Events this week

Tuesday was the fourth last day on Committee of the Borders, Citizenshp & Immigration Bill. For the few who are interested in the process rather than the outcome, it begins at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/text/90310-0012.htm#090310145000274.

Maybe it doesn't look as though we got what we were asking for, but on Friday we had a very useful meeting with officials on our citizenship amendments, and next week there is a further meeting with the Minister, to see if we can agree on some issues before the first day on Report, March 25.

Wednesday Lindsay and I went to the second annual Orpington Circle dinner at the National Liberal Club. This is a great initiative by Paul Hunt, the Club Chairman, to raise funds to fight by-elections, and already it has given worthwhile support to candidates in six by-elections. Charles Kennedy was the excellent maon speaker; I proposed the health of candidates past and future, and David Chigey proposed the vote of thanks, all under the benign chairmanship of Tom McNally, our leader in the Lords.

There were a lot of old friends there including veterans of the 1962 campaign, and on of them suggested that it would be fun at the next dinner, to have a table with any memorabilia that could be collected of March 14, 1962, 47 years ago today. I'm going to ransack my ancient files to see what can dig up.

Thursday I had an interesting meeting to discuss the situation of Buddhist monasteries in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. It would be good to see what could be done to help them financially, and I'm thinking about that.