UIMLA AGA Day2

The moat.

A late night doesn't do justice to what actually went past even counting as an early morning - not really a surprise to know an international gathering of mountaineers would involve lots of drinking games, tales of daring do and laughter.
We learnt Polish beer is awful, Dutch apple spirit is far stronger than it tastes and everyone will choose a single malt given a choice. Except the Swiss who will choose whatever is Swiss.

Today was another day of learning the nuances of Qualified Majority Voting, pointing out procedures exist for reasons and starting to show that we have something to offer. Historically, and still even despite Brexit, many look to the UK to lead on matters of equity and accountability, and I hope we made it clear that we intend to continue to try our best to do just that.
On a personal level I've found these two days very hard - I'm used to meetings being productive with quantifiable outcomes - here in Utrecht I felt that much more could and should have been done - but tonight round the fire my colleagues have told me that this has been a 'breakthrough' meeting and the best for many years. Clearly there is much to do - but hopefully we've made a start.