Gloves on, gloves off
So it's back to Llandudno and to Venue Cymru. Last time it was Labour and their pre-election Spring conference. When I arrived this morning I'm sure the walls were still echoing with Peter Hain's rallying cry. "If you go to bed with Ieuan Wyn Jones or Mike German ..." (collective groan) "... you could wake up with .. .Nick Bourne". (Horrified grimaces.) And now every day Mr Hain wakes up to find he's sharing a duvet with Mr Jones. Doesn't February feel like a very, very long time ago?
Today it's Plaid, coming together as a party of government for the first time and boy are they keen to persuade us that they know what that means. Yes they will celebrate getting their hands on power but doing something respsonsible with it? Yes, they'll demonstrate they can do that too. The music blaring in the empty conference hall is Barry White's "My first, my last, my everything ..." - not a prediction faithful members will no doubt be hoping.
What will they hear today? No Elin Jones who is tied up with foot and mouth duties. Alun Ffred Jones steps into the wellies. "Here's one she prepared earlier?" Maybe not but someone must be found to meet the young farmers who turn up at 12.30. More later on who was persuaded to take up that particular photo opp.
They will hear too that having foregone the 'luxury of opposition' Plaid will now forge ahead with 'making a difference'. Wasn't their election campaign slogan 'make a difference' all about kicking Labour out of government, not propping them up? No, apparently not. It was about forming a new government and that is what we have. Let's see how that message goes down and how easily understood the other one is: that Plaid will work hard alongside Labour to deliver the One Wales Agreement but when it comes to every other layer of government, they will fiercely protect and promote their own distinct image.
Hand in glove in Cardiff Bay; gloves off elsewhere? I hope no-one's telling them it's going to be easy ...
Ears will be pressed against the closed doors of the internal party meeting later. If we listen closely enough we may hear the party taking its first steps towards getting rid of the women first on the regional lists rule ("one or two people want a change there" ... and one or two people will see it changed over their dead bodies so no wonder that one's behind closed doors) and some pretty big leaps towards sending representatives to the House of Lords again. Any advances on Lord Wigley anyone? Lord Eurfyl of Economic Plans for Wales?
It's kick off.
I'm Betsan Powys, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on .
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Lord Elis Thomas in his rightful place in the Lords and Dafydd Wigley AM for Meirion Dwyfor and Llywydd.