ALDE Election Congress: it's make your mind up time...

Alright, I've asked all of the questions, gained an understanding of the issues, listened to the speeches, even the ones in French. The dynamic duo of Rehn and Verhofstadt have outlined their vision for Europe - one that works towards peace and liberty, one that creates opportunity for its citizens, one that is democratically accountable. They believe in a reformed Europe, run in a spirit of transparency.

I have been impressed by the grace and good humour displayed by Olli Rehn, and the passion and enthusiasm of Guy Verhofstadt, and believe that the team approach offers the best available alternative in the quest for a more liberal Europe.

And so, with apologies to my Party leader, I'm ignoring the entreaties made to oppose the resolution endorsing the joint Verhofstadt/Rehn ticket, and will be casting my vote in support accordingly.

Another day of being the great and the good...

To Holbrook, in heavy drizzle, for a fundraising lunch at the Royal Hospital School, hosted by the High Sheriff on behalf of the East Anglian Air Ambulance and the Suffolk Foundation, we drove, not entirely certain what we'd find.

What we found was a cross-section of Suffolk society, all there for drinks, canapes and a chance to catch up with old friends. Admittedly, there aren't a lot of 'out' Liberal Democrats at these things - not 'our sort of people', I suspect - so it feels a bit like an exercise in anthropology, studying 'suffolkus gentrificus' in its natural environment. In truth, individually they're mostly rather charming, with an old-fashioned sense of courtesy, but they can be rather daunting en masse. Our table companions were charming and entertaining, and what could have been a slightly trying afternoon, surrounded by Tories, turned out to be rather pleasant.

And there were rather a lot of people there, probably three hundred or so, eating a rather nice lunch - I'm usually sceptical about the ability of most venues to deliver that many plates to even an adequate standard - but the Catering Department of the School really did us proud, and the wine flowed freely. That is, for those of us not driving (about half of us, I suppose)...

No fundraising event would be complete without a raffle, although at £20 per envelope (tickets would be almost vulgar...), it's not the sort of raffle I expect to grow accustomed to. And, at least Ros won a cord of firewood, which will come in useful with winter approaching fast.

This was followed by an auction of the sorts of things that I frankly have little personal use for - a hand-crafted sailing boat, a week's salmon fishing, a hydraulic four-wheeled trolley perfect for conveying bales of hay around your estate (must get myself one of those - an estate, that is). However, if you're the sort of person in the market for such things, and I guess that here in Suffolk there certainly are some of those, they are means of raising money for a worthy cause.

We were also entertained by a rather marvellous singer, singing arias by Handel and Puccini, which, given the rather testing acoustics of the venue (I have no idea even now what the High Sheriff actually said at the end), was quite brave, and entirely worth it.

It is astonishing sometimes just how quickly four hours can pass by, and the time had fled by, so we made our excuses and headed out into the gathering dusk, after a rather enjoyable day. It is always nice to enjoy yourself in a good cause, and I hope that the beneficiaries have made a tidy sum from the event.

Back to school, away in the flatlands...

I've had a day off from my job of raising money to reduce the Government's budget deficit and, rather than spend it playing Civilisation, or walking the Parish footpaths, or lazing in front of the television watching repeats of Top Gear, I've spent it with Ros, on a House of Lords school outreach visit.

It is, it seems, a little known fact that the House of Lords has an outreach programme, and the schools that tend to apply for a visit from a Peer tend to be relatively well-heeled, often in the independent sector. And yes, that probably means that their students are advantaged, aspirational and likely to succeed in life. The idea that, one day, one of them might be in the House of Lords is not entirely implausible.

Today's visit, however, was to St Clement's High School in Terrington St Clement, a village just west of Kings Lynn, in an area with genuine pockets of deprivation, where levels of adult illiteracy are above the national norm, and where opportunities are less than abundant. Despite this, the staff are ambitious for their pupils, and the headmaster, Dr Vicky Worsnop, is keen to find ways to raise performance across the board.

It's a sixty mile drive from Creeting St Peter to Terrington St Clement, and the weather wasn't very promising, but we covered the miles pretty easily, and pulled up at the school just before our scheduled arrival time. We were welcomed by Dr Worsnop, before being introduced to Abigail Cooke, who teaches Citizenship, and was to lead the session with pupils from Years 10 and 11.

And a lively session it turned out to be, with a series of questions prepared in advance to follow the Powerpoint presentation that the House of Lords outreach team has developed as a framework for an introduction to the work of the second chamber. They were good questions too, with the Coalition, immigration and welfare reform amongst the topics raised.

Afterwards, over lunch with our hosts, issues regarding funding of rural schools, student aspiration and transport were raised and considered, including the change in measuring school performance from a contextual value added base to a rather simpler value added base. Now I have to admit that I struggle to see the logic of that, as I was always encouraged to consider context as key to finding workable, effective solutions to problems - in this case, how to provide a good education in rural communities - and this change appears to work against that. I may need to give that some thought...

It was a good day out though and, once again, I came away from it feeling that I had learned a few new things.

* To arrange a visit from a House of Lords member to your school or sixth form college, contact the Lord Speaker's office on 020 7219 6444 or email lordspeaker@parliament.uk. 

Suffolk Reviews: The Suffolk Show

Now I would be the first to admit that I'm not an obvious person to be seen at a County Showground but, in keeping with my newfound status as a weekend country-dweller, Ros persuaded me that I would really enjoy the Suffolk Show, a two-day extravaganza of farming equipment, livestock and various county pursuits.

And so, despite an unpromising weather forecast, we set off for Needham Market station to catch the train to Ipswich. There is, I'm pleased to say, a bus laid on to transport pedestrians to the Showgrounds in Trinity Park, and we were able to make good time before purchasing our entrance tickets.

Having got in, I was somewhat staggered by the sheer scale of the event. There are hundreds of different judging classes for rabbits, pigs, cows, sheep and all manner of farm animals, and we were soon checking out some prize sheep. Some of the breeds are much bigger than I might have expected, and quite aggressive too - hardly the passive creatures that you see on television!

There are plenty of lifestyle exhibits too, with a food and drink tent sponsored by Adnams, the Southwold brewery, some rather chi-chi furniture and enough 'clothing for country folk' to clothe most of East Anglia for the next decade. We slipped in to get a snack and sampled our way through the exhibition. It may not be good for the waistline but my stomach certainly appreciated it.

There are even competitions for blacksmiths and teams could be found shoeing horses against the clock. The horses used are big, and quite capable of giving an errant farrier a hefty and very painful kick, yet for the most part they stand patiently whilst the horseshoes are fitted. Of course, the county is famous for its Suffolk Punch, a large, attractive and tough work horse whose decline in numbers has been the driver for a campaign to save the breed.

Dotted amongst the exhibits are bars, rides for the children (and those who still like to behave that way!), trade stands, cookery demonstrations and various entertainments for young and old alike. You can even spend a restful few minutes listening to Winston the Singing Farmer (no, I'm not kidding...).

So, for those of you who have always wondered what a County Show might be like, Ipswich isn't too far away, and you could do it as a day trip. For more information, try http://www.suffolkshow.co.uk/...

Suffolk Reviews: the Bungay Spring Garden Fair

Bungay is a small, but perfectly formed, town almost surrounded by a curve of the River Waveney on the Suffolk/Norfolk border and is well-known in the surrounding area for its street fairs. Mid-May sees the Garden Street fair, when Earsham Street, in the middle of the town, is closed to traffic and stalls are set up to sell plants and gardening related items.

It isn't just flowers and shrubs though, as you can see from the picture of the hog roast. I'd never seen one of these before, although they are pretty traditional in Suffolk. The hog is spit roasted for hours so that the meat falls off the carcass easily, and is served in a bun with stuffing and some apple sauce (the latter isn't mandatory).

There are also opportunities to buy local products, including the fine products of the St Peter's Brewery, based in the nearby village of St Peter South Elmham, ice cream from Norfolk and all manner of other good things.

We were lucky in that the sun shone, although this did mean that traffic was heavy and parking difficult. If you are thinking of going, my advice would be to turn up early, or wait until lunchtime, when the crowds thin a bit. And, if you can't make it to Bungay in May, you might try the Antique Street Fair in June, or the Christmas Street Fair in December...

Deep in the heart of the family

I'm taking advantage of a rare quiet moment to make this entry. The past few days have been a blur of parties, with members of my family appearing and disappearing in a flurry of hugs and kind words.

Having recovered from my hangover, I was functional by the time of the wedding, where I was honoured by a request from the groom (Sean, my second cousin) to give one of the readings, an excerpt from Genesis concerning the creation of woman as a helpmate for man. I was deeply touched that Sean should think of me on such a big day for him and, despite some nerves (speaking to a Party Conference will never seem as terrifying again), I'm told that I did quite well.

Michelle (the bride, and a wonderful addition to our family) looked lovely and her dress was simply gorgeous - stop me if this is sounding like a Brides magazine write-up, won't you? - ornate but not fussy, in what looked like ivory rather than white. Sean wore a smart suit and the two of them looked incredibly happy and relaxed. Father Reuben, an old school friend of Sean's, officiated and gave a simple, if heartfelt, sermon.

The reception that followed was another fun affair, and I had a good time, talking to family and friends, occasionally visiting the dance floor (look, if I can jump off of a bridge in front of an audience who are staring at me, an occasional sashay onto the dancefloor can't hurt...).

Yesterday, I took our guest (Laurie, a friend of Clint and Kalina) into town to do some shopping. She had been given a couple of stores to look at, and I was able to find both of them (eventually). We rode the bus into town, as I thought that she should have a real Indian experience. The shopping itself went well, and I bought some useful things in the paper goods store, including some pretty but simple thank you cards (I want to make a greater effort towards the old-fashioned courtesies I value so highly) and two lovely books for use as private diaries. We managed to get a train back to Santacruz before hopping into an auto-rickshaw for the short journey to the hotel.

A quick shower and a change of clothes before crossing over to Juhu for another party, hosted by Richie and Vanessa. Richie is my father's cousin, and their children, Dylan and Arlene, have been one of the surprises of this trip. Dyles (as Kim encourages me to call him) stayed at my parent's place on the way home for the wedding - he's studying in Newcastle for a year - and it was nice to catch up with him after so many years. Arlene is the youngest of the cousins and so we take the phrase "she's the baby, you gotta love her" to heart. It was a somewhat more intimate affair, and there was time to talk politics, crack jokes and generally chill out. And that's something else I'll have to try and do more of in 2006...