Lady Sylvia Hermon blends in well on the doorsteps of Helen's Bay in north Co Down. As expertly manicured as the lawns and sporting a dazzling blue suit that eclipses even the most colourful blooms, she is clearly at home in one of the richest residential areas of Northern Ireland's Gold Coast.
The late afternoon sun brought everyone out to the front garden on Tuesday. A white-haired man mowed the lawn wearing nothing but a pair of skimpy shorts and sandals. He downed tools to reminisce about a round of golf he had with the UUP candidate's husband, the former Chief Constable of the RUC, Sir Jack Hermon. She doesn't need to ask if she has his vote.
A few doors down, a middle-aged woman in a shocking pink boob tube, was watering her plants. "You have my full support," she says. "I don't mean to be rude but anyone would be against Bob McCartney".
North Down is gearing up for a fascinating battle between Hermon and the sitting anti-agreement MP and UK Unionist, McCartney, particularly since the Alliance Party pulled out of the race. "I've got the bug for this now," says the mother of two. "I feel energised each morning.
"I don't see Bob McCartney as a threat. From what I am hearing, people want a fresh face and a fresh approach. He only got the support of 35 per cent of the electorate the last time around . . . I'm hoping to get the support of the silent majority. I'm looking for them to come out on June 7th," she says.
Hermon cuts a trim figure - "the rowing machine" she explains - as she presses the flesh and hands out leaflets. Her make-up is natural, her blue eyes bright and full of purpose.
"Welcome, welcome Lady Hermon," says a woman out for a stroll. "As a former member of the Alliance Party I am delighted to meet you." Hermon is clearly enjoying her first election campaign; she says it's a pleasure meeting the people. She beams gratefully when a supporter says what is needed in the constituency is "someone with common sense".
Not everyone is as hospitable among the well-appointed bungalows of what is known as the "Volvo Belt". An elderly woman comes to her garden gate to berate the farmer's daughter from Co Tyrone. "You weren't selected for this election; Peter Weir was. You don't have my support," she says.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," says Lady Hermon, backing off.
"I'm sure you are not a bit sorry. You are only a newcomer to politics and you come around here looking for support. It's disgraceful," says the elderly woman.
Lady Hermon looks a little shaken under her honey-blonde bob. The Weir debacle - the dissident Assembly member was the original UUP candidate but was stood down after being suspended from the party - is proving the only cloud on an otherwise sunny campaign trail. As chairman of the North Down constituency association, Hermon was the subject of a High Court action by a disgruntled Weir.
Public relations expert Lord Laird of Artigarvan, who was driving the candidate around in his Mercedes, takes a call on his mobile phone. "Apparently Peter Weir is saying that the North Down electorate should treat you the way you treated him," he tells Hermon, who mutters darkly: "He needs to be very careful what he says."
The dapper peer reckons Lady Hermon has a good chance of taking the seat. A vocal supporter of the Ulster Scots language, Lord Laird even has a campaign motto for the candidate. "Into the Future with Justice" or, in Ulster Scots, Forrit Wa Jonicks.