It's been a while since the Democratic Alliance was able to meet in person. For this political addict, it was an opportunity to see how the one big party outside the Congress Movement is doing. For its delegates, it was about the DA hitting the big time. On time.
Gallagher Estate. The site of so many political conferences and conflicts.
There was the ANC Policy Conference in 2007, where the only people who mattered were the man who now writes letters to Paul Mashatile and the man who now fights criminal charges by pressing charges against a journalist.
There was that time when Julius Malema won an ANC Youth League conference, ran into a VIP room, kissed a baby, and ran out again to make a speech. And then threatened to change the entire ANC.
But this time, the tsunami was of a different colour - it was blue, and it was punctual in nature.
When I arrived at lunchtime on Saturday, 1 April, for an on-air shift, all the journalists made the same point: "They're running on time, Stephen, even ahead of schedule."
It was said again and again. And, while it may sound silly, it's important.
So much of our political culture comes from parties that stem from what is often called the Congress Movement. There's the ANC itself, the SACP, the EFF, the IFP, Cope and the UDM. They all have their roots in this movement....
