Life wasn’t meant to be easy and when I look back I can see many rocky patches on my path through life so far. Some are little potholes others are yawning chasms, yet somehow I passed them all.
Some of the big ones I have described elsewhere, or they may still be to come, but some of them are just annoying little things and I know I shouldn’t let them get to me.
The most recent is a political niggle, but not to do with Westminster, or the strained politics we see throughout the world at present.
No this was to do with more local government.
Not the really niggly, inconsequential actions of a parish council.
What niggled me was the way the local district council, in my case Rushmoor, made such a rigmarole about getting a change made in a registration for voting to allow a person a postal vote.
There are three people in our household and all have been registered to vote since we moved here 12 years ago.
At the time of Covid we all registered for a postal vote, and it was simple.
Every year since we have received a form checking that our details remain the same. If there is no change it goes to the fallback situation – if you don’t contact them the details remain the same for the next year.
All was fine, until last year.
The usual letter arrived but one member of the family was listed as voting at a polling station.
No problem, just go online fill in the details and all sorted.
Which I believed it had been until this week when the annual letter arrived and again showed two of us had a postal vote but the third person was registered to vote at a polling station.
This time I went back to basics and went to the appropriate area of the Rushmoor website and checked if the person not listed as having a postal vote was actually registered (I know that sounds silly if the person is shown as voting at a polling station then that person must be registered, but I don’t like accepting things at face value).
I went through all the hoops, first name, middle name, surname, date of birth, current address, email address etc. etc.
At the end of this procedure it was confirmed that the person identified was properly registered but for voting at a polling station not by postal vote.
All well and good – now register that person for a postal vote.
Not quite as simple as you might think. I had to go right back to the beginning and fill in all the details yet again, at which point I was directed to another area of the website which then required virtually the same information yet again plus National Insurance details as well.
Finally I was close to completion and the last thing needed was an image of the signature. This was duly signed, photographed and then uploaded to the site. One press of the button and it was winging its way to Rushmoor. A few minutes later an email noting receipt was received with a letter code to be used if any queries arose.
All done, time for a cuppa and lunch.
A few hours later, an email arrives stating that the application was in abeyance because the image of the signature was not appropriate – it was on a lined piece of paper and it should have been plain.
Find a piece of plain paper, (actually it was the back of the envelope the original letter arrived in) get it signed, photograph it, upload it and send it off, hoping this time it was enough.
That was at the beginning of the week.
Today I received an email from Rushmoor saying everything had gone through and all three occupants are now listed as having postal votes.
Do I believe them?
Do I hell.
I’ll believe it when all three postal votes arrive for the local elections.
Robin's Nest 