Jeremy Corbyn - in the flesh! And in the garden!

Here is the East Cliff at Ramsgate, the area around the bandstand, opposite Wellington Crescent, where Jeremy Corbyn spoke on Saturday 3rd September.  I had long standing other commitments to cooking that day, but I had to leave the house to take N to A&E and decided to make a detour on the way back to see if I could see anything.  I was thrilled as I dawdled along Wellington Crescent, to see so many people there.  It made me feel rather emotional to think that so many local people had come to hear him.   He was actually speaking as I passed, so I heard a few positive sounding phrases.   I was sorry I hadn't been able to be part of the fun.  I was amused to hear later that UKIP had insisted that there were only 1000 and they had all been bussed in by trade unions.  Even the BBC had said that there were 3,000 people there.  No sign of the coaches could be found.   It contrasts famously with Nasty Nigel's "mass rally" at Cliftonville in 2015.  He spoke from the UKIP battle bus - Jez spoke from the back of a fire engine.   UKIP claimed 300 were present at NN's rally, but a careful count of the audience photo showed approx 79 people.     However, that's enough sectarian nonsense.

Later I was at the BBQ, an LP fundraiser, and someone said "Jeremy Corbyn's here!" and he was, in the kitchen.  So I retreated to the garden, and soon he came out to join us, and we and some others began a chat about gardens and allotments.  I can now reveal the following fab facts.
He has a 30 ft garden which is mostly paved because the soil is largely builders' rubble, however he grows vintes and olive trees, because they thrive on lime.  At his allotment he has grown a lot of beans and spinach which he freezes.  It is difficult to grow some things, because they need daily watering.  He has problems when he goes to the AGM because they always want to vote him onto the Allotment Committee.  Mark told him about our old allotment, and Jane H's niece commented that she goes running up there.  He told us that allotments couldn't be developed by councils if there was demand for them, so clearly we need to create demand to stop local ones disappearing.  Someone said Ramsgate houses had huge gardens, but I said that a lot didn't because they were built as holiday lodgings.  Someone else said that gardens were often full of buildings, and the conversation shifted and Jane H wisely nabbed him to talk to him seriously about mental health...

So, there we have Jeremy Corbyn, a nice beardie man, standing in a summer garden chatting about growing veg.  I didn't even dream of trying to talk politics with him.  Is he ready to lead the country?  Why not?  I swear we've had worse people.   Intellectually/socially he's probably roughly equivalent to David Cameron, able to mix affably with people and have normal conversations, although rather lacking in DC's PR skills.  I also noticed that in conversation he didn't try and draw other people out, this is fairly typical of men in general, so I won't hold it against him too much.    He does have courage and integrity and these are rather more important in a leader.,  I doubt whether Churchill was much of a one to draw out people in conversation either, it's not an essential skill, although I suspect it would help if one was trying to get to know one's Shadow Cabinet better.