End of the Conference Season
The conference season for me this year has been two CPF conferences and then our Blackpool Conference, all in quick succession.
Our Welsh conferences, involving policy discussion at Llandudno in the Imperial Hotel, and at Gwbert on Sea in the Cliff Hotel, were both extremely enjoyable. I like looking out over the sea. I have magnificent sea views at home in Aberystwyth and there is something very soothing and therapeutic about it. In Llandudno I was quite content for them to put me in what appeared to be a large brooms cupboard in The Imperial on the top floor because it had sea views, even though the room, as they pointed out to me, hadn’t been recently re-furbished. The Imperial was straining at the seams there were so many guests there. First there was a very large wedding on and, in addition to our conference delegates, there were quite a few from the Plaid Cymru conference that was going on in Llandudno too. I enjoyed a brief chat with Janet Ryder and Dai Lloyd over breakfast, and rumours of a refloating of the ‘rainbow’ coalition were no doubt rife among the journalists who were also staying there.
The next weekend I was in Gwbert on Sea. The Cliff Hotel is the sort of venue that would appear in one of those Poirot books, gleaming white and set on the edge of the sea. The sort of place where Hercule Poirot would have asked us all in to the Library to tell us who had done it! First class breakfast and they took very good care of us, and once again views across Cardigan Bay (admittedly across the car park first).
Then to Blackpool. Blackpool is a conference destination that I have never greatly warmed too. In many years of going there I can’t remember enjoying a conference as much as I enjoyed this one. First the weather was excellent and we really enjoyed some quite balmy weather, which is unusual in Blackpool. The social side of the conference was very good and then, of course, it was one of the best conferences I can remember us having as a Party. Positive announcements, lots of unity and then that blockbuster of a speech from DC. Just the tonic we needed, and I came away from Blackpool full of regrets at leaving such a pleasant seaside town. Well not quite perhaps, but certainly I did see it in a completely different light.
At the conference I enjoyed meeting up with the media and specifically S4C one evening, and also two Fringe events as well as a panel in the conference hall itself – talking about devolution. I spoke a few lines in Welsh and there was a very positive discussion about devolved politics. It was also useful to exchange thoughts on devolution with our band of MSPs and Sir Malcolm Rifkind.
The aftermath of the conference season has been even more enjoyable, I have to say, but more of that in the next blog.
