The first 24 hours of the Labour conference are a haze. Oh that鈥檚 Bridget Phillipson, oh and Mary Bousted. Here鈥檚 Natalie Perera. And that woman presents something on TV. Oooo there鈥檚 Andrew Marr, you definitely know who he is. There鈥檚 Stephen Morgan and, wow, there鈥檚 Ed Dorrell, quite a big name on edu-twitter I think. Wait. You work with Ed Dorrell. You see him every day 鈥� get it together, Reza. Right, time for some fringes. What are fringes? Why are they called fringes? Should I have done my hair differently to attend? Obviously not, Reza. Focus on the things that matter. You鈥檙e in. Some interesting discussions to be fair. You鈥檝e heard Bridget Phillipson, Stephen Morgan and Toby Perkins now 鈥� all very assured, very calm. It鈥檚 almost like they鈥檙e already in post, behaving more ministerially than some of their opposite numbers, if we鈥檙e honest. Some colleagues have managed to get some interesting people to talk to you at the Pullman Bar. You don鈥檛 know who they are, though. Can鈥檛 say anything too controversial then; they could take it the wrong way. Just nod. You don鈥檛 want to end up like the poor soul who just looked Sarah Jones, MP square in the eye and told her he was struggling to remember who Croydon鈥檚 MP is. 48 hours have passed. This isn鈥檛 so bad. Neck hurts a little from all the nodding, but you got to watch Gary Neville analyse politics and sound more competent than most MPs, and that doesn鈥檛 happen every day. You鈥檙e in the exhibition centre, stands everywhere. There鈥檚 the Children鈥檚 Society, oh and the Youth Zone right at the back. Who put the End the Occupation of Guantanamo Bay stand next to the Labour Friends of the Armed Forces one? You chuckle. Hold on a minute that鈥檚鈥� Politics Live. Is it actually LIVE right now? Go and investigate. OMG this is a dream come true. 鈥淏en, you鈥檙e on next yeah?鈥� 鈥淢y name鈥檚 not Ben, I鈥檓 afraid.鈥� 鈥淥h thanks for telling us, we鈥檝e made that mistake before at the BBC!鈥�.That was your big chance, you plonker! Why did you have to be so honest? Now you鈥檒l just have to walk behind the camera so your partner鈥檚 mum can see you on TV. It鈥檒l have to do. People do seem to be really buzzing Walking towards the conference hall now, picking up a very odd conversation just ahead of you. Get a little closer. 鈥淗i, Emily. Huge, huge fan, of course. I鈥檝e got a stand over here on assisted dying that I鈥檇 love you to look at. We鈥檝e got Swiss chocolates, actually.鈥� 鈥淪wiss chocolates? Bit tacky,鈥� Ms Thornberry replies. You think you might agree with her. People are starting to ask YOU questions now. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great conference, isn鈥檛 it? Best one in years!鈥� Nod sagely. They don鈥檛 have to know you have no idea. People do seem to be really buzzing, though. It鈥檚 Wednesday now. Everyone else has gone home or is dying from a hangover. You did your hangover on Day 2, so you鈥檙e ready for this. It鈥檚 all been leading up to this moment. Bridget Phillipson is about to take to the stage. 鈥榃hy we can鈥檛 have skills AND knowledge? A strong curriculum AND extra curriculars?鈥� And there it is, early doors: a commitment to taxing private schools. The hall erupts. Another big cheer for modern career advice and work experience. So far, so good. Very passionate. The people around you are loving it. Breakfast clubs 鈥� the first really big commitment that was trailed. Reforming the apprenticeship levy 鈥� the second. You look down at a message that鈥檚 come in on your phone. You look back up. She鈥檚 stopped. Is that it? Short and sweet, you suppose. Leaving us wanting more. Five hours later, you slump on your sofa. Beat, but optimistic. Not just because you didn鈥檛 make a complete hash of anything (not that you鈥檙e aware, anyway), but because this Labour conference really did give you some hope and leave you wanting to hear more from a truly impressive shadow Labour team.