Those of you who watched Father Ted may recall a scene where Father Ted tried to explain perspective to Father Dougal. "Small," he said, holding up a toy cow from a farmyard set, "far away.", pointing at the cows in a field outside the caravan.
My political life feels a bit like that now. As a Parish Councillor, my world is very local, taking me to Stowmarket, Claydon and, occasionally, Henley (just outside Ipswich). My new role as Local Party Treasurer may take me as far away as Bury St Edmunds, although that will be for a dinner, rather than for meetings.
However, my horizons are now slightly expanded. Yesterday, I was elected to the position of Treasurer of Suffolk's County Co-ordinating Committee. In that role, my patch runs from Lowestoft to Clare, from Newmarket to Shotley. There isn't much money involved, but the body has, potentially, a valuable role in supporting our campaigning across the county, especially for the county council elections in 2013.
So, that's the 'small'...
Beyond Suffolk, I'm still a Party delegate to the Council of the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR), which took me to Dresden and Palermo this year. Next year, the mileage will be rather greater.
But, maintaining the financial theme that now seems to run through my activities, I've been nominated to serve on ELDR's Scrutiny Committee, which monitors the finances of the organisation. That doesn't mean that I've got the job yet, as I haven't been told what the process is from here - one assumes that the Bureau decide - so I may yet have other trips to make.
So, 'small', and 'far away'. Perhaps I need a model cow to remind me how to keep it all in perspective...
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