Thursday 22 May 2014

Voting...or why I'm craving fish & chips

I voted today.  There was no chance that I wasn't going to.  I've never missed an election yet; I first voted in a local council election in 1995 and have put my X in the box every time I've been invited to since.  I've voted in Parish Council elections, Local Council (city and county) elections, General elections and European elections.  I've voted by post and in person, and I've proxied for other people.

Voting is very important to me.  I was brought up knowing that my gran's mum was quite *ahem* strident about her views regarding the subjugations of women.  Annie Evans was a publican.  Annie Evans thought that if she was good enough to serve in a bar, she was good enough to drink in one, and woe betide the man who tried to tell her otherwise.

When I was younger, after we'd moved in with Gran (when I was 8), there were three generations of women in our house.  And on polling day, we'd all go together (even though I was too young to vote) to the polling station and mum and gran would do their bit, and then we'd go for fish and chips.

When I was slightly older, when it was just me and gran, we still went together.  And then came the year when I *was* old enough.  I was SO PROUD to have my polling card, and get given the ballot paper, and put my X in the box for my candidate.  I was participating in the democratic process!  And then we had fish and chips.

And then I moved out, and Gran moved into a sheltered flat.  On polling day, I went and cast my vote, and then went and walked with Gran to do hers.  And then we had fish and chips.

Time went by.  Gran moved into a home.  The first polling day she was there, I went after work (having voted on the way), and pushed her down the road in her wheelchair to the polling station.  And then we had fish and chips.

More time went by, more votes, more fish and chips.  Gran's not here any more, but I still think of her every time I put an "X" in a box.

Hopefully one day I'll have kids and grandkids of my own.  And I shall tell them of my mum, and my gran, and my great gran, and we shall go and vote.  And we'll follow it up with fish and chips.

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