Around this time I usually hit what a marathon runner would call 'the wall'. I am physically and mentally exhausted. A month of 14 hour days, often seven days a week, take their toll. I will no doubt get a second wind as Thursday approaches.
The most difficult things to deal with when fatigued are the stupid, thoughtless and plainly inconsiderate phone calls and emails, which would normally be repelled like water from a duck's back. Here is a selection of today's crappage, which has driven Jon and me to despair.
1. The candidate who phoned to ask if we could Google a map of his ward, print it off and pop ten copies in the post. When it was suggested that it might be faster and less troublesome for him to print off ten copies off his own laptop, he replied, "it's simpler for me to phone and get you to do it."
2. The candidate who, when questioned about the large number of outs, informed me that she only ever canvassed previously identified Conservatives and she didn't like calling on people whose voting intention is not known. I despair!
3. The candidate (along with the Association Chairman) who barged into the office demanding immediate attention as there was a 'dreadful catastrophe". Apparently, none of the leaflets had been delivered, and the man responsible for delivery had been called away due to family illness and could I find out where he is and get a spare key to retrieve the literature. Given the man in question is one of our most reliable stalwarts and I had seen him and his wife a few hours earlier, made me suspicious of the entire drama. A quick phone call resulted in the man answering the phone and reassuring them that all was well. In fact, not only was he on is way out delivering, but he hadn't been away nor was there a family illness. Neither of the Drama Queens could tell me how the story originated, but a simple call before panicking would have saved us all a lot of time and inconvenience.
4. How about this one; a TW candidate who called first thing to ask for another 800 Out Cards, despite emailing me yesterday to say he hadn't done any canvassing. When questioned about what he had done with the 1,000 Out Cards I supplied at the start of the campaign he admitted to having thrown them away as he wasn't planning to canvass, but has subsequently changed his mind so wants more.
5. The branch Chairman who, despite it being D-8 and we are trying to mail merge over 30,000 pledge letters, emailed to say he would like flyers and tickets printed for his Wine & Canapés Party and can I ensure they are ready by 5pm.
6. Then we had a call from a candidate who wanted to know if Merlin could identify Christians, as she wanted to deliver leaflets on Sunday, but wished to avoid church goers in case she caused offence.
In between this, we mail merged about 15,000 pledge letters, designed and printed two In Touch newsletters and even started producing the May mailshot with the Summer Draw tickets.
Goodnight!
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