My final day!

Wow, after eight years working at Parliament, today is my final day. I made the decision a few months ago to set up my own company and go self employed from 1 April, and that’s tomorrow!

The farewell drinks are tonight, and lots of friends and colleagues, past and present, heading along on the basis of any excuse for a drink. With the House in urgency, the bar remains open until 1.00 am which is a happy coincidence (thanks to Dr Cullen!).

Yesterday had the slighly more formal Afternoon Tea. A couple of embarrassing stories as are usual for the occassions, including one I really had forgotten about, and really would have rather not emerged. Alcohol has a lot to answer for.

By coincidence Jenny Shipley, Bill English and Don Brash all there for parts of it. Just needed Mr Bolger for the full set, but he was no doubt busy banking somewhere. In my eight years I’ve managed to survive working for four Leaders, six Deputy Leaders and seven Chiefs of Staff.

Winston Peters once commented to me that he didn’t know how I managed to always stay on with all four Leaders and that it wouldn’t have happened if he had become Leader. I’m not sure whether he was implying that if he had become Leader, there wouldn’t have been four Leaders in total, or that he would not have kept me on. I suspect a bit of both 🙂

No-one should expect any updates to my blog on Thursday morning, and even Thursday afternoon will be pretty unlikely I suspect, assuming tonight goes to plan which I think may finish up at the Green Parrot sometime early Thursday morning.

But in theory I will have more time for blogging from tomorrow onwards, plus I will be slightly less constrained in what I can say so onwards and outwards!