 Would you open the door to this man at 4.30am? No, we thought not |
We've banished Declan Curry from the office for the duration of this election campaign.
As you may have noticed, he's out on the road - touring the country in a motorcycle side-car.
His brief is to cut through the politicians' agenda and find out what really matters to you.
And yesterday he was in Devon, to talk to an unlikely group of council tax rebels who are all well north of 60.
Read on for Declan's latest motorcycle diary:
It has to be your worst nightmare.
Your doorbell rings at 4.30am. Strange men and women are outside your house. Bright lights are flashed in your face, blinding you temporarily.
It's not a police raid or a robbery. It's the BBC.
"Good morning," we chirruped as we marched into the family home of Alan and Thelma Cayley.
 Our council tax refusniks are risking jail if they don't pay up |
They had kindly agreed to be our hosts for our election report on council tax.
Alan is one of a number of pensioners in Devon who have been brought to court to force them to pay their bills.
He says his council tax bill has doubled from �1,000 to �2,000 in less than 10 years. When the council announced another big increase last year, he paid most of it but refused to cough up the final month's instalment.
So last September he appeared in front of Newtown Abbot magistrates. He was ordered to pay his bill in full.
He's not the only council tax refusnik in this part of Devon.
Can't pay? Won't pay!
Alan was joined in his sitting room this morning by his fellow protestors - Albert, facing a �1,525 bill this year; Brian, who was up in court last month; Tony, who has taken his case to Europe; and Sylvia, who owes one month's money.
They are all law-breakers. They could go to prison.
73-year-old Sylvia is waiting for the council's bailiffs to knock on her door any day.
She insists she will go to jail before she pays her bill.
It's all seems a little unreal.
These are quiet, polite pensioners. They've worked hard and saved hard. They play a full part in their local communities. Alan and Thelma are active in their local church.
They're as far removed from the anti-Poll Tax rioters as you could imagine.
Yet they have also broken the law of the land, and for the same reason.
They think local government finance is unfair.
They also think it's poor value for money.
Some viewers watching this morning disagreed strongly with that.
Some of you thought people like Alan are more likely to use the services that local councils provide - and should pay their share without complaining.
Spend spend spend
Between them, local councils across the UK spent �120 billion in 2003/04.
According to the government's official number crunchers, the Office of National Statistics, that's one-quarter of all public spending.
Most of that money comes from central government - through tax on company profits, income tax or the VAT we spend in the shops.
Councils have to find around one-quarter of their income locally, from council tax - though the proportions vary in different parts of the country.
Where does the money go?
Taking an average across the country, 25% of council spending is on "social welfare".
That includes things like meals on wheels, home helps and care homes - all used by our senior citizens.
12% is spent on the police and fire services; some of that will pay to protect older people from robberies, break-ins or hooliganism by young yobs.
6% goes on transport; that includes cut-price or free bus services for pensioners.
And even the biggest slice of council spending - the 32% of their money that goes on education - will benefit some pensioners' families, providing schools and teachers for the grandchildren they adore.
Alan and his friends say they get little for their money.
They say they've saved for a comfortable retirement, allowing them to get by without relying on benefits or the State.
But they claim recent big hikes in council tax bills threaten that.
The Government says this year's rise in council tax bills is the smallest in more than a decade.
But that still leaves bills going up by 4% - roughly double the rate of inflation that is used to calculate increases in the state pension.
It's estimated that council tax bills have gone up by 60% since 1997, when Labour came to power.
Our pensioners this morning were not terribly impressed by the council tax policy suggestions from any of the big three political parties.
And they resent the suggestion that they should sell up and move into smaller homes if they can't afford their council tax bills.
That's why Alan, Sylvia, Brian and the others have had their brush with prison.
They think the attention they've captured will force an overhaul of council tax - and help them keep their family homes. 
Declan Curry reports from a different location from Monday to Thursday each week during the election campaign.
Tomorrow he'll be in Preston to discuss the impact of the Iraq war - and on Thursday, we're planning to head to the Yorkshire dales, to look at rural life
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