Have to miss the launch of Britain after Blair as am judging the Guardian Public Service Awards. Started three years ago – these are awards for a whole range of public services. I was sent the judging long list some weeks ago and given criteria. Today it is the judging lunch where the scores we sent in from our first round of judging are haggled over between those on my panel.

We meet for drinks in the bar before moving onto the restaurant. I’m told it is THE bar, the ‘in’ bar and that if I want to hobnob with celebs like Posh – this is where to come. Hmmmmm. It’s in the Metropolitan Hotel in Old Park Lane which meant I staggered around a variety of badly signed exits at Hyde Park Corner for a while before finding he right one. Such a hostile traffic junction for human beings.

Anyway – to the point. At the lunch, each table comprised the six or so judges, a scribe and someone from the Guardian to guide us through the judging. As I am forbidden to reveal anything about the judging – I will simply relate the tittle tattle.

I was sitting next to Michael White of the Guardian on one side and Charlotte (the scribe – actually event manager from the Guardian) on the other. Michael gave me a piece of advice just after I was elected and met him at some do or other – that the less he wrote about me the better I was doing. What I took that to mean was that my priority was local activity and local papers. We had all done our judging seriously – and you could tell – as each member of the panel talked pretty fluently about what they did or did not think. Michael too – which I thought was impressive. It is a serious business.

Judging and lunch finished. Really interesting process – and very enjoyable.