10am Sunday 5th April.

West Edinburgh Liberal Democrat campaign HQ.

Liberal Democrat Michael Crockart’s young team of student volunteers are busy addressing blue envelopes when I arrive at their campaign HQ just by Edinburgh Zoo. As well as the only Pandas in Britain,  the constituency of the ex police Constable who seeks re-election, also contains The Chinese Embassy, Edinburgh airport, Murrayfield Rugby stadium, several farms, and judging by the sweet smell of burnt barley in the air, a brewery or two.

Mr Crockart is host to a press call for  the Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael.

Mr Carmichael has taken a break from campaigning in his constituency of Orkney and Shetland to answer questions from the press about the cabinet inquiry into Nicola Sturgeon’s reported comments to the the French Ambassador.

Drawing inside a campaign office gives me a good opportunity to try and capture a view of electioneering in the UK as a practical, pragmatic and ‘grass-roots’  process. I include campaign posters and press cuttings  in my drawings as a backdrop to the activity.

A big bunch of daffodils sits in the middle of a large communal campaign table. A spring election has certainly allowed the Lib Dems to ‘luck out’ florally.

I can’t help but think of the campaign office of Charles Palantine in the movie Taxi Driver as I draw the scene of happy, well educated, hung-over volunteers stuffing envelopes on the morning of Easter Sunday.

I take the bus back to town  for church.