A dark day for the 'Dems

So it seems Cornwall did vote after all. I'd rather have lost to a 40% turnout than to a 12% turnout, so I'm happy that democracy has been done.

69.6% voted no to AV, 30.4% yes.

The Lib Dems elsewhere have taken a battering in the local elections. The Scottish Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott has stepped down saying he's taking responsibility for a 'disastrous' result for his party.

Pressed on whether Clegg should do the same, Scott replied that he thinks Cleggy-boy does take responsibility for the Liberal bullet-to-the-stomach. Funny then, that the news is full of Tory put-downs - Lib Dems accusing their parliament lovers of being 'tribal'.

What is a political party if not a tribe? Is it possible that the Lib Dems threw their lot in with the wrong team 12 long months ago? That policy after policy has been dictated by the right wing, when so much of the country voted middle-left or left?

Time for the yellows to now accept that with the rejection of an alternative vote, this is the closest they will come to power for another long generation.

Make hay while you can still feel the warmth of the sun, Cleggy-boy. For tomorrow might just see the dark clouds return.

How to make Beautiful British Bunting

Bit late with this as the Royal Wedding was last week - but really it's never too late to have bunting up, is it?

First, cut yourself out a card template that is 7" from top to tip, and 6" wide.
Pin this to your swatches/ leftover pretty materials and cut yourself a pile of, er, bunts using pinking scissors... Take a length of ribbon and zig-zag stitch your material to it, leaving an inch gap between each triangle:

Et voila! Now hang and if required, sing Jerusalem! at the top of one's voice:

#yestoAV if we can #getoutofbed

Voting felt a little strange this morning.

Not least because it was before nine and I was in a church hall. Not least because I was in a church hall at all. But because I was the only one.

Three helpful referendum assistants (I'm sure that's not their formal job title) jumped to tend to my every need.

One to take my postal invite, the other to cross of my name (very neatly) from a master list, the other to, I don't know, check pencils are sharpened well enough? He lingered, anyhoo.

Where was everyone else? Surely my Newquay town peers care about the future of our vote? Don't they?

With Cornwall's local elections put back until 2013, giving our new Unitary Council a fun-packed four-year term in office, perhaps people just weren't inclined to get out of bed to exercise democracy.

What a shame as it’s their very democracy at stake.

If there wasn't already enough reason to vote #yestoAV, as it's known on Twitter, this was the Mail's front page today:

Following an earlier tweet saying Hitler would have got into power 10 years earlier under FPTP, West Briton reporter Anthony Bonnici tweeted "Now really concerned no matter what voting system I pick the Nazis will get into power sooner or later".