This year’s AGM was held in Southport 23^rd to 25^th April at the Floral Hall and Theatre complex.

We set off on Friday morning to Southport, via the M6 toll road and arrived in Southport after the three hour drive to find a glorious day. This rather surprised me as I thought it always rained in the North West.

 We booked into our hotel and wandered amongst the splendid Victoriana that is Southport. Meandering down the promenade, which is next to a large freshwater lake and not the sea, I espied a structure not dissimilar to a large beach hut. On closer inspection we discovered that it was a pub, called the Lakeside Inn, which proclaimed itself to be the ‘smallest pub in Britain’.  Of course we had to pop inside for a quick tester, it was , after all,  nearly one o’clock in the afternoon  and I was thirsty.

 The next port of call was the Victoria, an enormous Thwaites pub opposite the conference centre where we had just registered. It was whilst we were sat in the sun on the patio that we caught sight of a very familiar figure wandering past. After a brief sprint I caught up with a certain Mr Merriman, with whom we then shared a few more pints of Thwaites.  Friday night was a bit of a blur , but I do recall a French restaurant,  a pub called the Windmill and seeing Mr & Mrs.Durham. We visited the Members’ Bar, which we thought was a bar with a few beers on. Oh, no, it was a full blown beer fest. Sixty or more beers….blimey!

We were up bright and early Saturday morning. The conference started at 9:30 and we went through the usual meeting business and then came on to the motions for debate.  These ranged from the esoteric to the clear and important. I cannot go into all the motions for obvious reasons of space, but a few were passed that could effect branches on a local level. For instance it was decided that CAMRA beer festivals should have a differential pricing structure. Ie. low gravity beers should be cheaper. The morning session was then followed by workshops. We attended a session entitled ‘ campaigning at a local level’ hosted by Tony Jerome and CAMRA’s new Chief Executive, Mike Benner.  This workshop concentrated on planning a campaign, on the basis that if it’s not properly planned it probably won’t work. This was followed by a 1½ hour lunch break when most members adjourned to the next door beer festival.

 The afternoon session included a talk by Nigel Evans MP the Chairman of the all party beer group in the commons.  This group is the biggest of all the all party groups…..funny that. He proved to be a most entertaining speaker, most of his anecdotes being about beer  rather than politics. The lucky man lives next door to a pub which he says he can get into in five seconds, but he can’t think of anything that would get him out in five seconds!

 This was followed by various award ceremonies. Our own Beer On Tap was awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ in the best newsletter competition, judged by Ted Bruning who encouraged other Branches to read it as it was full of pictures and interesting facts!  The afternoon session finished and the three of us re-adjourned to the members bar, my personal favourites being Hart Brewery Genesis and Wapping Brewery Stout.

 A brief  return to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes and we hit the nightlife of Southport. I remember a Lebanese restaurant and the wonderful Victorian pile that is the Scarisbrick Hotel. This contains a real ale lovers paradise called the Barons Bar and we, by chance, staggered across their beer festival which we discovered was open till 2am…..I must report that we had a thoroughly good time and at £1.70 a pint what do you expect. We behaved nearly well and only bought a couple of frowns from our Chairman (my wife).

 Sunday was another 9:30 start that we just about made after the previous evening’s exercise.  More motions for debate were discussed including CAMRA’S policy towards the mass media advertising of alcohol and other national issues.  Paula Waters then wound up the conference at 12:30 with her closing speech and thanks. We went back to the members bar to sample what was left and to meet many new friends from branches as diverse as Isle of Wight and Highlands and Islands.

 I think the most  memorable things I got from this weekend, apart from hangovers and the many new friends, was the importance of seeing things on a national level. I do think that branches can tend to be parochial and this can sometimes cause problems between local and national interests. 

 In summary a brilliant weekend, not for the faint of heart, next year it’s Glasgow…..Can’t wait.

 Mike Parker