Floored fund raising

Originally posted @ 11:53 pm, Sat 5th Jul 2008

East Midlands Regional Labour Party conference today at the University of Nottingham. Harriet Harman kicking the conference off. And some good discussions.

At the evening's social, Margaret Beckett demonstrates a conviction and a passion for the progress we've made that leads to a standing ovation.

And so to the fundraising. This time, Derby South Chair Kevin introduces a game new to many of us. Placing a bottle of wine on the wooden floor of the hall, he invites people to slide a one pound coin across the floor, the nearest remaining and winning the bottle of wine, the rest collected for campaigning.

It's a simple party game and people queue to have a go. One member gets within 6 inches, but no-one's deterred. One gives it some real welly and it's smack on target, clinking hard against the bottle but rebounding too far away. But there's something about the clink that's not right and some members are pointing out a problem. Kevin lifts the bottle to check. The base is left behind and the wine floods out across the floor.