An evening with my homies

Ah yes, the joys of an evening with Dulwich & West Norwood Liberal Democrats...

We're not terribly ambitious, we're not the most stunningly efficient group, but we all mean well and get on together. Now that I'm not Chair, I can actually enjoy things and contribute the skills I actually have (no sniggering at the back...), rather than ones I ought to have but don't (leadership, discipline, persistence).

Tonight was our second meeting of the year as an Executive Committee, and we achieved quite a lot. A social schedule is emerging, plus some political content and even some campaigning - this is Dulwich, we don't really do that sort of thing here (the Conservatives and ourselves spent less than £10,000 between us during the last General Election, I'm told, which probably explains why our combined vote was roughly that of Tessa Jowell, our absentee MP).

We do tend to stray off-topic at the slightest provocation and tonight's byways included what to do if your yacht is boarded in the Caribbean (shoot to kill, apparently, it makes the investigation much easier), why parking is limited to twenty minutes outside a library and how we can get hold of a picture of Tessa Jowell's North London house (we really don't like her much, which says a lot coming from a group who might be vaguely regretful of a nuclear attack - we don't do raging passion either...).

And yet it works, after a fashion. I know of Local Parties who have pitched battles about ideas and/or personalities but, for good or ill, we're a bit of a throwback to a more innocent era, and I'm not convinced that this is a bad thing...