling station was busy.
Then I had a few quiet hours, before the children came home, did a bit of paperwork, and then at 4 went down to town again for my annual check-up at the optician. I have Glaucoma in the family so I have a 10% chance of getting this, so I have my eyes checked regularly.
On the way into town, though, I had an accident, a collision with a car which stopped suddenly in front of me. I was on a left-turning corner and a car on the outside of me started to pull in to the left, which would have trapped me. Now I could have applied my brakes sharply and stopped, or I could have accelerated away from the danger. I chose the latter... but the car in front then stopped suddenly and I went into the back of it, scratching the paintwork. I banged my groin on my crossbar and my tri-bars were pushed up, but the bike wasn't damaged. The passenger in the cat was quite upset though... shocked, and I calmed her down and explained what had happened and gave her my contact details, as the accident was partly my fault. She told me it was a hire car and she'd bought extra insurance for it, so I don't know whether I'll get the bill or not.
Fortunately, my eyesight is fine, so far! Maybe I could do with a 'road-sense judgement' test!!!
Came home via Country Fresh where Rich gave me a lot of dryable fruit and I gave him some dried fruit as a thank you.
I had tea soon after coming home (linguini and a tomato/veg thing) and did some more writing.
Soon after 9 I got myself ready to cycle over to Acomb to attend the count. I won't be back until the wee early hours, and will probably stay up to see the outcome of the election.
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3 comments:
Hey John,
The Greens won a seat in Brighton!!!!
*happy dance*
x
So hear it is in writing, the clean campaigning Greens, use tellers - not get the vote out, but to try and influence voters outside the polling station. That is illegal.
Thanks Natja, I'm sooo happy too.
I'm afraid 'Anonymous' you are displaying not just ignorance but an inability to spell. Maybe that's ignorance too.
There is nothing illegal about standing outside a polling station with a rosette on, with the name of the party, and a smile, and saying 'hello'. What is illegal is having anything which says 'Vote for our party' or asking people to do that.
I didn't put it in my blog, but since you bring it up, here's something interesting. The Labour teller turned up with no rosette or anything to say who she was (which is fine, btw). Then a young Labour person turned up on a bike and offered her a sticker, which said 'Vote Labour' which she put on her coat in full view.
I told her that I thought that it was illegal to have the 'vote Labour' words, and she took her biro and scrubbed out the 'vote' which made the sticker look a bit funny. I told her that it was a small thing and I wasn't going to make a fuss.
However, I saw Hugh Bayley (our re-elected MP) at the count, and I mentioned it to him, and he immediately looked concerned and made a note of it in his notebook.
So, if there was anyone breaking the rules it was the Labour Party.
I may report it to the electoral office, now you've forced me to go public about illegal activity at polling stations...
So, next tie you decide to comment on party political activity, make sure you have your facts right. And you're a coward hiding behind the 'post anonymously' button.
John 'Green and Clean' politics.
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