Having A Laugh Campaigning!

Election campaigns can be fun, even if they are hard work, and do nothing to ease the pressure on your shoe leather! But as I approach the end of the 2008 campaign. I can definitely say that I have enjoyed the hurly burly and I have had a few laughs along the way.

Electioneering is never easy, it is full of decision-making some times poor decision-making!

Like the other day when out delivering leaflets I came across a nice little black and white cat. It seemed as though it wanted to play! I looked around for its owner. No one to be seen, but I thought that I bet she is looking?

I can show her what an animal lover I am. By this time the cat had rolled over and was showing its tummy. With a vote clearly on my mind... I leaned forward and placed my fingers towards this ball of black & white fluff.

This lovely little cat in a blink of an eye turned into an evil spirit of a thing! It laid a 'round house' paw at me like a Mike Tyson punch, hissing and spitting it turned into the devil incarnate.

I am ram rod straight now, no fingers anywhere near this devil cat, and here I am primed to do a runner! Well I pushed my leaflet through the door, kept an eye on the cat, and legged it out of the garden.

Cats can be as dangerous as dogs. During an election campaign once some years ago I found a little message stuck to the door, in large hand writing the note to inform the Postie of what lurked behind the letter box and the net curtain said 'Beware of the Cat' . The message made me smile. That was until I lifted the letter box flap and gently pushed the election address through. From nowhere came this lightening fast ball of fur that dug its claws into the election address missing my fingers by a whisker! Withdrawing my hand so quickly made me squeal.

Good job no one was around to see how shook up I was by the monster behind the letter box!

My sister in law Diane had a near miss with a dog on Friday. Her gasp and shriek made me laugh, its funny when it happens to others!

This time in this campaign we have covered the miles I can tell you.

I have noticed literally dozens of pedestrian hazards in the pavement during this marathon walking excersize. Metal covers belonging to Cable TV , Severn Trent and others are evrywhere. Broken uneven and every one of them in that state of disrepair a hazard. So I have been noting them as we go around. Writing them up and submitting the locations to City Council Highways department so that they can pursue their condition with the utilities, to get them repaired and made safe for our community.

So what has been the highlight todate of the campaign? The bingo calling stands out. I was far too politically correct to describe number '88' as 'two fat ladies' & I chickened out from saying 'wibble wobble' but I did shout "number 10 Gordon's Den" to a very mixed reaction!

The joke with Mrs Jones and her dog Barney on the canal side in Wednesfield when Quentin Davies MP visited also is a rib tickler! If you don't know what I mean catch hold of the Express and Star Friday the 25th of April Edition and see John Hipwoods article of Ken Purchases account of what took place!

So as we enter into the last week of election action. I am confident that it is going well for me but it is going to be a very tight contest. The Bingo ladies gave me their 'take' on the events with their mixed reaction to the 10 ball!

But balanced against that is the continued success that I am having with Conservatives that are coming over to me because they like what I have been campaigning about over the years.

Still it will all become clear on the 1st May.