LGA conference Harrogate; 30 Jun to 2 Jul 09

It was 12 months ago that I started this blog. It was meant to complement my political web-site which thanks to the kind electorate of Cottenham, Histon and Impington is required to continue. And thanks to my fellow Lib Dem councillors on Cambridgeshire County Council I am starting my 3rd year as group leader and so I was able to attend the LGA conference. Which is where this blog started 12 months ago.

I like Harrogate. It’s got some really nice hotels and a good choice of splendid restaurants (more on one below). Unfortunately Cambridgeshire County Council decided that we should not stay at one of the many close to the conference centre but to challenge us with one somewhere out on the Knaresborough Road. Nice enough location if you want to enjoy the wonderful green space south of the B6040, not so good if you want to shuttle to and from the conference centre during the day. I part way solved the problem by adding to the local council’s concessionary bus fares deficit (Harrogate really does have a splendid bus system) but given the humidity and 30 degree heat it wasnt’ really practical to return to the hotel during the day.

Restaurant-wise I picked a winner. I went to Graveley’s which is a proper fish and chip shop with a licenced restaurant ‘on the side’. I was on my own and in these days of expenses scandals I was looking for value and I got it. Within 5 minutes of sitting down I’d ordered, got a beer and was tucking in to haddock and chips. I couldn’t do a direct comparison to Petrou Bros in Chatteris which sets the gold standard for fish and chips but Graveley’s came pretty darn close.

My jouney home was interesting. I travelled by train of course and had an hour and a half to spare at Leeds. After lunch (a choice of open air cafes across the square from the station! I chose and enjoyed Loch Fyne) I returned to get my train only to find it cancelled. So with half an hour to wait for the next one I decided to take some photographs of the station (I taken a few in York on the way up). Oh dear no. A very nice official from the station staff told me I could not photograph the structure of the station (although I could get permission if I wrote in) because of the risk of terrorism. I ask you. Does that not sound a trifle OTT? I didn’t argue. We smiled and shared a ‘what’s the world coming to’ moment.