After an excellent day yesterday clearing out everything from broken suitcases to worn out blankets the loft looks remarkably tidy. Would that the office looked the same!
Today, apart from various domestic chores, there was time for a very productive meeting with some of the campaign team for Stockton South. Listening to radio reports on the election in Afghanistan makes me wonder how we can reach a happy medium - the enthusiasm of the Afghan people to take part in a democratic process which most British people find uninteresting here but without the violence and threat of violence that mars elections there. Meanwhile let's hope that whatever the result when the counting is over today's process has been sufficiently transparent to allow most people to accept the result and get on with building the peace.