I’ve been out delivering leaflets around my neighbourhood for the Labour candidate in the Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency, Lee Barron. I’ve done this leaflet round quite a few times before but I have noticed that the gradients seem to be getting steeper with the passing years.
Also, I’m sure there are more dogs in houses these days than there used to be. There is nothing so energising as a loud angry barking dog flinging itself at the front door from the inside as you are pushing a leaflet through the letter box from the outside world.
And push you must, for some letter boxes have those brushwork barriers which reduce drafts but some of which are pretty fiercely unyielding and scratch your fingers. My fellow leafleters have developed various techniques for getting a leaflet through these.
But the thing that gets me, in the knees, in the calves and in the back, are letterboxes such as the one on the right (above) which are inches off the ground, compared with the lovely ones (left, above) which are at hip level. Not only are the hills getting steeper but the distances down to, and up again from, low letterboxes seem to have increased too.
I meet a few people as I deliver leaflets, a couple of them yesterday politely turned down a leaflet, one saying that it would be better it went to someone who wanted it, but I also had really nice conversations with another two who will definitely be voting for change.
As I walked up Clare Street on Monday early evening, about 10 minutes after walking down the other side of the road, I saw a woman put my recently-delivered leaflet into the recycling bin as she put that ready for Tuesday morning’s collection. You can’t win them all – at least it was recycled.
Thanks Mark. I will be doing similar this week and sympathise about the evil design of letterboxes. Some seem to be intended to make it very difficult and painful to deliver anything to the household. My heart goes out to postal workers who have to deal with these all the time.
Peter – yes, I come away with an enhanced appreciation of posties.
A nice piece. At least there was no mention of the rushing dizziness on standing up too quickly from those too low for those of a tender age to willingly countenance.
You mentioned something about reducing drafts. You had me worried there. is labour embracing so much of the tory rhetoric- usually less than them- that drafts are envisaged. Hope not