Roch Maher, Presiding Officer, we salute you!

So, Election Day on Thursday. That, I imagine, will mean different things to many different people. For Roch, it will be a very special day. It will be his last Election as Presiding Officer. For those of you who don't know, Roch has been involved in every Election, National and Local, since coming to London in 1986 and for every one of them, he has been Presiding Officer at a Polling station in Hammersmith & Fulham. It's a job he loves doing. It involves getting up at the crack of dawn, taking on a helluva lot of responsibility for the day and getting home extremely late that night. Typically, Roch revels in it. He has always been a political animal and being so involved in the actual Election process is grist to his mill. He worries about it beforehand and makes meticulous preparation. Tradition has it that provisions for the day include the obligatory sausage sandwiches and that cold beer awaits his return and this time will be no different. But he says it will be the last time for him. Even with diminished stamina and declining strength, he feels he can still carry out his duties just as efficiently on May 6th, but he can't see himself doing it again. Well, on behalf of the electorate of Hammersmith & Fulham, thank you Roch, for years of dedicated service. Enjoy the Day! Cold beer will await you on your return...