Green Party Conference 2008 In Reading By Martin Deane

We're down in Reading for the Green Party Conference rubbing shoulders with Caroline Lucas, listening to the Venezuelan Ambassador tell us about the 50 million lightbulbs they've changed! ("How many Venezuelans does it take to change 50 million light bulbs?" Chavez!) and the like! Blimey the days are long! I'd forgotten. You turn up at 9.00 for the first workshops on whatever topic then there are full on meetings in the main hall, voting on papers and emergency motions and sometimes guest speakers.

Yesterday it was Martin Bell, former BBC correspondent who got shot in the Balkans (painful!), and then became an MP. He looked well, his talk was on sleaze...and his first sentence said it all: "My four years at Westminster were the most shocking of my life!" Mo has some great pictures of him. Here he is in his trademark white suit with Rupert Read, one of our up and coming Green councillors in Norwich and Natalie Bennett, Communications, who keeps us up to speed (and yes, you do know her name from the Guardian!)

You got to look out for yourself at conference! It's not that it's dog eat dog (they're mostly vegetarians anyway), but to make the most of the breaks, grab your coffees when you can, and pop out for a sandwich and some fresh air, etc. You know those big music festivals where you have 7 things going on at once in different tents, well it's like that.

Green Party Reception Desk, Reading.

Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada with Derek Wall, Green Party Male Spokesperson

It's one of those things which is big enough that you're always missing something and you're not sure whether you should be enjoying yourself that much at whichever event you actually picked! And at Conference we go right through to 8pm. That's 11 hours non-stop trying to keep up with your own timetable and taking chances on missing some really good stuff.

It was all a bit too much yesterday afternoon - partly due to Mo's hospitality; thanks Mo! - and I had to put my feet up for half an hour at the back of one of the big halls. The evenings are no better. I got hijacked and taken off to the pub when I was trying to be a good boy and get an early night. But I met some great people from the London mob and a couple of Eurogreens and soon the craic was ninety.

Hull's Martin Deane with comedian Mark Steel

Former Labour MP Peter Tatchell, now standing for the Green Party in Oxford, with Martin Deane

Right that's the blurb! Now off to Conference again - Saturday is always the biggest day - and we have a party in the evening. Well actually we have a review where everyone does a turn typically taking the p*** out of ourselves! I haven't, er, performed yet so I might rewrite a song or do some Dylan - like the Adelphi night couple of weeks ago. So stay tuned and remember: The Future's Bright. The Future's Green!

Green Party stall

International man Richard Lawson with Nigerian anti-oil law activist

Voting at Conference

Darren johnson, GLA, Green member of Greater London Assembly

Current Affairs - Friday 15th February 2008 Green Party Conference Photo Gallery by Mo.

Caroline Lucas in the Green Party Conference 15th Feb 08

Comments System Prototype Version 1.0 by Mo

Current Affairs - Friday 15th February 2008 Green Party Conference Photo Gallery by Mo.

I was invited by Martin Deane Green Party Hull, to accompany him to the Green Party Conference 2008, it's the end of the first day, so I am publishing a photo diary of the day. Good Luck to the Greens, hopefully they will deliver a new type of honest politics with regard to the environment. I still wish they would focus on exposing the truth about the 7/7 london Bombings and not simply brush the event under the carpet. Anyway heres my pics. Read more...

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