You lived in Stevenage?

Blimey, that's an impressive bit of deduction. At the time, no, we lived in Ware, but we did live in Stevenage for a couple of years later on.

I lived in Hitchin from May 2001 to July 2003.

I think I'm right in saying that Shirley Williams lost her seat in Stevenage in 1979. She got in somewhere else in a by-election as an SNPer and then lost that seat in the 1983 election. She's the only person to have performed the feat of losing their seat in two general elections running. Haha.

> She got in somewhere else in a by-election as an SNPer

Quite an achievement, considering that Scottish Nationalism just isn't that big a cause in Hertfordshire.

Hitchin's nice.

Bugger. That should have been the SDP - as well you know ;-). She got in again in Crosby in Merseyside apparently (http://www.answers.com/topic/shirley-williams)


Sorry, I've waylaid your thread.

No apologies necessary. Talk any old bollocks you like on her, my friend.

Shirley Williams wanted to be an opera singer, but couldn't because she is a tenor. Opera's loss was politics' something.

On here, that is. Don't talk bollocks on her without her permission.

Shirley Williams more than any other single person, was responsible for the destruction of the British state education system.

You should not speak lightly of her. She deserves the most carefully-considered contempt and abuse, nothing more or less.

Already having heard oodles of contempt and abuse spat her way regularly for many, many years, I feel I can give it a rest for a while. Anyway, she was nice to me when we met. She has grey hair and sensible shoes. She was mentioned in a silly Mastermind-spoof comedy sketch by someone-or-other: "Her heart is in the right place but her ...?" "Charlie's Aunt." La, see how lightly I speak of her!

Anyway, that does it. No party politics on here till after the election, if you please. It's all so pompously, smugly dull I could drown myself in vomit and slugs.

I haven't been to Hitchin. I must go. Anything I must do when I'm there?

You must the feed the ducks. And the squirrels. And look at that statue. And go to that lovely bakery. And dream of the stars. And then, of course, blog about it all. Visiting Hitchin without blogging is like visiting Paris without treading in shit.

Which lovely bakery? Unless, of course, there's a really obvious giant bakery on the high street, with an enormous sign saying "Squander Two's Tip-Top Lovely Bakery".

On reflection, you might be better ignoring me. I went to Hitchin for a few hours about twenty years ago. I remember that it was sunny, but that may not be a feature of Hitchin itself per se.

I'm sure Mark has lots of good tourist advice, though.

In Japan, Tony Blair's called an erection.

(sorry to derail the pastry fest with a return to vomit & slugs, but I've been planning this one for a couple of months now. feels good to get it off my chest.)

Hitchin isn't really that great. I've been there loads of times, as a family friend lives there, and there's bugger all to do. It's a mildly quaint English village, with no remarkable features other than its mildly incestuous and stagnant atmosphere.

No offence intended, Mark. Did you know the Wilson family? Think they lived on High St...