Kirkcaldy voting 'slow' but tea-time busy spell expected

And with five hours still left until the town’s 66 polling places close, there’s still plenty of time to cast your votes on the pastel-hued violet and peach (!) forms.

To get a wee overview of how things were going around the town, I took a drive around some of the venues in the town to speak to people and find out from the dedicated team of canvassers, who spend hours giving out leaflets and chatting to voters, how things were going.

The sun was beating down as I made my first stop at the Philp Hall, my own polling place, and popped in to cast my votes while I was there.

A steady stream of people came through the doors, none too keen to have their photo taken, but the canvassers said it had been a “busy morning” with good numbers turning out.

The good weather certainly helped to bring people out, but Linktown was one of the few busy areas of the town during my whistle-stop tour.

At Abbotshall Church hall they were coming in dribs and drabs, with quite a few younger voters among them, and that seemed to be the case in other areas of the town, with good numbers of young people taking the time to have their voices heard.

Raeburn Hall off Strathkinnes Road was very quiet, and the two SNP volunteers outside said it had been a “very slow” morning, but they believed it would get a bit busier when people came home from work.

It was the same story at the Glebe Park Centre where only a handful of voters drifted in and out during the 20 minutes I was there.

At Dysart Community Hall it was even quieter, and the appearance of police constables Neil Probert and Fraser Laird to check everything was running smoothly were a welcome distraction for the lone canvasser.

It was slightly busier at Pathhead Primary, with people taking the chance to enjoy a walk in the sun and cast their vote at the same time.

Here’s hoping that more will do so before the stations close at 10pm or else the percentage turnout is going to be a pretty low one.