If I am honest I wasn’t the happiest bunny in the world knowing that my whole years work rested on a positive vote at NUS Conference but before that I had to maneuver it through NUSSL Convention first as well as a whole host of other duties as Company Chair.

I arrived on the Saturday with Matt Cooke so we could go through the presentation we were going to be giving on the Sunday regarding NUS extra and I am happy to say that the presentation went really well. We fielded many questions but the overall feedback was positive. Believe it or not throughout Convention I made the conscious decision not to drink much so I would be on the ball all week (except of course for the annual dinner on the last night) but most nights I was busy drafting something or practising speeches or helping others with their’s so I didn’t get to John Moores that night. Instead I was doing the above to all hours ensuring that everyone was confident for the Commissions the next day. It was fantastic to see lots of NUSSL staff and volunteers up all night working and helping out – it was a real ‘all hand on deck’ approach.

The days usually started with a Board meeting (we had one everyday to keep on top of everything and keep everyone in the loop on all issues) and Monday was no different but then we moved into the Commissions which is a chance for the shareholders to hear what we have been up to and what we plan to do and ask questions thereon. All the presenters were outstanding and knew their brief’s inside out giving a really professional image of the company and no doubt adding to the number of people standing for volunteer elections. We raced through the Commissions in time for lunch which is a lot of business very quickly – I put it down to good Chairing he he! That evening we had an ex-Teesside reunion with Jamie Briers, Paddy Rathbone and Michelle Berry who were great sabbs between 1998 and 2001 and an ex-President from 1986 who is still in the movement and our recently graduated GM Martyn. I really enjoyed the night and was just what I needed to take the pressure off before the AGM the next day

That night I was up all night writing speeches, practising them and working out exactly every which way a motion could go so I wouldn’t get stuck during the AGM. It was also the all important vote on Extra and if didn’t go through NUSSL it had no chance of getting through Conference so I was a tad nervous. We successfully kept the current composition of the Board with a review process built in, defeated the Coca Cola boycott asking us to end all sole – supply deals which would have effectively spelled the end for us as that is the way we get cheap prices. We got the company plan adopted and happily for me NUS Extra passed by a considerable margin with no one opting to take a speech against. I did however know that it wouldn’t be the same in Blackpool. After AGM Part One we had part 2 which is essentially the elections which was great to see so many people standing and making such good speeches. Well done to all who stood. I then did a volunteer intro presentation with Amanda Shilton before the evening activities. They included the Best Bar None Awards so I had to practice them in the late afternoon before the dinner in the evening. The practices didn’t quite go according to plan so we had to hope for a bit of luck for it to be alright on the night. I went upstairs for a bath and while in it writing my closing speech the electricity went out in the whole hotel which didn’t help at all. Thankfully a few hours later all was well and I ate a little bit of my dinner before taking to the stage to present the awards and make speeches. Suprisingly everyone kept quiet throughout which was great and the night went without a hitch. Well done to Leeds Met who won Best Bra None overall and all those who were accredited. After that I got well and truly drunk and went to bed around 7am.

The next morning I overslept slightly and got a lift down to Cheltenham with Kat to an Endsleigh board meeting by which time I was fine and dandy. After it I shot p to Kirkham where I live for the Easter break and concentrate on Church, my family and friends for a bit before stressing out over Extra again.

I really enjoyed the break and stayed up in Kirkham (as its fifteen minutes from Blackpool) until conference. On Monday the 4th I went to see Salford’s delegation to talk about Extra once again and also get some career advice off their GM. I then went to Blackpool for an NEC logistics meeting and a Finance Committee meeting before all hell breaks loose at it does at NUS Conference. This is how it went for me; Slept little, worked lots, stressed more, Extra passed, me happy. It was all a bit of a blur but thought this year’s Conference was the most independent and sensible than any I have ever been too. The quality of debate was excellent and an independent block of 6 full timers was elected for the first time probably ever which is a huge step forward.

I was so happy to see Extra go through again and I have to thank Matt Cooke who has been absolutely pivotal in getting this through. He helped me every step of the way with the working group, printing info sheets off, writing speeches, speaking to officers and I am indebted to him for his help. Few officers will realise just how much he has done this year he has been awesome. I was also happy to see the estimates being rejected through some constitutional loophole of suspending standing orders or something (I’m no constitutional hack I’m afraid) but was disappointed to see no one submitting any changes pre-conference making it hard for us to present anything other than an accurate and honest deficit budget. Post conference it meant I still had a lot of work to do which made me quite happy and I said as much in my quasi-leaving speech. I also got a campaign t-shirt for my election from last year which was brilliant as I’d given all mine out so a big thank you to Sam Inman from Bolton University.

Me and my girlfriend Beth went to my house for the evening before she shot back off to Teesside the next morning and I went to Aintree for a day at the Races courtesy of Scot Co which I really enjoyed despite winning pretty much no money. On Monday it was back down to NUS for a day in the office followed by a Bilateral with NUS-USI on the Tuesday in which we are trying to sort out all the issues surrounding accounts, accommodation, affiliation fees etc and it was a positive meeting. I had Wednesday in the office before shooting up to Macc for the Chairs training and Board meeting with an added game of footy versus the staff before going back down to London for the Dance for Trade Justice Event and march to Downing Street which was a superb event and made the national news.

The next week was office based again on Monday, an NUS Extra working Group meeting on Tuesday in Macclesfield and a meeting with our auditor and finance staff of NUS to talk about the fantastic subject of tax implications for Extra amongst other things. I did a half day on Thursday before cruising on up to Teesside for the Annual Screaming Vikings St Georges Day celebrations which are the highlight of my year. I meet up with all my old mates and basically drink lots. What a sophisticated character I am.

When I got back on the Monday myself and Kat went to see our new National Director for an informal chat which went well before Tuesday in the office and a trip up to UCLAN to talk about what NUS does for them. I had a conference call regarding summer training on the Wednesday but also felt quite ill so went home earlyish (4pm) as I needed to be in the next day for a talk with Morley College and a Strategic Management meeting which both went well and the R+R did me the world of good. Friday was another office day going up to Manchester on Saturday to use my City v Portsmouth tickets that I got from Endsleigh as a leaving present. We won 2-0 so I was happy.

The next week was Get Vote Out. And a small group of us who volunteered went out to do exactly that. We targetted marginal seats in which the student vote could swing the seat in order to show that apathy does no one any good and has no influence whatsoever. There were some who said only a select few were invited which is an absolute joke as all the NEC were it just many were actually off campaigning for Labour officially. It was also suggested that we needed scripts which was a tad patronising as we encouraging people to vote not who to vote for. However, three of the marginals which we targetted were lost by Labour to Lib Dem which was purely coincidental!

I went to Cambridge and Colchester on the Tuesday and to QM to help them in their rally against a College takeover of the bar. I was very impressed by ideas and work that had gone into it and George Galloway even turned out to speak at the rally! I sincerely hope they win their battle as they have been mistreated and ill informed and I hope their efforts are rewarded. On Thursday I was getting the vote out in Leeds before going home to vote myself as my postal vote request was received late. I stayed up most of the night to watch the results like a proper hack and travelled down to London in the afternoon.

That weekend I went to see City v Villa – another victory for the Blues and then to Bucks Ball which was a great event and I’m grateful to the team for the invite.

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