Canvassing in Boroughbridge today

You have to like people to be a politician!  Most people are very polite and friendly but one or two can be a bit of a challenge, especially if they say they don't mind fracking or removing support from people with disabilities...Anyway,  two people said they had enjoyed getting stuff off their chests, so I felt I'd been of some use... The very worst experience of today was the elderly woman who opened her door, heard I was standing for the Green Party, refused my leaflet and one on fracking and said, "I'm a conservative" as she closed it in my face.  Refusal to engage at all gets me close to tears

Why I like doing politics (1)

The best thing about canvassing is the people you meet. I met a woman I used to teach years ago in Beverley. She said she had hoped to see me because she wanted to tell me something: apparently i had said to her (when I was manning a stall, some time after we had both left school) that the school system does not serve a lot of people well because it is too focussed on academic results, so that less 'academic' kids feel like failures. She had been one of those people - always in trouble. Apparently my comment had helped her decide to do a course at Hull Uni which she is really enjoying. This made my day.

I also met a woman last saturday whom I'd taught in Hull in 1975 and we were both amazed that her name came straight to me....weird but true. She said she had seen me on TV. I was able to apologise for all the stuff I must have got wrong in my first teaching job (I'm only 7 years older than she is) but she kindly said I was a nice teacher... Another really lovely encounter, and if I wasn't doing this job it wouldn't have happened .

It don't mean a thing if it aint got that Green swing

We moved down Toll Gavel and found some live jazz - The Black Cat Swing Club - perfect. What we need is a big Green swing! Spoke with people from all around the East Riding and Hull - and further afield.

On the stump - Saturday Market

Great day today - Beverley, Saturday Market, Butter Cross. We thought how little this spot is used when it could be a wonderful stage for street theatre etc. Just shows how much our community needs enlivening. More trading of locally grown food needed too.