Canvassing again

Freed from the need to write or print leaflets tonight, I did a bit of that other time honoured campaign activity - canvassing. This is not the first canvassing I have done since the PM called the election. I did some last week as well. Last week's most memorable canvass was of a lady in Whickham who told me she was once a Labour activists, is now UKIP but is voting for us.

Tonight's most memorable was the lady who is Conservative inclined but votes for us at every election going but whose daughter went to school with me a modest number of years ago! There was a gentleman at another house who is a committed Labour voter (and I think member) who said that years ago the Labour vote used ot be weighed in Blaydon constituency, but not any more. Another interesting house was one where Mr Voter was voting for us because we had called whereas Mrs Voter was a committed Conservative. "You have to vote for what you believe in," she said, after I put to her the point about her vote not counting in Blaydon as the Conservatives are well back in 3rd place. Mind you, there were other Conservative inclined voters who said to me unprompted that they will be voting Lib Dem as their party doesn't stand a chance of winning here.

There was quite a bit of Labour support that was edging our way and some that was edging towards the stay-at-home party. And there was one person who was in the plague-on-all-your-houses camp. I may have talked her round or I may just be engaging in wishful thinking. But at least she listened so she may well be thinking about it.

Back home and a different job had to be done. I needed to sort through a pile of old photos from the 1980s. I'll explain why in a few days' time but I found what I was after. In addition, I found some pictures of me looking distinctly younger from when I was first on the Council in the late 1980s. Also dusted down was a pile of photos from the Gateshead National Garden Festival in 1990 which includes some interesting pictures of Councillor Ian Mearns, now deputy leader of Gateshead Council and Labour candidate for the new Gateshead Constituency.

Ian, if you wish to contact me, I'm sure we can come to a special arrangement that stops the photos from appearing on this blog. You know my number!