Signs of the times

General Election Day, 12th December 2019

I won't forget this day for many reasons. I wasn't pleased with the outcome. My day started at 5am when I got up to prepare to drive to a village hall Polling Station in Gloucester City, a neighbouring constituency, to act as a polling clerk for the first time and I arrived before the Presiding Officer. Unfortunately the other Polling Clerk never arrived and so there were only two of us dealing with all the 1400+ people who came to vote in person. Many others turned up to be told they were in the wrong Polling Station: they needed to find the Community Hall rather than this Village Hall.

I began to lose my voice by early afternoon, which wasn't surprising as I've been a bit under the weather for some time. But working for fifteen hours non-stop without a break didn't help. I did manage to make three cups of tea between signing people in.

I saw through a distant window that the daylight was going so decided to nip outside with my camera to look for a blip. Cameras are not allowed in Polling Stations. Outside the main entrance to the village hall, opposite an Aldi, I focused at first on the darkening sky trying to keep the Polling Station sign in the frame. Then I saw the additional sign leaning against the fence, which seemed to add a certain frisson to the occasion. 

I'd quite like to have a bit of otherwordly foresight on what will happen to our nation now that the madness has really begun. I'm not hopeful.