The world from my window

An old black dog cocks its leg up against the tulips next to the village pump. A woodpecker drills into a tree trunk down on the common. The dandelions stay firmly closed in the cold morning air. Grey skies and drizzle in Lush Places. A perfect day for an election. At the Grigg hovel today, the two party political signs in the window look quite attractive against the purple door. The orange of Sue Farrant, the blue of Oliver Letwin. But close inspection reveals the windows could do with a new coat of paint. And, bizarrely, attempts have been made to alter the names to read Sue Farright and Oliver Leftwing . A few folks make their way up to the polling station, but things are pretty quiet. You could hear a hat-pin drop. Outside the door, a teller with a blue rosette chomps on an apple and asks for my number. She smiles a thank you and reveals a ghastly, gaping tunnel of masticated apple, edged with violent mauve lipstick seemingly applied by Bette Davies in What Ever Happe...

Election day in The Enchanted Village and things are deadly quiet. People wearing blue rosettes are stalking the village. I am invited in for coffee by my district councillor who tells me it doesn't matter what my politics are and do I take sugar. I have sort of nailed my colours to the mast this time around, making a statement in a sea of blue. I am voting tactically, even if the Prime Minister says I shouldn't, because to do anything else around here would be a waste of a vote In the Grigg household, there is a good-natured split, with posters for two political parties up in the window. The blue and orange - complimentary colours - look good against the purple door and profusion of wallflowers and pink and black tulips. Although I have a sneaking admiration for the man up the road who has Labour posters all over his house and garden, in a village that is a sea of blue. When I saw him in the pub, I walked across the bar to congratulate him. 'I thought you were going to...