Friday

I arrived early. Good job. The accommodation I had carefully booked because it was near the conference centre turned out to be halfway to Dover. Google Maps had presented me with a chimera when I checked before booking.

No matter. Armed with my exciting new senior bus pass I have been enjoying the splendid Morebus 22 service.

I met up with what I believe is called “The Awkward Squad” over a superb steak and stilton pie. It is so good to see old faces and new ones.

A revelation. The hostelry have Butcombe Goram IPA Zero on draught!!! (See photo above) As someone who has been on the wagon since 1st August 2023 for boring medical reasons, and being an occasional CAMRA member over the years, I have been on a mission to find the best zero and low alcohol beers.

Butcombe Goram IPA Zero on draught is up there on a pedestal. Brilliant.

Saturday

A three line whip for the constitutional amendment debate that wasn’t. I had been warned to be in the conference hall on the stroke of 9am in case of any procedural shenanigans. This involved getting up at 7am and queuing to get into the BIC.

In the event we moved to next business (see Caron’s diary). I rewarded myself with the breakfast of champions at a fast food outlet and was back in time to hear Jane Dodds’ superb speech.

It was great to go to the Lib Dems for Middle East peace fringe (see earlier post).

The conference rally was very uplifting as usual. It answered the question: “What is Tim Farron for?” It turns out he can do a superb “Don’t nick my flag” shtick, which culminated with us all waving Union Jacks to the strains of “Land of Hope Glory”.

If my dad was still around he would have been checking that all the Union Jacks were the right way up and that no one was inadvertently sending a distress signal by displaying it upside down. It does happen.

To a fringe meeting called “Crisis in the Middle East”. Arwa Damon, former Senior Middle East Correspondent for CNN, brought first-hand testimony about what is happening in Gaza. It was harrowing and hugely enlightening. Definitely the top fringe meeting of the conference.

Sunday

I saw Tessa Munt walking in the street. Great news. She is one of the MPs my friend, who has ME/CFS, has asked me to thank for their work on the illness. She seemed delighted that I had stopped her to thank her and promised to “keep on banging on about it”.  See photo below.

I went into the exhibition hall. After some strategic planning I went to the LIb Dem LGBT+ stand. I am glad I did. Just standing there for a few minutes was great entertainment value.

The Topical Debate on Israel/Palestine contained a string of superb speeches. If you haven’t seen it, I would recommend watching it on the Lib Dem YouTube channel at 1 hour 37 minutes in.

To a fringe meeting about children in temporary accommodation. Truly moving with excellent contributions from the brilliant Councillor Darren Sanders from Portsmouth City Council, Lee Dillon MP and Andrew George MP (see photo below)

To the Q&A with Ed, very well hosted by Carolyn Quinn. I have heard her voice for years on Radio 4. As always with a radio person when you see them it is quite odd matching the face to the voice.

The Home Affairs meeting with Lisa Smart MP and Lord Mike German. Our home affairs portfolio is in safe hands.

To a fringe called “Lifting Living Standards” hosted by the IPPR and Joseph Rowntree Trust. Like all the fringe meetings I have been to, it was harrowing and interesting in equal degrees. It was good to see two of our MPs. Bobby Dean is amazing. So refreshing. And John Milne knows what he is talking about.

I had an ulterior motive for attending this fringe. No – not food. John Milne was my second target to thank on behalf of my friend for his work on ME/CFS. See photo below.

Nick Clegg was in a very big room full of people listening intently. As usual he was very engaging, articulate and fascinating. What he had to say about the internet was amazing, if a little scary.

I nearly forgot the “Pho” in the title. I was fortunate enough to go a brilliant Vietnamese restaurant called “Pho”. It certainly enlivened a cold trip back to my room.

When I packed for Bournemouth, I was expecting cold weather. Friday was gloriously hot and I was missing my shorts. But now we seem to be in a cold spell so my packing has proved to be right.😊

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.