At a contentious village hall meeting, the four candidates for Village Elder stood before the people of Puckering and tried to make themselves heard. The candidates fielded a range of questions from the personal, to village issues and beyond. Whilst Nigel Morcombe was asked his position on the mis-portrayal of women’s lingerie, Wendy Smith was quizzed on the correct amount of pruning for the village oaks. Colonel Bratherton  was asked by Martin Johnson for his position on Belgian Endives (against).

Arthur ‘Red’ Covers seemed to have brought a contingent of supporters who cheered loudly to demands for ‘the forgotten workers, the sick and the village seniors.’ It remains unclear, however, how the new Village Elder position will be able to influence the TUC, the National Health Service, the IMF or World Trade organizations. Still, at one point the cheer "We want Red, yes we do, Puckering’s oldies want a loo" was heard around the hall in reference to Red’s support for new public lavatories near the Post Office.