Anyone listening to the news headlines en route to the opening day of the Welsh Conservative conference knew that whatever Boris Johnson said on the stage wasn't going to be what made the headlines.
As I wound my way through the picturesque roads of Powys, the news was full of exactly what the Prime Minister didn't want to talk about. What was leading the news was, obviously, partygate, and the conclusion of the Met Police inquiry and looking ahead to the Sue Gray report.
His deputy Dominic Raab had a car-crash interview on Radio 4 speaking about the policy to send migrants to Rwanda. There was the PM's friend and the government's domestic violence advisor hinting strongly that the PM had blocked street harassment being made a crime.
