Saturday is catch-up time for school work, political work and home work! The last few days have been a blur.

On Thursday I felt like a bit of a political fraud, jumping from political event to political event. That morning I was at school, but out by 2 to meet Shadow International Development Secretary Alan Duncan for a walk-a-bout in Norwich City Centre. There were some rather long dwindling shots of me on BBCs Look East and there has been divided thoughts between those who think I look young and energetic and those who thought I looked a bit simple! We were lucky to stay rain free for Alan but I wasn’t quire so lucky when I went to Hellesdon Hospital to lodge a massive petition with the NHS mental Health Trust against the closure of Ellacombe Care Home in Thorpe Hamlet. We had to stand in the rain after health care bosses failed to show to accept the petition – I can’t believe they think so little of the campaign that nobody in the whole trust could meet us. The Evening News ran an excellent front-page version of the story the day after. From Hellesdon it was over to my team canvassing in Mancroft Ward, and the delight when one voter offered me a campaign donation on the doorstep! I then had to shoot off to the Methodist Church on Chapelfield to attend, along with Charles Clarke, the Make Poverty History (MPH) campaign rally for Norwich. A great evening and a big surprise to find a cohort of my sixth formers involved! Day over, tired but happy.

Friday was less exciting; school all day (a whole four periods!) then out with my team in Town Close Ward, along the Ipswich Road. What was interesting is the fact that very few people are (politically) moving in this area. If the LibDems think they can plough Tory votes in this area, they are very much mistaken. The only real change we detected were the number of non-voters in 2001 moving back to the Tories.

Today was an all-day campaigning session in Eaton Village and we welcomed our Area Chairman to the doorsteps. A fantastic response from around the village, new members and new poster sites too! It was a good day but soured by the first person to be totally and unacceptably rude towards me – I have to say, a LibDem voter. I am fairly thick skinned (teacher and Tory politician!) but there is a line to be drawn between political analysis and just abuse. There was quite a strong Labour vote here, but we were far and away in the majority.

I haven’t been able to see the party election broadcasts this week so far, but Trevor has passed me a DVD of our cinema advert to watch to fill the gap! Labour are slinging a lot of mud at the moment about negative campaigning – have they not been looking at their own campaign?!?