As Training Administrator, my day is spent in a whirl of training prospectuses, trainees needing directions to the training rooms, requests for drinking water and mobile hearing loops, signing-in sheets and evaluation forms.

In the conference hall, however, there's an equally packed day, kicked off by the Mayor of Harrogate and the local MP Phil Willis. The motion by Norman Lamb MP on securing the future of the Royal Mail and the Post Office, which was sent back for further work by conference last autumn, has been worked on, improved and brought back - and this time it's agreed.

The conference also discusses the party's campaign to elect more ethnic minority Liberal Democrat MPs; the threat to health services from NHS Trust deficits; regulation of CCTV schemes; freedom of speech; education for 14-19 year olds; and a series of constitutional amendments and other internal business.

I'm busy in the training suite until late; afterwards, David and I sit in the bar at the Crown with a whisky and ginger each and work on David's speech to introduce our emergency motion tomorrow, while we wait for Robert and Chris to come out of the meeting they're in. At 8:00pm we all four make our way up Cheltenham Crescent, and pile into Casa Romana for an Italian meal with friends Bob and Jenny from Waltham Forest - a convivial way to end the day.