I lost my political party conference virginity on Tuesday. I have been watching them from afar for more than 40 years without ever being at one in person, breathing the same air as these people.
In not quite the same way, I had watched an awful lot of football on television before my grandad took me to my first match at the venerable age of seven. Oh my word, the greenness of the pitch under the lights; the sight, sound and smell of the crowd. I was transfixed before a ball had been kicked. There is no time like the first time.
