Just in case anyone is wondering why I haven't been around that much lately - this is why: today I was elected as a Councillor for Hillsborough Ward in Sheffield!The experience itself was rather hectic. The count was easy enough - it was obvious after the first two boxes that we had won substantial majority. News started filtering through from our other target wards that things were going well. Then came the exciting bit!

The candidates were all called up onto the podium - which is quite an intoxicating experience as you are looking down on a sea of people many of whom are cheering for you!

The votes for each candidate were read out and I was declared elected - I was then whisked off to the side to be sworn in by the Council's chief executive (which involves reading some lines from a book and then signing it).

I then had my photo taken for the Council website in front of the infamous tie-dye blue background - I think they take them just after you've won to make sure you'll actually be smiling!

Following that I was collared by photographers from the Star and Yorkshire Post who wanted me to repeat my victory pose - presumably so they could get a better photo of it for the next editions. I've told my mum to go out and buy the papers tomorrow... ;-)

Then I was taken to see some student journalists who pointed a TV camera at me and did a short interview - hopefully not for consumption by too large an audience!

Then it was off up to the Town Hall for a big photo shoot with Nick Clegg on the front steps - with lots of curious shoppers milling about wondering what on earth we were doing!

Have just been listening to Nick Robinson on Radio 4's Today Programme giving an analysis of what the leaders of the various parties need to do to avoid embarrassment in next week's elections.

Well, it amused me, anyway.

I refer of course to the bit in bold:
Is it just me, or does that ring rather true about Ken?

Note for the slow of wit: Do not try to take the Tube to New York. You'll get lost at Ealing Broadway, and no-one wants that.

For those who like their freedom of speech served uncensored, Wikileaks is alive and well and living in Stockholm despite being stripped of its URL by freedom-hating lawyers.

So I'm doing my bit to stymie the corporate censors by posting a nice link for Google to find. Here it is again: Wikileaks. It's currently in second place, so clearly this works...

I highly recommend that you infuriate the litigants by reading something on there you otherwise wouldn't have read...

Hat tip: Guido

I'm getting more than a little concerned with the rise to prominence of Baptist preacher turned gay-bashin' gun totin' US Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee. According to a recent poll he has taken the national lead among Republicans for the first time, which occasions me to ask this question: haven't any of our American cousins noticed that he is in fact Bob Roberts?

The other interesting fact about Huckabee, other than his chilling similarity to said fictional guitar-playing evil politician, is that he shares a birthplace and a profession with none other than Bill Clinton. Both were born in Hope, Arkansas and served as Governor of that state.

Clinton's TV ads portraying him as "the man from Hope" famously propelled him into the national limelight. This blogger will be hoping that history doesn't repeat itself.

I will be travelling down to London to join Team Clegg tomorrow so I will be unable to react to the news when our new leader is unveiled. Well, obviously I will react - but being sadly disconnected it will not be on this blog. You'll all have to wait a few hours at least!

I'm feeling nervous, but quietly confident. Just a few short hours to go!

Congratulations in advance to whoever is declared the winner tomorrow, and more importantly - GOOD LUCK! May the spirit of liberty guide him well, may he find his cup runneth over with Riso ink, and may he smite our enemies in closely-fought by-elections for years to come.

I don't know why, but I found this utterly fascinating: A Church Near You is a website where you can not only find out where the Anglican churches are near you, but browse their Parish boundaries in a Google Maps window.

I'm unlikely to use it for the purpose for which it was intended, but it was quite addictive finding out which parts of Sheffield are in the catchments for what churches!

You can also look up contact numbers for each church, times of communion, even details of coffee mornings that are happening! It's a superb website that would be worthy even of the mighty MySociety.

Now all we need is a website that lets you keep track of your local vicar and e-mail them questions. But what to call it? Well, TheyPrayForYou springs to mind...