Ok... I'm in! I'm blogging from the broadband access in the exhibition hall inside the GMex Centre. I have to admit, I never thought I would ever make it. The registration hall is about three-quarters of a mile from the GMEX Centre. When I got there at about 1pm I was asked to join an enourmous queue of other delegates who had either not received police clearance or simply been victims of Labour Party imefficiency (take your pick). 20 minutes later, the queue had not budged an inch, other than those elderly people in front of me who had given way to fatigue. But... at about 2.30pm, half an hour after Conference opened, I finally got to the front, was told I was one of the 'happy people' (believe me, she cannot begin to know how wrong she was) and nwas given a slip of paper and received some instructions to go down a corridor and take the fourth door on the left..... where I joined another bloody queue!!! This was much shorter, and 10 minutes later I was given my pass (and who should be waiting for his pass, but none other than Luke Akehurst - we didn't speak). Another hike up the road, and starving hungry, bloody thirsty, and a bit too sweaty for comfort... I passed through the security checks and metal detectors, just in time to hear Hazel Blears making sweet noises about encouraging the voluntary sector and engaging with Labour supporters, not just members. She then went on to talk about efficiency and renewal under Labour.
Not now, Hazel, not now.
Must go... I've just seen an old UNISON contact, Wendy Nichols from Yorkshire, up at the mike and giving it plenty about the NHS strike.
