Canvassing today in the blocks of flats due to the bitterly cold weather but this meant that I missed Michael Pope who wanted to help but failed to find me! On to Longsands College to join a meeting for the campaign ‘Doom’ pledged to fight the Priory Hill development. A Car bomb in Tripoli kills 52 people and South African Apartheid is under more pressure
Was awoken quite early by Daniella’s chilly hands, as she came in to say good morning. I took a long while showering and shaving and was quite late own to my breakfast of boiled duck egg (now cold). I got ready to go canvassing early to Southoe and set off, not realising that Michael Pope was due to help me. I found the cold wind too much for canvassing out in the open and so headed for the flats at Hayling Avenue, Davis Close and then Grove Court. It was thus that I avoided the disconcerting wind that put off any elector from keeping the door open long, but it threw Michael Pope entirely and he gave up finding me. Had a good chat with Ian James, an ex Comart/Byte Shop employee, who has since started up a training organisation in Grove House.
They will support me and agreed to a flag board and I was also impressed with his young daughter, Rebecca, flitting about in black stockings and a split skirt, giving tantalising glimpses of her stocking tops! Lunch in between , then finally on to Longsands College, where the campaign, ‘Doom’ had called a public meeting of local residents over the plan to consider the north of Priory Hill for housing development. I felt the meeting went well and a strong movement is now started to oppose the idea, which would spoil the view from my house and reduce the visual St Neots/Little Paxton boundary. Home for tea and then out to put up three more flag boards and chat to another Parish Councillor about the Cosy Corner development. Later on I sorted through my canvass cards, compared the lists of service, postal and proxy voters with the final council office copy, and then called it a day. Also found time to start the cutting of the main lawns, but the grass growth was so lush, after the fertilizer and warmer weather, that I made little progress. News is of a car bomb in the Lebanese port of Tripoli, killing 52 people. The pressure is mounting on the South African apartheid system – Prince Philip has spoken up about it and Zola Budd is banned from representing England after appearing at a South African athletics meeting. Stories are emanating about dissatisfaction of Terry Waite over his fatal last mission to Beirut.