A day of electioneering

"The BBC are here Roy"
"Ok, i'll be down now"

It's the news team, putting together a piece that I initiated by complaining about a politician living in France and representing my town, now Newton Abbot in sunny Devon. They love the fact that i'm a pub landlord (again), adds a bit of 'localness' and 'grit' to the story apparently. They got here early and i'm hungover but not badly, just a couple of beers after work last night which has kinda become the norm with no one upstairs to go and snuggle up with, an empty bed is so unappealing. Could of done with a coffee and a fag though before they got here.

They set up the cameras seating me and the reporter at the bar. This is so surreal, I agreed to be the Labour Candidate for the general election about 2 years ago. "If you're stuck" i said, "If there's no one else"... I'd conducted the initial interview from a hotel in Turkey, I was taking a family holiday with the vague and hopeful notion of helping to salvage a now loveless marriage. Well loveless from one party and as we all know, it takes two to tango. The phone call cost me 50 quid and i'd had a couple of pints with dinner. I came across as passionate and determined apparently... they could of told my wife!!

For a Freer future!

"can we get a few shots of you pouring a pint"?
"Yeah sure" Last thing I want to smell just now, I need that coffee...

Well there was someone else, he came down from Manchester to stand against me in the selection process. He knew way more than me about policy, about representing, about the whole shabbang really but i am local, and I am known, and sometimes liked! We had to go outside after our debate, he told me i was unlucky and should stay involved to help him during the election. The votes were counted, he got 4 votes! The room was packed with about 40 people. He couldn't look at me for a few minutes but eventually got his composure back and congratulated me before trundling back up to Manchester. And there it was, me standing for Parliament, one more tick off the bucket list.

The news crew (all 2 of them) are the only people in the place apart from my chef and barman, and they are trying to get some 'traditional atmosphere' ... not so easy to do in an emty building. it's a beautiful pub, I pretty much designed it from the shell of the old place and it really is pretty cool if I say so myself.

the bar, not the best pic but gives you an idea

"Can we do it again but be a bit more jovial" ...

I don't feel very jovial, the pub is suffering to be fair. it's needs two of you to run a pub and there's only me. Sioned has come to live with me and she helps with the kids, and it's great to have her around. I am getting to know her again after years of only holiday visits and she is such a beautiful, honest, kind and wonderful daughter and the perfect foil for my brashness with the kids. But the pub itself now requires a permanent staff member during opening hours and the cost of that is hitting me hard. With this election looming it's sometimes needing 2 staff on, like today for example.

"I'm flabbergasted" ... that's my only memorable response that makes the news, i was too mumbly, too nervous, spoke too quickly and lacked clarity. It's not easy being interviewed for tv, having the lights shining on you, having a million worries on your mind and having to respond to something with outrage spontaneously when you've already vented on the issue and made your point to 20 other people.

The crew wrap up, have a coffee and I smile and portray the successful businessman/politician that I apparently am.
"Causing ripples, that's what it's all about... and that's what you're doing, good luck Roy"
Good luck? ... mmm, been a while but i am not beat, I have a few plans for the pub, they'll ultimately fail but I don't know this today.

I get calls and congratulations for making the news. For making the news happen on this particular day and my brief glimpse into a proper politicians world gives me fresh impetus to continue my obviously doomed election campaign. It's not that i did badly, I was pretty impressed with getting 1400 more votes than the last candidate managed. It's just that we were 10000 behind to start with and never stood a chance of actually winning. Not that that ever stopped me from having a go!