Last night I led a torch lit procession in Lidlington of 300 people protesting against the proposed Eco towns. I was also meant to be speaking at a dinner later in the evening, and led the procession dressed slightly different to everyone else - torches and pearls, the must have accessories.

The kids absolutely loved it. Marching in the dark and shouting into loudhailers, beats going to bed and homework any day!

O and H - the developers behind the proposal - absolutely hated it. They were the cowboys. You can't say you have support, when the village hall in which you are presenting your proposal is empty. We were the Indians, we surrounded them on the outside and chanted a variety of chants which began as 'no eco town' and the kids very rapidly altered to 'stick your Eco town Gordon Brown'.

Party stalwarts - local Councillor Mike Gibson and his wife Carol - very kindly drove me to the dinner at the Swan Hotel in Bedford, where Greg Hands MP was speaking and I gave the vote of thanks.

Greg is one of the nicest men in Parliament and gave a great after dinner speech. He then got his train back to London and the tube home. His wife would have been long in bed and in order to speak to us he missed another night of seeing his children, the fourth in a row. And yet he didn't think twice when asked to speak. As I said, one of the nicest men in Parliament.