On the Streets of Leyton

I was out in the pale winter sun this morning, delivering leaflets in the Leyton ward by-election in Waltham Forest, where local activist Winnie Smith is aiming to recapture the seat held until 2006 by Barry Smith (no relation). He was ousted by a scurrilous campaign by Labour’s Miranda Grell, who maliciously spread the false rumour that he was involved with young oriental boys. She was found guilty in a subsequent court action, and disqualified from office, but by this time, Barry’s life had been threatened and he had to move out of London. So it was good to see the ward plastered with Smith posters today. Polling is on 14 February, and the local LibDems are hoping for a ‘St Valentine’s Day Massacre’, with a thumping great majority, as the seat returns where it belongs.

I enjoy delivering when the weather is fine, as I can mull over things I am going to write. As the Topolski family recently decided not to go ahead with the project I had been working on Feliks Topolski after all, I’m reverting to Plan B: a study of T E Lawrence’s strange relationship with the Arab world and mankind at large. This time next week, I’ll be back in Aqaba, a copy of C M Doughty’s Arabia Deserta in my bag, as I rejoin his trail.