Unexpected trip to Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference

Unexpectedly, I have found myself at the Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference in Aberystwyth this weekend. I say unexpectedly, but it shouldn’t be as I offered to help with campaigns training at the conference some time ago. What is unexpected is instead being at the conference, but without any training to do. So instead I’ve ended up having a weekend away in Aberystwyth, but also being able to use the fact that the conference is in the town to catch up with old friends that I haven’t seen for ages.

I’ve wittered endlessly on this website about how much I love the town – as some people pointed out to me last night when they were surprised to see me here, but then not at all surprised when they found out why I was here – but it is great to be back. I haven’t been in Aber for about a year or more, and so being back this weekend has given me the opportunity to do the things that I’ve missed since I stopped living here.

I spent yesterday evening in the pub catching up with old friends and meeting some new people who weren’t around when I worked for the Welsh Liberal Democrats. The most bizarre experience though was when Lembit Opik arrived in The Academy pub with Gabriela Irimia. Suddenly they were both surrounded by students wanting to meet them both, taking photos of them with their phones and just being totally and utterly obsessed with them both. As a Liberal Democrat you just aren’t used to having an MP that is so popular and so much at the centre of attention from ordinary people, who presumably have little interest in party politics. It was a surreal experience.