GB on the Road Tour - Saturday 17th April 2010

Got home very late at night on the morning of the Saturday after being out with friends, and saw the answer phone red light flashing, the message was from Oliver at the Labour Party inviting me to attend the visit by the Prime Minister on Saturday at 1:00pm for a 2:00pm start and the event would last for an hour and to ring him back if I was interested and he would give me the location.
I got up at 8:00am and rang him back but there was only a voice mail so left a message to say yes I would be very much interested and gave him my mobile number.
I went to the Centre MK to get some photographs developed and the mobile rang it was Oliver had to go outside as the signal was very weak, he gave me the location and asked me my date of birth email address and said I must bring a photo ID with me.
I got to the Open University early the press had arrived and party workers were milling about along with serveral Police Officers.
Out on the grassed area outside the Berrill Theatre were some party members that I knew and had a chat in lovely sunny and hot weather.
A nice lady party worker with a Americian accent came up to me and we chatted she said last night was the first since the start of the General Election she had slept in her own bed it would appear that she runs her own business and was asked by the party to come back and work with them through out the campaign, she knew Andrew Pakes and said her husband knew him when he was President of the NUS, security moved us on to another patch of grass just as the Prime Ministeral Jag and two Range Rovers appeared and swooshed passed us, I got my camera out and with out thinking I steped off the kerb and was told to step back I said I had better not upset security, I was distracted so never caught the PM on camera.
We were then allowed in and I talked to a few party members I knew before we could register.
Former MP Brian White was there Paul Stanyer Victoria Whalley Jan Lloyd Janet Irons Hillary Saunders Kevin and Pam Wilson Martin Petchey Dr Phyllis Starkey Andrew Pakes and Pete Marland.
When I registed and gave my name Helen Naylor Development Officer at the Labour Party introduced herself as she had emailed me with the details of todays event and said it was nice to meet me she also asked for my photo Id so I produced my driving license!
Just as I was going to go in to the Theatre I noticed Gordon Brown walking down the stairs and so missed a good opportunity to take a better photograph of him.
I sat well to the rear of the theatre behind reserved seats for party workers and the media.
Over the stage was a screen with GB on the Road on it.
Gordon Brown was introduced by a newscaster I regonised but could not remember his name and looked very relaxed cracked a few funny gags and walked up and down the stage as he spoke, he was launching the Forces Manifesto and as he was going through various conflicts through out the world there were slides on the big screen, all was going well until the last slide did not work when he spoke about the religions common themes, so he read them on the auto cue.
There then followed a Question and Answer session and very high tech questions were displayed on the screen from Twitter followers.
David Milliband MP Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Bob Ainsworth MP Defence Secretary arrived late as they got stuck in traffic on the M1, other ministers in attendance were Douglas Alexander MP Secretary of State for International Development and Glenys Kinnock Minister in the House of Lords for Africa.
The whole session lasted for an hour and a half, the Prime Minister left the stage and shook a few hands in the audience.
One party member was upset that there was someone behind her tapping away on a laptop I tried to explain that he probably had a deadline on his article to send to his editor and that these events are not for us party members but the media the poor chap like me looked very embarrassed as he walked passed, another member wanted to ask the PM questions on domestic issues but again I had to explain that todays election grid was all about international affairs and not just a party event.
Rob Middleton in the lobby said to me that I looked very smart as he normally sees me in jeans I said I felt I had to make an effort Pete told me that they both went to another location on what looked like an educational campus and had to ring Kevin to say nobody had appeared to have turned up and was told they were not in the right place.
I also saw Veronica Belcher who informed me that she was Glenys Kinnock's driver for the event, when Glenys came through the lobby door a party member came up to her with a laminated photograph of a tearful Margeret Thatcher leaving Downing Street in her Jaguar and said this is for you and lest we forget she advised she could put it on her fridge door Glenys face did grimace when Mrs Thatcher was mentioned must of brought back bad memories of Neil Kinnock's battles with her and the Labour Party to get it electable.
Pete Marland asked if I could take Pauline Wallis home to Conniburrow which I did we had a nice chat as we left the OU in glourious sunshine.