I quite like this newsletter format and it enables me to write about diverse topics so it suits my butterfly mind.
On the doorsteps
We have hit the ground again with our loooong Beckenham campaign, and the intention is to resume talking to residents as often as possible. Instinctively I recoil from canvassing. As a child and young person I was terribly shy and though I am fairly good at masking it now, the fear of rejection or, worse, abuse has stayed with me. But canvassing is fundamental to finding out the concerns of local residents, what motivates them, how their lives run and therefore it must be done. I put on my big girl pants; wear yellow to be seen and noticed; and take a deep breath before I knock. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
The pressure to find our voters is off for a while and we can just have normal conversations. Prompted yesterday by a planning decision finally reached - a now-derelict ex-theatre being turned into flats - after consultation going back at least three years, we went to a local street to find out what residents thought about the decision.
Although some people welcomed the new housing offering - despite it being yet more high-end flats and therefore not offering much to people desperate for more affordable places - most of the concerns were around parking. As this block was deemed to be close to public transport routes, there might not be enough spaces at the block for all the residents' cars, and the fear is that it will exacerbate an already-difficult situation.
This is one of the only streets in congested central Beckenham without any parking restrictions. It turns out that some residents voted against a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) a few years ago, but consensus was that those who voted already had dropped kerbs and therefore places to park at home, taking no account of those who struggled to find a place outside their home after long and unsociable working hours, as people park there and walk to the station, the doctors' surgery, the shops.
Here are some conversation snippets. Some are précis to condense the text, though not the meaning:
Resident 1: "I won't ever vote Liberal Democrats. I don't like Liberal Democrats."
Me: "Oh. May I ask why?"
Resident 1: "Because of the way they treat Israel. Look it up if you don't know."
Resident 2: Actually I'm veering towards Reform. But Farage is too soft for my liking. I like the one they got rid of.
Me: "Rupert Lowe? He'd deport me, you know. And I was born and brought up here. I'm more local than most people here"
Resident 2 (a recent immigrant) pauses for a moment to ponder this.
"I came the legal way. I pay my taxes. My council tax. I'm becoming a citizen. I'm doing it by the book and they come over here in their small boats and jump the queue."
Me: "But the only legal routes are for Ukrainians and Hong Kong Chinese. There were no small boats before Brexit. The Brexit of Mr Farage and his friends."
Resident 2 " I have the jokes about being an immigrant too, you know. People call me a Nazi, and I'm actually a Jew!"
Me: "So do tradespeople come into your house and immediately start to moan about migrants? Do you think that people judge how to treat you before you open your mouth?"
I realise that I might have overstepped a bit here and start to back away, still smiling but, you know, he's not going to vote for me anyway so I might as well try and give a different perspective to someone who is obviously interested in having a conversation.
Resident 2: (looking a bit shocked): "No. I don't get that sort of abuse. And I'm sorry that you have."
Resident 3: "We don't need all this immigration."
Me (buoyed a little by my convo with Resident 2): "Yes, we do, actually. It's been a long-term structural problem caused by skills shortages and not enough people trained or qualified to do the jobs. If you need someone to look after you in the NHS: doctors, nurses, social care workers, there simply aren't enough people in the British-born population to do these jobs."
Resident 3: (a little taken aback by this, his wife behind him visibly agreeing with me): "Well perhaps we should value those people better."
Me: "Absolutely. Meanwhile, the ones we do train are off to Australia where they have a much better standard of living."
As I take my leave of Mr and Mrs Resident 3, normally staunch Conservatives, they shake my hand, repeat my name, smile. I reflect: maybe I have overstepped.
On the other hand, Resident 2 was one of the 96% of immigrants who arrived here through a regular route. Why, with his white privilege, would he dump so hard on those 4%, some of t world's most vulnerable people, who have no regular routes? And, once more for those at the back, THERE WERE NO SMALL BOATS BEFORE BREXIT.
People are a mass of contradictions. In the end, their gut feeling, their vibe, no matter how incoherent or illogical, creates a cognitive dissonance that they are happy to live with. Canvassing isn't supposed to be about changing people's votes or minds, but I do think that it's worth trying to bust the myths if I can. That was an hour well-spent.
Six things whose almost universal appeal completely evades me
Cheesecake. I like cheese and I like cake (as long as it's homemade. Shop cakes, with all their ingredients, never taste as good.) But why one earth would you want your cake to taste like cheese? Or your cheese to taste like cake, for that matter?
False eyelashes I think it's probably a cultural thing but those rows of spiders doing the can-can that people affix to their eyelids: are they supposed to look nice? To enhance someone's natural beauty? I don't think so. I'm happy to defend the diversity of this look that suits some people's taste - and obviously they're a drag queen essential - but I find it difficult to take seriously people whose eyes are framed by black upside-down fringe blinds
Sweet Caroline How and why has this become ingrained in British folk memory?
Festivals Mud. Standing. Muffled out-of-tune music. Horrific portaloos. CAMPING. No.
Trainers. Fine if you're training. Or on the way to and from. But otherwise don't kid yourselves that these ugly, clompy hunks of plastic ever look good with a floral skirt.
Reality television Why do people care about these creatures' narcissism?
A long weekend in Norfolk
We spent a much-needed few days Up There last weekend. No guests, no beds to make or meals to plan. No unwise overdrinking. I wasn't at my best for reasons which I will eventually talk about, but the peace and the stars and the flowers were balm.
Until next time. Have fun
G x
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