London this and London that - it isn't the centre of the Universe you know

It frustrates me and it frustrates me greatly.

I have my personal gmail.com e-mail account and also my official Ceredigion Council .gov account. When I go through my official e-mails in the latter, I usually find myself faced with countless e-mails inviting me to conferences in London.

It drives me absolutely spare. They're all well intentioned yes, but getting an e-mail inviting me to the Barbican as an example, for a policy conference at an extortionate rate really does leave me wanting to pull my hair out.

Hello?
Check where you're sending the e-mail too - ceredigion.gov.uk. Yes, that's C-E-R-E-D-I-G-I-O-N. Look it up on a map. It's in mid and west Wales you know - not exactly a quick car ride down the M1 to our fair capital city.

Now don't get me wrong, I love London. I try and visit at least once or twice a year and will usually mix a necessary business visit with the opportunity to catch up with friends. I love the Underground in particular I must admit and as a historian, there's plenty for me to feast upon when I'm there (to my amazement, I still have yet to visit the Tower of London).

But let's get a reality check here. Councillors like myself here in the far west or my colleagues I'm sure down in Cornwall or up in northern England aren't just going to suddenly drop everything because we've received yet another invitation to an event...IN LONDON.

No, we're going to get on with the work that we've got here at home thank you very much.

Experimentation Maybe?
Why don't these organisers try something radical - and I mean really radical.

Why don't they consider holding their events, just once in a blue moon even, OUTSIDE OF LONDON? Is it such a ridiculous, revolutionary thought? How about Cardiff? Or Bristol? Or Shrewbury? Or for my south western friends, how about Exeter or the like? What about Sheffield or Leeds or Derby for those with a more northern geographic base?

Because for as long as I receive e-mails from the LGA and the like asking me to yet another event in London, the response will be the same as for those requests that have gone before - the 'delete' button.

End of rant.