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Diary: Graham James

02 July 2021

ISTOCK

Local colour

MY FIRST confirmation service as a bishop took place in the united benefice of Lelant and Carbis Bay in March 1993. The incumbent at the time, Canon Michael Fisher, was a superb parish priest. He asked me to return to Carbis Bay later that year to boost publicity for a fund-raising campaign for the church hall. We did not foresee world fame for Carbis Bay 28 years later.

The local reaction as the G7 approached was at first ambivalent, growing into delight that Cornwall had been chosen for a world event. If the Carbis Bay Declaration regarding vaccines does turn out to be pivotal, then this small Cornish village may be spoken of in reverential tones in the future.

Those engaged in the tourist industry mostly thought drawing the world’s attention to Cornwall was a bonus. But you can hardly switch the television on without coming across another series about Cornwall, whether it is Simon Reeve discovering its diversity, Julia Bradbury walking the coast, or Rick Stein paying tribute to the place that has made his career. Cornwall does not lack free publicity.

An extra 5000 police were drafted into the county for the G7, along with a vast number of vehicles to get them anywhere. Anyone who has been to Carbis Bay will know that a couple of Ford Transit vans could block the approach roads.

The young woman who cuts my hair lives near there, and long ago, before the Summit was announced, she’d arranged to have the G7 week off as holiday. Her road was closed; so she decided to sunbathe in her garden. You can’t have more of a staycation than that.

 

Counting the cost

ALWAYS ready for new experiences, my wife and I were both count assistants at the local elections. For the first time, the nave of Truro Cathedral was used as a counting centre — perhaps its spaciousness and height made it especially suitable under Covid conditions.

It seemed odd that more people were allowed in for the count than were permitted at the following Sunday’s eucharists, but by then we had got used to the inconsistency of the various Covid rules related to different activities. Among the things revealed over the past year is how law-abiding most of us are, even when the rules that we obey do not always make much sense. Such willing obedience has its dangers.

 

Fellow feeling

WE HAD an hour’s training via Zoom for our new responsibilities. It was nearly all about Covid compliance — no one tested whether we were numerate. I was disappointed not to be asked for my O-level maths certificate, which would have proved that it was worth keeping for more than 50 years.

Perhaps the most unnerving aspect was being so closely observed by election candidates and their agents as we counted the votes for each electoral division of Cornwall Council. When a candidate is standing before you and their tray remains resolutely empty, you want someone to vote for them out of compassion.

I think some of them must have had particular sympathy for James Newman, who scored nul points in the Eurovision Song Contest. At least every candidate for Cornwall Council’s 87 seats did have a few supporters.

 

Vote for change

I’D ALWAYS known some people deliberately spoiled their ballot papers. A surprising number seemed to leave them blank — was it a protest, or had they used invisible ink? “What do you do if you don’t agree with the system?” was written boldly across one ballot paper. I think the answer is “get yourself elected to change it,” but I had no chance to reply.

In one of our electoral divisions, there were just two candidates, both female, and both called Karen. What was written on some of the ballot papers was too crude and offensive to repeat here. I must live a sheltered life, since until then I had not known that “Karen” is apparently a derogatory term for a woman who displays a sense of entitlement beyond what she deserves.

The candidates and their agents all look at the doubtful/rejected papers to agree whether they are spoiled. I felt for these two women, seeing what appalling things a handful of the electorate had said about them.

I’m sure that the forthcoming General Synod elections will be rather more courteous. At least a more equitable voting system will be used: it’s one area where the Church of England has been in the vanguard of reform, though we are hardly very vocal on urging change in the wider electoral system.

 

Mote in my eye

I DID unconscious-bias training about four years ago, but it’s my conscious biases that still trip me up. I was impatient, when queuing at the checkout in M&S behind a very elderly couple, who took ages to place their purchases on the conveyor belt and then to pack them away. Covid restrictions prevented me or anyone else from helping them. I felt guilty about my impatience, and then realised that it might not be many years until I am just as slow.

I assumed they would take ages to pay their bill as well, but when asked to do so the man showed his Apple watch to the machine and it was done in a flash. Cue repentant bishop.

 

The Rt Revd Graham James is a former Bishop of Norwich and now an honorary assistant bishop in the diocese of Truro.

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