"They come over here, with their alien ways, winning our quizzes and taking home the prizes..."

I have, in the past, occasionally mentioned that I enjoy the odd quiz night. I've only been to one with Ros so far, in Bridgend, where my team gallantly triumphed over the locals (I'd been signed up by the visitors from Swansea).

Last night saw us in Solihull, and Ros and I formed a team with Norman Davies, our Group Leader on Solihull Council, and John Windmill, his predecessor, both of them councillors in Olton ward. It wasn't the easiest quiz I'd ever been involved in, and the competition was pretty sharp too, but by the end of the evening, the 'Old Oltonians' had swept triumphantly to victory. The two bottles of wine that we won are chilling nicely in the fridge...

It was noticeable that our Group there has three young councillors, all of whom are thought of as rising stars. Tim Hodgson is the Deputy Group Leader, having been elected to the council last year, aged 21, and this is a group of eighteen! Throw in Leela Widger and Brynn Tudor, and you can be pretty confident that Solihull and Meridien Liberal Democrats have much to look forward to. Of course, they're working flat out to make sure that Lorely Burt is returned to Westminster at the next election.

We were made to feel incredibly welcome, and Ros was very well received indeed. A perfect end to a pretty good day, I'd say...