Seriously, where did the last two months go?
I had genuinely intended to blog, you know, some, in the last eight weeks. In truth I have six or seven rambling unpublished posts, I've simply been to distracted to concentrate on saying anything articulate.
I have not, however, been idle. I've been canvassing, doing leaflet drops and doing my bit to help our PPC, Mark Jewell, with his canvassing. There's been plenty of other things going on in my day to day life too, but the details of those are for another time and place.
One of the new experiencesI've had has been the nomination process, where with the help of a copy of the electoral register for your polling district, you have to get ten people (one nominator, a seconder, and eight 'subscribers') to sign your nomination form. The reason of this I am told is to prove that you a) have the wherewithall to go out and speak to voters and b) can show at that to at least ten people, the idea of seeing your name on the ballot is not completely reprehensible.
The last week has seen me incredibly nervous, this is a new experience after all. Although for all intents and purposes I am a paper candidate, I would quite like to win. But in winning, there is a double edged sword: on the one hand, people putting their faith in me by electing me to the council will be a great honour and I'll feel rather good about myself; but on the other hand, that many people putting their faith in me will lead to me feeling under pressure not to let them down.
As I am writing this the polls are about to close and I am growing more and more nervous. However the one thing that encourages me is the fact that the turnout today has been incredibly high, with a high percentage of young and first time voters. I feel I've had a small hand in encouraging people to vote, and feel I can take that as a small victory.
Fingers crossed, eh.
