I counted them all in and I counted them all out

ANOTHER evening canvassing in Churchinford and another set of issues raised on the doorstep, but this time much more local and more in line with what can be achieved at Taunton Deane Borough Council.
It was also an opportunity to catch up with some old friends, one from my days as vice-chairman of the Taunton Sunday Football League - when I helped the new Churchinford team to join the league - and one from my days providing public relations advice in local government circles.
I had not realise that either of them lived on the estate as I knocked on their doors to introduce myself.
After a few rebuffs, some polite, some less so, it was nice to be greeted by friendly faces and to chat about old times.
I won’t name them, for fear of embarrassing them, as politics can sometimes cause people to change their opinions of others.
I actually have friends from (just about) all political viewpoints and I have no problem with people who do not want to vote for me – even some of my own family would not vote for a Conservative, so I quite understand the feelings.
However, I will be a councillor for them, whether or not they vote for me, and I will still do my best to represent them and take up issues they need resolving.
One common thread this time on the doorsteps was the lack of play facilities for children aged eight years and older.
Yes, there is the sports field where the football club play, but that is a long way out of the village and I certainly would think twice before allowing a nine-year-old to go there on their own or even with another friend.
I was told that several attempts had been made at finding a suitable site for a play facility but all had come to nothing.
Nobody, though, knew why all the efforts to date had failed.
It is something I will certainly be looking into and, starting with the parish council, asking what has been tried, why it did not succeed, and what more can be done.
I regularly ask people what their local concerns are as I chat with them on the doorsteps, and on this occasion I was surprised to find one chap’s concern of the moment was that he did not have any trousers.
Yes, he chatted away in his boxer shorts as he prepared to go out for the evening.
And he threw up a very interesting point about electioneering.
Quite a lot of people do not actually understand what the different councils do. I can explain it when I am talking with people, but for those whom I miss, the leaflets are all about what has been done and what is being promised, but they do not really explain the fundamentals of local government.
It was food for thought and something may have to change with future leaflets to help people understand the differences between the layers of local government.
Unless, of course, the Liberal Democrats get their way and there is only one council and everything will have to be done their way, anyway.
By now, everybody who has requested a postal vote should have received their paperwork and can start to submit their votes.
They will also have received an election address from me in the post at about the same time, which I hope they will read before casting their vote.
There were 142 households in the ward who requested postal votes, which accounts for about 200 voters.
I know, because I counted them, because I had to stick the address labels on 142 envelopes, put stamps on 142 envelopes, and put election addresses in 142 envelopes, as the photograph taken above shows. I counted them all in and I counted them all out as they went into the post box.
It was early morning and I undertook the task before getting down to the rest of the day’s work, which is why I do not look at my best, not that I really have a ‘best’.
Still, I consoled myself with the thought that a few years ago this could have been a photograph of Tony Blair or David Cameron, but then again, perhaps not as they would not have had postal votes in those days – didn’t they have it easy then!