WELL its Sunday morning and its p***ing down. Good old Manchester. Yesterday was fine and sunny for the train journey from Euston, but today of course the heavens have opened.

Any Tories reading this, please take note. The facilities in the GMEX Centre -the former Central Station of the Midland line in the good old days of railway travel - are excellent. Why are you still messing around going to Blackpool? Regenerated cities are excellent conference venues, and I'm assured the natives don't bite, but don't mention Margaret Thatcher!

The comrades are out in force to bury good old Julius. Gordon’s stuck two fingers up at Julius and Patricia by proposing an independent board looks after the NHS, away from the meddling, reforming zeal that is the hallmark of the now discredited Blairites.

Don’t be surprised if Julius is airbrushed out of the Brownite’s New History of the Labour Party.

Met an interesting and delightful couple on Richard Branson’s tilting Pendalino yesterday from Euston – Maureen Tomison and husband David. Both pro-European left wing Tories who admired Ted Heath and Ken Clarke but chucked in the Conservative Party when IDS and the right wingers took over the asylum.

She’s an ex-speech writer for Mrs T and stood for the Tory cause in Norwich in 1974. In 2005, Maureen stood for Labour against Michael Howard in Folkestone and formed an instant dislike for the Lib Dems’ negative campaigning.

Their son's godfather is our very own John Gummer.  She’s a former lobby correspondent for the Bristol Evening Post, The Sun (in the days before Murdoch) and the Daily Sketch.

Good for them.