Under two weeks to go now and Frank and I have done a good deal of tramping around the streets looking for Conservative voters, floaters, and others as we deliver our leaflets. We try to knock on most doors, particularly of those whom we know are regular voters of any persuasion.
There is no sight or sound of any opposition yet, which is a bit odd since you cannot possibly get round all 2000 or so houses in the Ward properly in the time that is left. Don’t vote for anyone that pays someone else to deliver their leaflets!!!!!
Canvassing before an election is an extraordinary experience and something everyone should try once (this is my fourth serious shot at it). It can be sad, funny, fascinating, irritating, frustrating, but most of all, like the people one meets on the way, it is constantly stimulating with highs one minute and lows the next.
Sad experiences include going to a house, visited just two years ago, to find both the friendly and sympathetic owners departed to another, better, non -political, world. The new incumbents are brusque and disappear rapidly behind their front door. You are left staring gloomily at the gravel remembering your old friends and the nice cup of coffee, or loo break, that you were always offered in the past.
The opposite of this of course is the new people that you meet who ask you in, give you a cold drink, and are generally friendly. We have certainly met some pleasant new faces this time.
Funny experiences often involve our furry friends. This year I have been impressed by the number of dogs that have learnt to pull the leaflet quite gently from the other side of the door. Sadly the german pointer that stood in a glassed in porch and solemnly consumed my literature in 2007 has moved away with his owners.
Fascinations include the hobbies and occupations of the residents of the Ward. We have found a field of ‘film star’ horses in a field in Great Waldingfield and one of the fastest cars in the world in a driveway in Acton.
Irritations and frustrations? Well I won’t dwell too much on these, but it IS frustrating to have tried one’s best to help a resident and find that they had been left with the impression that you were ‘not very interested’ in their problem. We cannot always get things done for people, but this does not mean that we don’t try. Happily this reaction is a rare one! Only one disgruntled daisy so far.
It always surprises me how many people never seem to be at home, but we have managed to speak to quite a few people around and about. I hope to do another post about how people are 'feeling' on the doorstep in due course.
