Thursday 1st May

My mail box is as full as ever, even 'though Geoff has now picked-up Newham's work. I spent this morning in 'phone calls and ploughing through the backlog, but still haven't cleared it.

A Socitm London Branch meeting was help in Committee Room 4 at the House of Lords, in the afternoon. I arrived at the same time as two other members, at Black Rod's Garden Entrance to the Palace of Westminster, as directed in the meeting joining instruction, and a Policeman was in the process of redirecting us to St. Stephen's Gate, when a chap turned-up and said it was OK, he'd show us the way. He introduced himself as (Lord) Anthony St. John (of Bletso) – our host, so when, later I was asked why I had a different visitor badge to most of the members (who entered via St. Stephen's Gate) I explained that Lord St. John had met me personally!

The meeting, sponsored by 2e2 , covered the eGov Register , Havering and Barking & Dagenham's shared Business Rates service, Government developments in Security and Information Assurance and what 2e2 described as the "Generation Y" – New Ways of Working with Web 2.0 technologies. Afterwards we were enjoying drinks on the House of Lords Terrace, when I thought I ought to 'phone home to warn Chris that I'd be a bit late. She didn't answer, so a left a message and she called back within a few minutes to "remind me" that we had promised to take my Mum and little sister out for a meal to celebrate her birthday – so I made a hasty exit.