Where's Warsi?

I've a ticket to hear Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Chair of the Conservative Party, speak at Leicester University this evening. She's giving the Annual Sternberg Lecture, under the title, "My Faith". It's had considerable coverage in the media (including front page of today's Telegraph) and attracted a great deal of attention, most of it positive and supportive. I've been looking forward to this, doing a fair bit of advance reading - can't remember the last time I bought a copy of The Daily Telegraph (if, indeed, I ever have).

Her central thesis - that it's become normal, even socially acceptable, to express prejudice against Muslims in polite company in modern Britain - is a hot topic today on Twitter, with links being posted to news and comment websites all over the world.

Baroness Warsi is appearing in the Rattray Lecture Theatre, 1730-1830. Well, that's what it says on the ticket, on the poster and on the promotional material I received by email. But when I get there, the lecture theatre is locked, with not a soul in sight. No notices up to say that the talk's been moved or anything. I go back out on to the campus, try the Percy Gee Building, Ken Edwards too, but no luck. Then I see an outside broadcast truck from ITV1, their team setting up outside the Fielding Johnson Building. I ask them if that's where Baroness Warsi's speaking. They tell me yes, but there's no sign to confirm that, inside or outside the building. I didn't even know there was a room inside Fielding Johnson that would accomodate a lecture - unless it's turned out to be a smaller occasion than was expected. There had been some protests threatened to greet our visitor today, but there's no evidence of them either. Maybe the last-minute moving of the venue and the lack of signage was part of a plan for putting them off the scent. Certainly worked for me. By this time, anyway, it's going on 1745 so I decide to cut my losses and go home - it's been a long day and I've not even had my tea yet.

Although I missed out on hearing the lecture in person, I have been able to read the full text of Baroness Warsi's talk, as well as some commentary by someone who was actually there (though he doesn't say which building it was held in). Here's a little more, from the Political Correspondent of the Leicester Mercury, who interviewed her earlier in the day - and the Leicester Mercury's printed article about the Baroness's talk, including a number of readers' comments.

If you'd like to check out a few more tales of things I failed to do, find, see or show up for, you're welcome to try these, faithful reader:
http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.com/2011/01/of-gods-and-men.html

http://equalitydiversityofficer.blogspot.com/2010/07/workshop-oh-i-thought-you-said.html