A flashmob a day...

When I was awoken this morning at 5.55 by Bomble, I was pleased to notice that my two-day headache had gone. I still feel cold-y, but the tick bite I got the other day at the lake has not changed in appearance. No Lyme's disease, thanks!

Walking into town, I was struck by the numbers of campaigners on the street. Stroud was a safe Conservative seat for around forty years, until David Drew was elected for Labour in 1997. He kept his seat until 2010. Now we have a Conservative MP, Neil Carmichael.

The Conservatives do not campaign in Stroud town centre, because they are more likely to win votes in villages. (We have some pretty posh piles around here, I've had clients in Nailsworth who shuddered at the thought of going to Stroud, Waitrose or no Waitrose...)

Outside the Sub rooms (now under threat, even though they were built and paid for by public subscription) the Hope not Hate choir were singing in memory of Jo Cox, the Labour MP who was murdered in her constituency last year. Pop up politics stalls were everywhere.

I finished my shopping and returned to the High Street, and was busy writing on a blackboard about the true cost of free childcare places ( it's a bit of an obsession of mine) when I heard the word ' flashmob' mentioned. I've always wanted to be in a place where there is a flashmob, but always seem to miss it by mere minutes!

Just then, a bunch of elderly musicians turned up, all dressed in red, and played a spirited version of The Red Flag outside Gregg's the baker's. (Having lived in Czechoslovakia and visited pre-revolutionary Latvia, I am no fan of the  Red Flag, but I suppose most people don't know Bread and Roses...) Then a huge banner carried by two people, and this hideous papier-mache puppet, turned up and mingled with the crowds, and leaflets were handed out, until the banners left and wandered in the direction of the Farmers' market.

All the politicking today in Stroud is being done with such a sense of humour and theatricality, though stakes are high. David Drew is standing again for Labour, and Stroud's most famous Green,  Molly Scott Cato, is standing for Bristol rather than Stroud, so this is a two-horse race.

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