My current office in Wembley is very hot today. Even with the fan on, my desktop thermometer says it's 29 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately my office is situated in a secondary school and the dress code is such that I must wear long trousers to work rather than shorts, which would be my more preferred attire on days like these. My ambition to return to working from home is now a probability for later in the summer, but not until heat waves are likely to be a happy memory for most of us. So I will continue to melt in front of my keyboard.
As a natural Liberal I prefer to exercise choice on all aspects of my life which is partly why I describe myself on my Twitter page as a spirited contrarian. I am happy to be the odd one out, to take a minority view, to wear clothes which are either out of fashion or never were in fashion in the first place. Nearly all my interests are what could be described as minority ones.
As a paid up Liberal Democrat member and former councillor, I continue to be a Coventry City supporter, and enjoy regular visits to the fringe and pub theatres of London. I am married to a young Ghanaian woman and enjoy family weekends on the Isle of Wight. Each of the above characteristics is not on its own totally bizarre, but as a combination I think they make me a pretty unique individual.
So it was was with some incredulity that I opened the door to a plumber on Monday morning. I had a problem with my toilet cistern that needed fixing and I needed an expert to fix it. As he came in the door he asked, "aren't you a councillor?". "Yes, I used to be" I said. Whereupon he started a long conversation, while sorting out my cistern, on his current thoughts about the political situation. Remarkably this was not anywhere close to the archetypal taxi-driver diatribe about immigration, but a reasoned acknowledgement that the Lib Dems had stopped the Tories doing some pretty unpleasant things in government.
As I warmed to my companion I realised that his accent was familiar. This man was from Coventry! I introduced him to the delights of the Coventry City London Supporters Club, and he promised he would see me at the MK Dons away game.
As I was saying, I think I am a unique individual, but occasionally I come across someone who thinks on my wavelength and enjoys similar minority interests. So being a Coventry born Liberal Democrat fringe theatre goer with a Ghanaian wife is not such a lonely state to be in after all.
But I still wish I could wear some shorts in my office today. Perhaps I should start breaking some rules tomorrow?
