The Canoe Man hails from Seaton Carew, a small and relatively pretty town just south of Hartlepool. The last time I was in Seaton Carew was on polling day for the Hartlepool by-election, when I spent a long time knocking on doors knocking on doors telling Lib Dem supporters that Jody Dunn really could win, and persuading Conservative supporters the same thing (though they were mainly voting UKIP).
This would all have been great fun if I hadn't had blisters the size of Darlington and been absolutely, bone-crunchingly knackered. I was supposed to be assisting Shaun Roberts, who was running the committee room, but since the flow of helpers was a bit slow (the by-election being in Hartlepool) there was no point and I ended up going and knocking up instead, until 10pm; on the way back to the office our car nearly crashed as someone drove it the wrong way up a dual carriageway, I ate a curry and then passed out on the floor of the 'post-count party'.
Perhaps my memories are a bit jaded by this experience, but I can see entirely why someone who lived in Seaton Carew would fake their own death for the lfie insurance. (If that's what happened).
But it adds further surreality to the whole story that the Canoe Man ended up in Panama. Panama is a futile place. It's a canal, with some people and an unstable nation tacked on. The whole point of Panama was to make sure that the American navy could pick which ocean to fight in.
This seems to be a week of complex, surreal stories...
Thursday, 6 December 2007
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3 comments:
Seaton Carew was so unmemorable a place I'd forgotton its name until the canoe story broke.
I spent the polling day on EARS, though vaguely remember the view from outside the front door when I nipped out for a ciggy
In defence of Seaton Carew I thought the place was delightful. I stayed at a hotel called the Norton where bed and breakfast was £20 and dinner, bed and breakfast £25. For that modest amount they not only provided decent and generous meals but put binoculars in the breakfast room so that guests could focus on the birds on the beach. (This is birds of the feathered varieties of course, principally waders and gulls). One of the best bases I ever had for a by-election visit.
correction: the canoe man was using a kayak a sea kayak so he is a kayak man, not a canoe man. a canoe is not a kayak and a kayak is not a canoe. can you ask producers to correct this mistajke,\
danbloom, loyal CNN fan in Taiwan,
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