Green and Yellow

It’s been an interesting few days. Last week, when the weather was still just about OK, my friend Liz and I went down to the Washington Wildfowl Park, part of the Wildfowl and Wetlands trust. I’m ashamed to say that in sixteen years of living in the North East, I’d never been before – and what a treat I’ve been missing. We were able to walk for quite a way, right around the park: starting with the flamingoes, moving on to the feeding area – ever had a duck literally eating out of your hand? I did, amazingly: these birds were really tame and trusting, and we fed them corn which we’d bought at the entrance. Apparently bread isn’t good for birds – think of that next time you go to feed the ducks! There were also some very pretty geese there, smallish white ones (Ross’s Goose and another we couldn’t identify). Then on through the wetlands, stopping at a hide at one point where we saw all the common woodland birds – blue tits, great tits, coal tits, chaffinches, bullfinches, greenfinches and a lovely lesser spotted woodpecker, as well as a predator squirrel getting at the nuts put out for the birds. (Grey squirrel, alas: we have seen red ones in similar circumstances, but they are getting fewer by the year.) Further on we saw half a dozen herons, one flying in the lovely lazy wingflapping way they do. Then back to the centre for tea and the indulgence of chocolate fudge cake (we were good and shared a slice between us, but it was pretty big to start with!). I had such a good time I decided to take up their offer of 20% off a year’s subscription, and joined on the spot. Now I can go back at any time for nothing, and take a friend at a discounted cost – and I think I’ll be doing that quite a bit, it’s only half an hour away in the car.

I had a fairly quiet bank holiday: I’d decided to accept an invitation from the chair of the local Lib Dems (I’m a card-carrying party member, have been for years) to a wine and cheese afternoon. In view of the wine, I went on the Metro, taking a bottle as requested and a jar of my home made marmalade as a small raffle prize. I’d arrived well after the start time, but it hadn't really got going: but more and more people arrived, mostly knowing each other, and I enjoyed some interesting chat with several people. As I was about to go, Colin, the host, asked me if I would do them a big favour. Apparently there’s a bye-election for a councillor in the ward in which I live, at the end of next month, and they wanted a ‘paper candidate’, that is a name to go on the ballot paper so that people who want to vote Lib Dem can do so, though they don’t expect to get many votes and aren’t doing any canvassing or leafletting. I agreed I would be such a name; and then it turns out I need to find a proposer, a seconder and eight other nominators. The first person I asked, a local Quaker friend, said he didn’t actually support the Lib Dems and didn’t feel he could put his name to my candidature. I was, I have to confess, a little disappointed: I don’t think party lines should be held too strongly in local council elections and for myself, a candidate I know and trust to be sensible would always be preferable to an anonymous figure with the ‘right’ party label. But people are different, and that’s the way my friend was. However, my near-neighbours whom I’d recently had to dinner (see the previous posting) were more than willing, and they became my proposer and seconder. Colin returned a day later and said they’d find the other nominators from amongst the party faithful. So now I’m a candidate for the District Council! I don’t think there’s the slightest chance I’ll get in: but it makes me wonder whether it’s worth spending time between now and next May doing some constituency-nursing, some door-stepping to get known and become a face with which people are familiar so that come next May I’ll not be an unknown quantity. This all assumes I’m going to stay here, which isn’t yet decided and won’t be till after Christmas, but it’s a thought… and here was I trying to slow down! However, I met three councillors or ex-councillors, and none of them struck me as having any special knowledge or expertise: just plain, sensible people using their common sense. So maybe I could do as well as any and better than some… and put Green policies forward in a place where they might even be heard! Next stop the House of Commons?