Another train journey home after a productive couple of days in London. Met with some colleagues yesterday - building bridges to the rest of my new team. Today was a reflection day for the talent management programme I'm involved in, so plenty of thinking about what has gone well the last six months, and what the plan is for the next six. Good to be able to take some time out of the day job and reflect on where I'm up to. I'm going to miss being able to do that when the programme finishes.

I think Larry Elliot has got this spot on. I particularly agree that this is a good election to lose.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gmg/op/sjhooUMikweauj41C1_S3Xg/view.m?id=400919&tid=120787&cat=Economics

But the tragedy for the left has to be that when the great crisis came it was in government and took the blame, instead of outside with a winning manifesto promising to end the capitalist nightmare.

After another pause in blog entries... we were away for a week at Easter. A cottage in Shropshire. Very pleasant indeed, with lots of good walking. Highlight was the "Stiperstones". 5 miles up a hill (500 metres) in glorious sunshine. Marvellous. Welshpool and Llanfair railway ran it close though - a really delightful little line running up into the hills.

Following the election campaign quite closely, mostly on Twitter via @GdnPolitics. I have my Labour poster up (first time in years) but am concerned that the Lib Dem surge will open the way for the Conservatives to win more seats than the pundits seem to think they will.

Trying to think of a way to tell my sister that I don't want the joint 40th birthday party she seems to be planning. Failing.

Last weekend was another fantastic walk - probably my favourite one that's within travelling distance of home - Penycloddiau in the Clywdian range. Wonderful ridge line walking with a view of (snow capped) Snowdon.

More updates to follow, but I'm now using Twitter more than I was, so follow @4harrisons if you want to know where I'm up to.

This just made me laugh out loud: http://twitpic.com/1h5bzj

I think this poster is a mistake http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2010/apr/20/1. All it says to me is that the Conservative party hasn't changed at all - this is a poster that could have been used by Thatcher. It seems to me that it just reinforces Clegg's message about tired old politics.

Brief note. Been on leave, therefore no blog entries for a while (I don't like to blog while I'm away from home). Gobsmacked by the influence of the first TV debate on the general election, and proud possessor of a Guardian 'posh boy' t-shirt (http://www.guardian.co.uk/poshboy).