My alarm rings at 7.30am and I wonder whether it is possible to do conference and blog at the same time. Oh well, here goes. Yesterday, I arrived at Symphony Hall in the ICC at 3pm for a meeting of constituency Chairmen from all over the country. The topic of discussion is a set of proposals to organise the voluntary wing of the party in a way that mirrors the Big Society concept that the Conservative Party campaigned on and is championing in government. Under these plans, not only will associations be expected to run candidate selection and social action events locally, but even elements of policy work are to be delegated away from the centre of the party. It didn't suit everyone in the hall but it sounds good to me and in anticipation of these proposals we appointed our first social action officer at the most recent meeting of our executive committee in Ladywood.

In 2008, I attended the last Conservative conference that took place in Birmingham and naturally one would expect the scale of the event now that we are a party of government to be much larger. I also expect more media, more lobbyist types, more hangers-on and of course, more protestors. I am told that if you are running a conference event this year finding sponsorship has been relatively straightforward.

The inside of the Hyatt and ICC are teeming with stands and shops - there's even a mini Marks & Spencers. To cope with the overflow several extra marquees have been erected in Centenary Square. Couple that with the Library construction site and the area around conference feels like a much tighter space than last time. Anti-government protestors are upset that their authorised march route doesn't pass closer to the ICC, but I don't see the problem. Not wishing to tempt fate, but when they arrive at the top of Gas Street they're just a stone's throw away.

At 5pm I move on to a meet-up with local non-political bloggers in Brindley Place with Sayeeda Warsi and Andrew Mitchell in attendance. The assembled online heroes aren't an easy crowd but these two senior politicians are well received. At some point, I might find the time to tell you about the rest of the evening...