Features

It was only the second day of the campaign, but Tuesday just might be the most grueling of the entire election.

We got up at 5:30 to make the shift change at the Corner Brook mill. For more than an hour, Danny Williams, Tom Marshall and Terry Loder shook hands with the workers streaming in and out of the city's most important industry. After a quick campaign stop at Tim Hortons, it was back to the hotel for the official release of the Tory election platform. That event was at 10 o'clock.

Normally, the release of the platform would be the central event of the day. But the Tories pressed on. After the platform release, the bus pressed on to Deer Lake and the district of Humber Valley. Then we moved to the campaign's private plane and jetted to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Two hours later it was wheels up again and the campaign plunged into Labrador City and Wabush.

By now it was late, but we were headed back to the airport instead of the hotel. Our next destination was Gander, where we would finally call it a night.

By the time I filed my stories and was able to turn in, it was 1 in the morning. I had been working for about 20 hours. I'm now taking coffee intravenously.

Since the campaign started on Monday I have been in St. John's, Corner Brook, Deer Lake, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City, Wabush, Gander, Twillingate, Virgin Arm, and Noggin's Cove. Today we roll into Clarenville, Goobies, Come By Chance and Whitbourne.

Then it's back to St. John's. I've got enough time to get some clean underwear, and then it's back on the trail.
- David Cochrane, travelling this week with the PCs