Post-Easter Greetings

Well, it's been nearly 3 weeks since I last posted, so another update from the Catholic Parliamentary world well overdue...

We've all returned to work after a very pleasant Easter break, and all the interns have been up to various bits a pieces in the last few weeks.

Dom had a cracking time in the European Capital of Culture that is Liverpool for the Lib Dem Spring Conference, staying with the Pughs - apparently there was a great party atmosphere and he even came back with somewhat of a scouse accent!

My Spring Forum travails took me to Glorious Newcastle-Gateshead in the luxurious surroundings of the Sage Conference Centre, which boasts fabulous views along the redeveloped quayside. Having visited the area a while ago it was great to be back, and I have to say the area was looking great, with all the redevelopment agencies and money really having paid off - many new businesses and redesigns of the area have made Newcastle a clearly dynamic and vibrant city, and one certainly able to cope with conferences and events much larger than the Spring forum! I even met a local celeb at one of the receptions - one sir John Hall, former owner of Newcastle FC - who was very pleased to see a mainstream political party engaging with an area which has for too long been forgotten by Governments of all varieties in the past; let's hope the latest regeneration is a sign of things to come for the city and the wider area.

Ms Groom has just returned from her band's 2008 St Patrick's Day tour of New York, which apparently went down a storm - I do hope her hand held out for it though!

All in all, we've been getting around! Next big, or rather, grim, event is my birthday on Thursday - the interns, colleagues, friends and myself will be having a few in the appropriately named "Cardinal" pub behind Westminster Cathedral on Thursday - do pop in if you're around!

Will