It's a newly created seat EMW - so no sitting member - otherwise I wouldn't have bothered putting my hat in the ring. The final result was predictably, the Liberal though I picked up quite few more votes on the redistribution (sadly so too did others so it did me no good haha).

The luncheon was rather pleasant and pleasingly inexpensive (well, actually it was rather expensive but that's because i went for two courses). I had the squid crumbed with smoked paprika - a little heavy handed on the paprika but it's a tricky balance  with that one. And the desert was a lemon tart. Both delicious.

Friday was the meeting of PMAT which was interesting, but would have been more interesting if they had not been fine-tuning their constitution prior to incorporation. And if the person beside me had not been a compulsive "I have to say something even if it's completely irrelevant) person.

And yesterday and today have been days of thinking I really should do some washing - will the weather be kind - oh, apparently not. But I have made considerable progress on the jumper and am now up to the yoke so it should be finished fairly soon assuming I don't run out of yarn in a particular colour.

So having glutted myself on royal weddings and then on the increasingly desperate efforts by people trying desperately to prove they are more anti-royal than everyone else, I will do something about dinner soon

Today was the preference throw and the last two candidates standing are Labor and Liberal. Libs are ahead by about 800 votes, but who knows where the preferences of the remaining candidate will go - Steve Mav was indeed a maverick and basically could be predicted to speak as his audience wished to hear, so his preferences will probably split all over the shop. I know some of my voters preferenced him in my split (eek, the horror). Since he has accumulated quite a few votes over the preference split it will be quite a few hours I suspect before we get a result, especially if it looks very close as they will do a recount to be sure.

Meanwhile I have been battling a sluggish fire all day only to discover about an hour ago that i had forgotten to open the vent this morning. So it is nice and cosy now. Frost tonight so that's a good thing!

Apart from that, nothing much to report other than a discovery that the 'letter' I had agreed to draft seems to have morphed into a formal submission (which I will most certainly not be making), so since I am having lunch with one of the relevant people tomorrow, I will let her know I am drawing a line. That sort of thing I would want to be paid to do and since it's just a loose-knit group of professionals, that is not going to happen.

Tomorrow I am heading down the Coal River Valley to dine at the Coal River Vineyard which is, I suspect, the sort of place that serves three artfully arranged bites of food in the middle of an attractively adorned platter and charges you $50.00. I checked their website and while it displays a menu, no prices are mentioned. I am alarmed!

A foggy morning cleared so a (relatively) sunny day so some washing as done - looking at the forecast it may be a while before that is a viable option again. Once that was on the line I headed into Oatlands to catch up with a friend who has been away for some time and who, as usual, talked for hours. Having prised myself away from there I went to the shop and came home again. By that time the mist had started to close in again so the washing came indoors and I sat down with the report on the East Coast development. The heritage report did specify that it addressed only European heritage, but given that it is a significant First Contact site, I would have hoped that might have made a mention, but no.

It described extensive gardens which predated the house by up to 15 years, and named 'home' paddocks lined with trees (which are still clearly demarked (if somewhat patchily) but the actual conservation planning element addressed only the house (not even the associated outbuildings), so it was a bit of a disappointment unless you are an architect. So far I have five omissions we want to see addressed - Garden History, First Contact, liaison with Traditional Owners re undoubtedly extensive significance (they only mention archaeology). The site is beside a lagoon that hosts migratory birds and set between two fairly significant and unusual mountain features, so I would be very very surprised if there are no indigenous values, creation myths etc associated with it. I will draft up the rest of the letter then re-read the report to see if I have missed something but I don't think I have.

This had me so engrossed I almost missed Dr Who, but caught myself in time, and having cleaned the bank, I will be dining soon, and stoking up the fire for a bit more warmth.

The deluge delivered 'only' 69mm in the first 24 hours, and a further 19 the following day, but while it was wet it was very wet, and the poor buggers in Hobart revisited the 1960 floods. I am amazed at the water flowing through the university site - you would thing with all the engineers and architects there they might have had adequate storm protection built in, but apparently not.

This area got of quite lightly with only one tree down (and that was one that had been fairly mutilated by TasNetworks previously) and no water entry into any of the households I have checked with so far. And all three of my tanks are now brim full - I will have to finish off the plumbing for the overflow tank so as to divert any further overflows to less potentially harmful locations. And I am sure Psychoneighbour is thrilled to discover her dam has water in it (though not as much as I would have expected, all things considered - the one up the road was bone dry and is now brimming.

I have been getting on with knitting and catching up with myself and calling round to town to visit people I have been neglecting, and cleaning the bank and so forth, but have otherwise focussed on keeping the fire in, and having some longer-than-usual sleeps - aided by the chilly weather which makes sleeping much more comfortable

It's a tad damp here - and the strong winds they have been threatening all day seem to have finally arrived. I am quite pleased to note that the new roof (which is getting its first real workout) seems to be holding up and the front windows that have chronically leaked all down the wall below them ever since I arrived also seem to be holding the weather on the right side. I guess this means the roofer was right when he pinpointed the state of the roof as the root of the problem.

So between walking the dog I have been doing the odd bit of knitting, the odd bit of socialising and the odd revision of my wardrobe arrangements (ie transferring stuff from the out-of-season drawers into the active drawers and vice versa. I fully expect the overflow tank to be brimming by the time this lot passes through, so I will have to get that 2 metres of 90mm pipe to finish off the arrangements there - at least the soil will be moist when I bury it in a trench.

The wind is from the SE so the wood at the back door is dry and will remain so unless the wind shifts - not much sign of that happening soon, but I will bring some more in tonight to ensure I had something to start it again in the morning.

The vote count continues and I have accumulated 5 more with 86% of the vote now in. Only five more days to find out how well I failed, haha.

I was seduced into doing several loads of washing today but despite sunshine and quite vigorous winds nothing is exactly dry. So the house and the shed are festooned with washing and hopefully something will be dry in the morning.

Winter has put in an appearance today and tomorrow and Friday will be rather too cool for me. Single figures forecast for both days. Today was just winds and scuddy rain - the next two days? Well I wont be surprised to see the odd snow flurry. Meanwhile the fire wood is doing a good job and keeping everything cosy.

I have resumed knitting the jumper I started along the way and have made good progress - halfway up to the yoke which, since I am knitting in the round, means I will have to start the sleeves soon.

I also have to check out the entries for the Campbell Town show, I have a couple of beanies I can enter so as to hold up the side, but I won't have any spinning to enter. Meanwhile I have had to look out a beanie to wear when walking the dog.

The last evidence of my campaign has been removed from public view - I have to say I am impressed by the speed with which other candidates have removed all evidence of their presence from the roadside - in some locations, mine was all that was left. Still, all hosts have now been rewarded with chocolate (or scorched almonds depending on the age range it the household) and it's all in the back of the ute. I hope to re-use the signs for the Council elections but after last night's wind some will require a little surgery to make the suitable for use.

Tomorrow and the day after we are into single figures so I plan to put my feet up and do nothing at all (well, maybe a bit of knitting and spinning) for a couple of days so the dog and cats get some tranquility and company.

Seb was so keen to get out this evening that he snatched the lead from my hand to took off across the back yard eagerly chasing interesting smells. Having recovered control we passed onto the recreation ground then past his favourite doggy friends' place. There the performance was repeated, and he did not do as I expected but took off up the back road at a rate of knots. Being exhausted I was walking briskly rather than running up the hill, but apparently having passed out of sight, he became unnerved, so came back of his own accord. He even came when called for the last 100m or so.

Last night the winds were particularly vigorous and the house was hit by a wall of wind that actually shook it to the foundations. There was a sound of tearing metal (which I have not yet traced to source) and a squall of rain that was most unexpected. Only six mm in it, so not worth the bother, but still, nice to see. The next two days are also supposed to bring flash and riverine flooding, but this does not appear to my neck of the woods so not to worry. I will stay indoors anyway - plenty of naps I suspect.

Well there is no update on the count today - I suspect we won't have a decision until the 15th. Apparently the outstanding votes are still outstanding or presumably they would have updated the figures. These may never arrive, but the 15th is the day when they redistribute the preferences even if the votes have not arrived. So you won't get any more boring narratives about the election till something has actually happened.

Meanwhile I once again put in an appearance and chatted with various folk around the town - and was informed that one of the candidates was hanging around the Dodges Ferry Booth winking and giving the thumbs up to voters as they entered. That comes very close to soliciting votes, so I hope the TEC takes it seriously.

The wind has been very powerful today, and tonight on my way back from the bank a flash of lightning brightened the sky.

Tomorrow I am off to collect what remains of my signs with this wind, and to take wee gifts to those who hosted one. I will get the groceries and visit a friend or two en route.

It was a toss-up today as to whether I would stay at home and do stuff, or head out to Triabunna to retrieve my sign. The person whose fence it was on said a visit was fine, so I opted for the latter. Only to discover that the sign had been stolen (he has a hedge between the fence and the road so had not noticed). Lord knows when that happened, but it was there Friday night and any future signs are welcome at the address (not that I have plans to run for Glamorgan/Spring Bay council).

Before I headed out it occurred to me I should be seen about locally in case anyone was laughing up their sleeve, so I popped into the shop and to the market and caught up with the gossip and chatted to various folk before heading out.

It has been overcast, windy and chilly all day so I am now home with the fire just lit and settling in to watch the count if and when they update it. There are only 82% counted so far so I expect they will have to do that too (unless they are in the mail somewhere).

I have maintained 8th position throughout last night which I think is a pretty astonishing result over all. There is a pack of three who have over 60% of the vote so I would need to get a lot of second preferences to climb much higher than that. Of the five below me, two, possibly three will have encouraged voters to put me second, so I may yet pass the other local candidate who is not that much further ahead of me. That would be very pleasing, haha

So I will check in on Bonham and the TEC from time to time tonight and see what unfolds.

Update - early figures, and only from three polling booths - but I am only sixth last ahead of some of the bigger name candidates - how amazing is that! Granted one is Bagdad where I have a few friends lurking, but I am feeling pretty chuffed right now - ridiculous really, but there you go.
If you want to keep me company watching then the following links will help:

https://www.tec.tas.gov.au/Legislative_Council_Elections/LegislativeCouncilElections_2018/Results/Prosser/index.html

http://kevinbonham.blogspot.com.au/2018/05/legislative-council-2018-hobart-and.html#comment-form

Today I headed into town via the tip, put in my vote and headed into the bank to clean it. Some positive feedback from those who came into the shop while i ate my brunch but I then scuttled home once more to take the dog for a walk.

Have had some kind messages from friends - and via the FB page - from various total strangers which is rather nice. And some young lad came charging up to me in town telling me he had voted for me (I have no idea who he is but apparently he knows me!). So I should at least exceed single figures.

Come six o'clock when polling closes I will log into Kevin Bonham's site as well as the TEC site and watch the numbers in between Father Brown and the Good Karma hospital, eat my dinner and have a beer.

I will be pleased if I am not the first candidate out, so please don't worry about how I might be feeling. It's in the lap of the gods now and I have done everything I could possibly do in the circumstances.

I have a de-facto scrutineer at the Bicheno poll who will give me an update from there via messenger.

Got up this morning with the intention of going campaigning once more, but, having driven to Brighton, bought some petrol and reviewed my state of mind concluded that would be potentially counterproductive, so home I came again. Had a nice conversation at the Pancake Parlour, and several more on Facebook and phone, and am now looking forward to an evening having a drink of wine - poured as a libation to the fates.

Tomorrow is voting day, so it's up to others to make their decisions and we will see how the cards fall.

I will be treating it like any Saturday - a trip to the tip, do the voting, clean the bank and come home to sort out the mess that has accumulated in my absences.

I had a little sleep in this morning, looking forward to a day of catching up with the washing, getting on with some of the stuff that needs doing around here, and generally relaxing. But no. Turns out I am allowed to continue to campaign for the next two days (well, today and tomorrow). So I pulled on some respectable clothes and headed to Triabunna which I have largely neglected and knocked on doors all along a road that apparently no candidate  has knocked on before. I was invited in for a cuppa by a nice lady who turned out to be someone whose husband has locummed locally and I had a cuppa and a good chat. And two additional positive conversations before wilting and heading home to walk the dog.

I was disappointed to find an email from the Greens recommending Jim Playsted to the party members - not cool at all. Though I did get a  mention at least - as someone with a low profile in the electorate .... Bit disheartening that since I have had good responses from those to whom I have spoken, but that's politics.

Tomorrow I am torn between heading to finish off Brighton or going to AgFest and hoping to get some media coverage, but given their lack of interest to date, I think Brighton is the better bet.

At least today was a nice day, and overcast so not so hot as the other day.

today was the last day of campaigning so I headed up to Campbell Town to cover the south side of the river and also some of the more remote clusters of housing that I had skipped last time. Then on to Ross, where the discussion about the Bridge does not appear to be exciting locals as much as the media (a relief!). Turns out the Bridge is already on the State Heritage Register, so I have to wonder what the fuss is all about. The National Heritage Register provides no additional protection - it is more a case of promoting it as a tourism destination (as if it needs that!). As for the flood issue, a footbridge upstream (positioned to avoid blocking photographs of the bridge would do the trick and add an opportunity for cyclists and walkers, as long as it was solidly constructed. I suspect that would create other problems though, so something to be discussed, but hardly a crisis as any solution would take several years to implement.

Apart from being very tired, I am feeling quite happy with the process so far. I will be drafting up a report to the Returning Officer regarding those elements of the campaign that appear to be breaches of the Electoral Act, and doing a financial report as to expenditure, but otherwise will be sitting back, doing the washing, and generally catching up with myself tomorrow. I may or may not go to Agfest on Friday (the benefits being catching candidates cheating the system), but will otherwise relax. I have erected my own sign, and the one I delivered to Triabunna is in a key location - directly opposite the polling booths, so was worth the effort. He sent me a photo to reassure me - kind man.

Tonight before cleaning the bank I called in to visit my helper who has been distributing flyers to alert her to stop doing that, and stayed for a chat, and now it is dinner time.  I will stay up late tonight to place a 'suspend' on my boosted posts to avoid them continuing tomorrow, but will otherwise be relaxing.

Long day today - started by being baled up for a lift as I walked the dog, so I took her into Oatlands and sat around waiting as she did her weekly shop, got some money out and then took her to the school where she settled into a long conference with the headmistress. I took umbrage after 10 minutes so called in to speed things up, drove her home and headed to Brighton where I distributed a further 200 flyers and had some nice chats with people, some of whom indicated they had already voted for me and some of whom turned out to be friends of another friend who had been discussing me on FB the night before (I had a copy of the conversation, haha - so many spies out there).

Then on my way home I called in to visit a woman who had contacted me via the FB page who turned out to be a spinner whose father made Eyre Wheels. So we chatted about a range of topics before I prised myself away two hours later so I could walk the dog before sundown. Arrived home to a message from someone at Triabunna offering to display a sign, so messaged him back and said I was on my way. Arrived in Triabunna but still had not heard back from him regarding an address. Enquired at the shop, but they had not heard of him either. So since I know the town fairly well, I took the signs and hid them in a publicly accessible spot, messaged him their whereabouts and got home half and hour ago. Dinner is eaten, a glass of wine in front of me, and Campbell Town and a repeat visit to Ross on the menu for tomorrow.

Then I can put my feet up, pull together my expenditure list and see what happens.