Open House... with BILL JACOBS

Her speech backing the government's decision to take military action to depose Saddam Hussein might have been praised by her MP and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, but that seemed to matter not a jot.

Her week started on the Sunday when she went to the Amnesty International stand and ran into the Prime Minister's wife who insisted on being pictured with her.

Coun McFall said: "I've always admired for not just being Mrs Blair, the Prime Minister's wife, but also Cherie Booth the successful barrister. Then to cap it all she said she'd signed the picture.''

Then on Wednesday night, as Mr Blair approached the podium to make his speech to the North-West Night party at the conference, he walked up to her and said: "I heard you speak in the Iraq debate. It was an excellent speech.'' And then he insisted on being protographed with her as well!

BLACKBURN'S 'conference virgin' - as Labour calls first-time delegates - Patricia McFall achieved seventh heaven, not just by speaking in the Iraq debate but by being photographed with both Tony and Cherie Blair.

Her speech backing the government's decision to take military action to depose Saddam Hussein might have been praised by her MP and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, but that seemed to matter not a jot.

Her week started on the Sunday when she went to the Amnesty International stand and ran into the Prime Minister's wife who insisted on being pictured with her.

Coun McFall said: "I've always admired for not just being Mrs Blair, the Prime Minister's wife, but also Cherie Booth the successful barrister. Then to cap it all she said she'd signed the picture.''

Then on Wednesday night, as Mr Blair approached the podium to make his speech to the North-West Night party at the conference, he walked up to her and said: "I heard you speak in the Iraq debate. It was an excellent speech.'' And then he insisted on being photographed with her as well!