The Horton Shopping Centre Diaries
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jul 13 2007 at 1:34 PM
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I started the day with a sense of shock and awe.

Shock that, once again, the dreadful Newton Aycliffe shopping centre had contrived�yet again�to be at the centre of the political world: this time it was the Conservatives to blame.

And the awe? The awe factor was that they wheeled out Sir John Hall to say that�yes you've guessed it�the centre needed regenerating. This coming from the man who built the Metro Centre and sold it, and who has just sold Newcastle United FC! What on earth did the Tories expect him to say�"Fear not, comrades, I shall buy it and re-develop it and�lo!�all shalt be well in only thou would'st vote Tory"?

Labour, of course, refused to let vital issue of The Shopping Centre drift away from them. Their candidate led off his complaints that some of the pavements around the centre were cracked�yes, really. I have pointed out in the Press that he should be rather more worried about the cracks in the Labour manifesto.

I have had the fleeting thought that perhaps we should call upon the Child Protection Agencies to come to Sedgefield. I think they are needed to protect the children at Hurworth School. Hardly a day goes by without these poor children being subjected to visits by aging politicians. It cannot be good for them.

Perhaps those people from the three main parties who keep turning up to disrupt lessons should be asking why the children are no longer to be taught history that includes Winston Churchill or Gandhi. Instead they are to learn about the development of the European Union.

Honestly, you just couldn't make it up.

Tyne Tees Television are doing a film about the campaign and are apparently doing it in a novel way: instead of talking to the candidates they are comparing web sites, and I hear there is high praise for my Tory opponent Graham Robb. It is a very professional site and on it he talks, at great length, about his early days as a reporter on Radio Tees. He talks about all the people he interviewed and generally seems very pleased with himself. One thing he neglects to mention however�I was his boss.

Still, in those long ago days, people on local radio often had to fill long periods of time even when there was little to say. It's good to see that Graham retains that skill!

Was featured along with other candidates on the Today programme this morning. It was brief but I thought it sounded OK.

Out knocking on doors last night, and again today, in some of the really pretty villages around Darlington. Still getting a very encouraging response.

The BNP candidate is claiming somebody, or persons unknown, slashed the tyres of his car last night. Interestingly the police have no record of anything of this nature being reported. Couldn't happen to a nicer chap.

Ain't politics grand?

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