Each week a different PPC provides us with an insight into life as a candidate and gives us a flavour of their own campaign and interests. If you are a candidate and are keen to be featured, please email Jonathan Isaby.
Friday 28th August
Day started well on opening the Lincolnshire Echo with both sides of the letters page dominated by two lengthy and detailed letters both supporting issues with which I am closely involved. Had to buy a second copy, not to please my vanity, but because our dog totally chewed our first copy. The main letter covered recent Park and Ride announcements (Lincoln has none) that will impact on our campaign to return professional flat horse racing to Lincoln. The letter made quite helpful points which should help at the forthcoming meeting with local Community Forum on Tuesday evening.
After yesterday in Newcastle, I spent the day Magistrating in Lincoln so was able to be home at a reasonable time to be with the family. A great way to start the Bank Holiday weekend topped off with a take away and a family film night watching Star Wars.
Saturday 29th August
Our eldest son was up first today and he managed to retrieve the newspaper before the dog did, hence I was able to read some more positive comments without trying to guess the missing words. Good canvassing weather in Skellingthorpe but not as many canvassers as I would have liked, however, this is understandable since it is a Bank Holiday weekend. Still, people were pleased to see us and had a lot to say about the Government – none of it good.
Finally had to force myself to break apart our Hornby train set which had been used in a recent Plains, Trains and Automobiles (and R/C Helicopters) fundraising event held at our house. It was great seeing grown men and women reliving their childhoods, and hence my reluctance to put it all away again. My wife put her foot down and said that she wouldn’t mind sitting in our sun room at least once whilst we still have some sun rather than looking at my recreation of Lincoln’s station in miniature.
Sunday 30th August Family day today. My wife and I took the boys swimming and they are both growing in confidence every time they go, which is great to see. Spent the rest of the day trying to work through my ‘to do’ pile and liaising with New Zealand [Sir Keith Park was a New Zealander by birth] and dealing with time sensitive correspondence and email requests from electors (The picture here is of Battle of Britain veterans with the final representation statue of Sir Keith Park).
Monday 31st August
Treated this morning as a normal work day so up at the crack of dawn to try and finish my ‘to do’ pile and still didn’t manage to make much of a dent in it. Arranged to meet good friends at Belton House and we all spent a fantastic bank holiday together picnicking and mostly eating cream teas and the children just loved the play area.
Spent evening watching CSI and preparing for the Carholme Community Forum, at which I am speaking tomorrow night. There are already over 50 written questions submitted regarding the proposed return of professional flat horse racing to Lincoln.
My wife made a fantastic spaghetti carbonara for lunch and I made even more fantastic meringues using the egg whites for our tea. Both Cordelia and I were meant to be on a strict diet this week but we have decided to postpone it for a few weeks until we don’t have the temptation for the scrummy National Trust cream teas!
Tuesday 1st September
Back to work in London, in the main, for the Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign. It is a busy time for us as we are planning the installation of a statue of this great man onto the Fourth Plinth on November 4th. Members of the Campaign will next week see amongst others people at the Weta workshop who are making the statue. This will ensure that the 15ft statue is of a suitable detail and on ‘track’ for this year’s installation, to precede next year’s permanent statue that will be unveiled on September 15th.
Left London slightly earlier than normal to arrive back for the important meeting this evening. I am one of the Group that have been brought together and who share the common interest in bringing back horse racing to Lincoln. Totopoly - a horse racing board game which uses former winning horses’ names from the Lincoln handicap (now run at Doncaster) - and the Listed Grandstand, which is still standing (pictured), both prove how fondly and widely renowned racing at Lincoln once was.
The meeting Chaired by one of the Ward’s Labour City Councillors went well, better than I expected, and all the other opposition Councillors were in attendance and had their say – luckily I only just made it on time thanks to the traffic in the City. The free flow of traffic and improvement of the general infrastructure of our lovely County City is long overdue.
Later on I made more ‘phone calls to New Zealand to clarify the movement of the statue to the shippers and through carriers and the process through Customs and Excise here in the UK as it journeys from NZ to London.
Wednesday 2nd September
Working in London and working late so didn’t go home this evening. Means I benefit from an earlier start in the office in the morning. The event for the unveiling is becoming a more ‘corporate’ and formalised event, and hence work and information levels are rising exponentially. Many more requests are flooding in for both before and after conference – as well as during. The only ones I’ve agreed to so far are the Royal British Legion’s Reception in Dod’s Marquee 2 on the Monday at 7.30pm and their Fringe on Tuesday at 8.30am in Charter 2 in the Manchester Centre.
Thursday 3rd September
Morning meetings in London. Today is the deadline for our neighbouring seat of Sleaford and North Hykeham. It will be interesting to see how many people apply and how the Association will perform the selection process.
Transport problems again but this time with National Express East Coast Mainline. Due to a fallen tree south of Grantham, I had to make alternative arrangements home from Peterborough (once we arrived there). My afternoon of a myriad of meetings in the Constituency with various groups, businesses and individuals is unfortunately lost.
Luckily just back in time for a fundraising supper for our fighting funds at Doddington Hall and fifty people were gathered together enjoying each others’ company, the fantastic food, service and surroundings. Talked with supporters on a wide variety of issues, including the upcoming Campaign to commemorate Lincoln’s role in producing the first tanks in the First World War.
Back home, missed saying good night to our eldest son who starts at his new school tomorrow. He is very excited and will hopefully be very happy there. Some of the people at the event came back to our house for a night cap, I eventually made it to bed at 2am – 21 hours after I woke up for work this morning.
Friday 4th September Another day when I am pleased to not have to be up too early as I only have to travel to Conningsby, south of Lincoln. Today I am visiting Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and also have the pleasure to meet a number of Euro fighter pilots and see their aircraft too, all in all a very exciting day.
A number of calls from the Lincolnshire Echo this week with a flurry today as the Westminster Correspondent (covering our normal contact who is happily on maternity leave) is chasing me for my thoughts on the Sleaford and North Hykeham selection process - I resisted temptation to give my opinion on current selection process of our party nor the specifics of our neighbouring seat, although it will certainly be interesting and I am sure many old and new candidates applied, some of whom are very well known to me! Political media coverage is a little easier to achieve than back in 2004/5 is my recent experience but sometimes it pays not to feature in a story.
Back to Lincoln for a Constituency Executive. Not as smooth as one might hope, but everyone has their say and one of our Branches surprises me with another generous cheque for the General Election Fighting Fund – so soon after the previous one. Good to see some of our Councillors playing an active positive role in the Association – we have 18 Conservative City Councillors, having taken control of the City Council in 2007 for the first time in more than 25 years. This year we added to that by winning seven of the ten County seats within the City Boundary – in 2005 we won zero of the ten seats in the City - so we have come a long way...
Late night dealing with some issues in New Zealand and various other client issues and preparing various press releases and dealing with local media and their enquiries – which leads me to a bedtime well past 3am.
Tomorrow is a day to enjoy with old College mates meeting in Bishop Stortford for a friendly football match followed by a little light refreshment whilst watching the England Game then staying overnight before returning back to the family and the first rugby training Sunday morning of the season.
Last week's Diary was written by Julia Mulligan, PPC for Leeds North West.
