Lots of people have already written about special conference, so I'm not going to rehash everything that's already been said. I do want to thank
po8crg for being such a lovely chauffeur, and buying me breakfast. It was lovely to see so many of the Lib Dem Massive, even if there were a lot of white heterosexual blokes in suits called David
(some of them far sexier than others - my my, doesn't
djm4 scrub up well?). There were loads of people not called David* too, and I lost count of all the hugs and kisses I got from people who I really do consider to be part of my family these days.
Ros chaired with her usual grace and humour. Evan moved a brilliant amendment
(which I signed! :)) complete with Woddy Allen reference, as did
the gravelly-voiced sex pot and Dave Page, the world's most activist activist. But my wildest cheers were reserved for
djm4 and
lizw's amendment on the Digital Economy Act, Daddy Alex's fabulous and witty intervention, and everyone's favourite eMP Lynne Featherstone, who did an absolutely barnstorming speech about working on the Equalities brief. I'm afraid I giggled through Simon Hughes's speech because he sounded more and more like
Davros as he carried on, and the fact that the person next to me
(who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) saying
... and with this coalition, I SHALL HAVE THAT POWER!!!!
in Davrosian tones did not help stifle my giggles.
Anyway, I came away from the conference feeling pretty euphoric, despite being ripped from the bosom of my family by an impending shift at work. We're not in any danger of losing our identity, or
being subsumed by the Tories. We've not lost our radicalism, our integrity, or our sense of humour. We're a vibrant, diverse party with a determination to do good that I have never seen in any other organisation. I think the guys at
the naughtily-named Nick Clegg fan blog said it best:

Whatever the eventual result of this coalition, I'm proud that we've taken the risk to get our policies implemented, I'm proud to be a part of this family, and I'm proud to have voted in favour of the main motion and all of the amendments to it. We're doing the right thing, and it feels good.
* aside from all those mentioned above, shouts going out to El Presidente and Lady Mark; Sian, Emma and Manny; Adrian, Jason, Romer, Crofty and the rest of the stewarding crew; Mummy Helen, Daddies Richard and Alex, and Millennium; Tessa Munt, Lynne Featherstone and Linda Jack; Susan Gasczack (one day I shall learn to spell your name) Jon Ball, Ian and the rest of the FCC and FE gangs; Ali G, Dazmondo from Bracknell Blog, Mark Reckons, Lloyd Harris, Andy Strange, James Blanchard and Gareth Epps; and most importantly of all the smallest conference delegate, Steph Ashley's daughter Alex, who is AMAZING and very cool, and I want to introduce her to Holly as soon as possible, because I think they would get on like a maison en flambé.