What I don't like about politics (1)

The worst thing about this job is when people just aren't interested. You can't really blame them. One reason is the ridiculous 'first past the post' electoral system we currently have in this country which means that most people's vote doesn't count. However, I want to remind them that democracy may not be perfect but it's the best system humans have thought of so far for running our affairs and it's precious so we should participate. People have died for the vote, and in other parts of the world people are still dying for it. When people say 'I'm alright thanks' (meaning 'I'm not interested') I have to move away quickly before I say something I'll regret, like, 'You call this state of affairs alright then, do you?....Don't you care about your children?'...etc.

Anyway - all the more reason to vote Yes to AV because it will mean that our votes actually count.

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 .