just a little corner

the crazy things people do for the ballot box

i toddled along to lectures this morning and saw a man wearing..
tights.
it could only mean one thing. the dreaded pre-election week.

it pervades everywhere. last year, for what seemed like weeks, the start of every lecture we had to sit through a cringeworthy parade of "vote for ____" followed by alcohol price-reducing inducements as to why we should do such a thing. A thick magazine of manifestos was included in the student newspaper this morning and the walk to lectures has now become even more painful as the candidates attempt to drown out the noise of the cars with slogans, music and -actually just random yelling.

Back to this morning. One guy was wearing a sort of Superman costume (or some type of superhero anyway). I eyed him curiously from where i waited for my friend, thinking that he really must be cold and i wasn't exactly receiving any sort of manifesto - must be a probem with the wavelength. Unsuitably deep in thought therefore, i was then accosted by "Alice".

"Alice" has, or maybe 'had', bottle red (as in red from a bottle) hair - i say 'had' because you never know, it might have changed by now - and approached me very gently and unassumingly and presented me with a flyer - her manifesto. I took it carefully, appreciating the softly softly move in on me, but nevertheless being wary that i might be subjected to a half an hour presentation.

I was surprised. She saw i was in a hurry and let me go. A good approach, i thought, she can have my vote - that is my theoretical vote!

So by the end of the day i have experienced: loud obnoxious noise from a girl wearing an Incredibles costume, Simon (from one of my classes) doing a sexy dance to a lecture theatre of 300, and people in yellow t-shirts saying "Yes" shouting at me on Cardiff's busiest, most dangerous crossroads to, (surprisingly) vote "Yes" for disaffiliating from the nus. Joy.

Long live freedom of speech?

posted by Claire @ 3:42 pm