It's been another busy couple of months, with quite a lot of travel - but with the travelling comes opportunities to pick up ideas, meet people and learning interesting things.
Some of my favourite annual events have happened in recent weeks - the LGA Member Peer Conference, which is a coming together of all the councillors, cross party, who carry out work in other councils to support and help them. It's been my pleasure to lead this conference for the last few years, and once again I was in the hot seat in Manchester with over 200 councillors enjoying two days of sharing experiences, learning about the latest developments and generally networking. Our keynote speaker was local government minister Jim McMahon, who both talked about his experiences as a peer but also his ambitions for the sector.
One of my other favourite events is the District Council Network's annual conference, which manages to always bring together some great conversations about some of the most topical issues in local government. It's also a brilliant opportunity to catch up with colleagues and friends from across the country - and also the county! Similarly, I saw lots of familiar faces at the West Midlands Conservatives Regional Conference in Birmingham a few weeks later.
With the weather getting warmer, I have been out and about a bit more, including doing a favourite run of ours through Newstead to World of Wedgwood for the Artisan Market, and also watching the traditional Star Bikers Egg Run through the city. I did beam with pride to see my family taking part. We also put a few miles in helping with the county council elections, helping my friend and neighbour Ian Parry in Stone Rural, which adjoins my ward of Meir Park.
