I’ve reluctantly and superficially indulged them in the past, but this “meme” from Iain Dale via Tom Harris MP really is the limit.

Tom has “tagged” me to write a post about “can this really be happening to me?” moments from my past, and then to charge five more unsuspecting bloggers to do the same. It’s essentially an online chain letter.

Iain cites his political debut at age 20, meeting the Queen and visiting the White House (yawn) while Tom relates why he joined his party at about age 27 and the occasions when he met the Queen and Bill Clinton (double yawn).

That they’re so similar is, I suspect, no accident. It’s an insipid assignment of dubious motive, and one whose platitudinous properties will no doubt become more apparent as it traverses the political blogosphere. Moreover, it bears no relation to this blog’s intended focus. So call me a spoilsport if you must, but I’m opting out of both this particular meme and probably the genre as a whole.