4 counties, 4 great groups of people

I was at a dinner recently and the subject of blogging came up. The issue was, when you are busy on the campaign trail, do you narrate everywhere you've been or will it make for a rather dull posting as it will appear to simply be listing people and places. My answer is try and make the blog an accurate description of what you are doing. As it would happen, I have spent every weekend for the last few weeks/months attending a couple of lunches and dinners, giving the odd speech and finding out about what people think on local and European issues. I have had the best time and in terms of the European campaign, it has been incredibly productive. I owe it to people to say what I've been up to so forgive me now if I appear to list!

On Thursday, I attended Bath University Conservative Association's Christmas dinner at Green Park Brasserie. I'm incredibly fond of the people at Bath Conservative Association but had not, until that point, had proper interaction with Bath CF members (it was a case of you meet a few at a general association event or on the campaign trail but not altogether). They had just come back from a study trip to Brussels so it was good to exchange a few notes on our experiences and views on the City and the EU institutional set up. I enjoyed the conversation - many of us were on completely the same wavelength on European issues so the chat was vibrant. Florian Bay seems to be doing a great job as Chair. Dinner went quite fast and I wanted to continue our political discussions at a nearby pub but my train to Gloucester awaited (and a packed Friday schedule).

Friday was a full day on the road. I started off in Salisbury for a Christmas lunch hosted by Sue Key and the Salisbury Conservative Ladies at the White Hart Hotel. Some of you may be aware that Salisbury MP (and her husband), Robert Key, continues the tradition of the victorious parliamentary candidate singing ‘The Vly be on the Turmut’ (the marching song of the Wiltshire Regiment) from the balcony of the hotel! I love such glorious traditions and is just another aspect of what makes Salisbury so unique. Festive mood was in full swing and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I then headed to The Brownsword Hall in Poundbury in Dorchester for a simply fabulous Sparkling Reception hosted by the West Dorset Women's Organisation. The exquisite hall was packed and at least half of us then made our way to a nearby cafe for dinner. There is simply too much to recount here - suffice to say, the company was excellent, the members knowledgeable about European issues, the political discussion in full flow (not suprisingly agriculture came to the fore as a topic, as well as issues that people are truly concerned about such as the EU Budget) and the food spectacular.

Saturday was spent in beautiful Devon speaking at a lunch in Exmouth. I was very lucky with the weather and had a stroll along the seafront. It was a joy to meet some of the East Devon Conservative Association - a few of whom I had met during the Euro selection period. Moreover the Q&A session after my speech was fantastic - subjects came up that hadn't in my most recent outings like the Euro and fisheries. Once again, I left the event excited about our local and European campaigns as the people on the ground are some of the best there can be (I was very impressed with the commitment, knowledge and dynamism of the local councillors I met).

All in all a very worthwhile weekend.