Electoral politics.

So, if you're reading this and you're not Weasel you may want to abandon about now.
Down the years Ms random Doubt has asked many questions about my homeland. "How?", she says "is this place so politically conservative yet socially fairly liberal?"
I always explain this away with the vagueries of the three party system. "Approximately 26,000 voters vote for the Conservative candidate, whilst approximately 16,000 vote for the Liberal Democrat and approximately 12,000 vote for the Labour candidate" says I, "Therefore more people vote against the Tory than vote for him but he gets in based upon the division of the other two parties".
So I gets to thinking in my massive geek thinking way, "I wonder how this would pan out across the county if I looked up all the votes cast for all the candidates in the last election and added them all up and sorted them according to party and saw which party would come out on top? Would Norfolk as a whole (remember, South Norfolk is only one of about 8 different constituencies) replicate this pattern or would there be a different trend apparent?"
So I looked all the results up, the internet is a gift for such things, if only therapy were so simple.
The final tally.

Votes cast in Norfolk in the May 2005 Parliamentary Election.

Conservative 162,224
Labour 122,650
Liberal Democrat 103,805
Others (inc UKIP)15,018

Total votes cast 403,697

So I'm fairly right in assuming that my homeland is still a 'good ole boy' type of conservative place even though there are far more non Torys who actually live, work and vote there.
Thank you for listening.

Wakefield, Rhode Island.

We spent last weekend touring Ms Random doubts hometown of Wakefield in the Ocean State.



Sunset over Narragansett bay.

Ever the history geek I was delighted to spot these living monuments to the triumphs of the New Deal, footpaths in Rhode Island.

The cemetery was bathed in brilliant November sunshine.

Lyrical whimsy.

It's one of my all time favourite songs, 'St Swithin's day' by Billy Bragg.
A swirly guitar based ode to lost love and an English summer's day.
I just got wondering,

" With my own hands,
when I make love to your memory,
It's not the same,
I miss the thunder,
I miss the rain"

Is Uncle Bill singing about self love?

Brooklyn Bridge.

Just a couple of shots of everyone's favorite bridge.

Yet more Weasel related shots.

Mondale and Weasel explore New York harbor.

Up and down the City Road,

Weasel serenades some drunks.

Listmaker prior to a mild bout of food poisoning.

Poolside.

In and out of the Eagle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the Weasel.
(A selection of Weasel related pics from his forage into Brooklyn)

Danny Boy

So I'm singing 'Danny Boy' in the shower and I start to wonder, "How many other people are singing 'Danny Boy' in the shower, this morning, in New York?"
And I start to think that probably a few, like, retired firefighters or cops or just old guys and then I get a little wierded out.
Oh, and go Handwashings in the NYC Marathon today!

dress sense.

I'm wearing the same shirt as Howard the computer guy.
Except mine has something extra disco about it.

He's on his way.

All being well my old school chum and erstwhile fellow Mr Bookham will be here tomorrow. It's a fair trek from Maine and I wish him safe travelling.
I have long been a fan of the show 'Dad's Army' and have sometimes thought how it would have been had Bookham and I been called upon to stand by the nation's defences during it's darkest hour.
Any excuse for a picture of Capt Mainwaring (Weasel) and Sgt Wilson (myself).
Pictures of the real fun will follow next week.
Toodle pip.

This month's guest speaker.

"It's with some pride that the Carroll Gardens branch of the Margo and Jerry association/DAR of Brooklyn are able to announce this month's guest speaker, Mr Enesto 'Che' Bookham. Otherwise known as 'Weasel'.
We shall be filling him with food, ale and a mildly disorientating sense of the NYC mass transit network. No doubt he will be as distracted by all the bustle of the big city as we are scared shitless by the utter silence and pitch darkness of anywhere outside of the MTA travel region (although as he is a reformed Londoner/Cockney type I doubt it).
We aim to spend a small fortune on him with tours of the famous Staten Island ferry and the costly 'walking over the Brooklyn Bridge' experience. We will also take him to the special places only New Yorkers know where you can see the Empire State building for free.
As well as this we will hope to rise bright and early on Sunday to cheer on Mr Scherr in the 2005 New York Marathon.