“Good evening Birmingham!” said Peter Booth, Chairman of the National Conservative Convention.
The rows that weren’t empty said good evening back. “You’re awake, at least!” he smiled.
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss rolled into Birmingham to the usual cheers from members – and 50-odd protesters’ shouts of “Tory scum, out of Brum”.
But despite the smiles, the cheers and the merch stands selling mugs and hustings “tour” T-shirts, not all Tory members were full of beans.
“I’m disillusioned with both of them,” one told me. “I can feel a spoilt ballot coming on.
“I want them to do something to help people with the cost of living.
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“Tax breaks are no good if you’re on £18k, it’s like me giving you 2p. It’s all p*** and bluster if you ask me.”
Gesturing at the protesters, he added: “But I hate the left more.”
Another member said: “We’re bored to death of it. It’s the same old lines being trotted out over and over.
“We voted weeks ago – for Liz.
“My mother-in-law said she couldn’t vote for Rishi because he’s a bully, the way he talked over her in the TV debate. As a woman, I couldn’t vote for him.”
At these hustings, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak each get a 10-minute opening speech, which has the aura of a focus group, workshopped to within an inch of its life.
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That means the same catchphrases, the same repeated jokes, and the same policies.
We’ve lost a not inconsiderable part of an hour hearing Liz Truss talk about the hours she’s lost in planning meetings.
And once again we heard Rishi Sunak suggesting he owns the better sex, vowing to “take on this lefty woke culture that seems to want to cancel our history, our values, and our women!”.
Tory chiefs insisted they sold 1,600 tickets, and extra chairs had to be laid out as some couldn’t see the screens.
And don’t get us wrong, there were some breakthrough moments.
Liz Truss, for example, was clapped for remorselessly saying she is “ready” to unleash nuclear apocalypse if needed.
Asked, if she was faced with the task of “pressing the button”, how she would feel, she replied: “I think it’s an important duty of the Prime Minister. I’m ready to do that.”
We found out she’d like to extend the school day, without any detail.
We found out she’d spend £12bn she’s cutting in National Insurance, and move it from the NHS to care, but didn’t say where it’ll come from.
And we found out she’s not keen on having an ethics watchdog for herself, because she knows the difference between “right and wrong” (her words).
What we didn’t find out, of course, was her plan for cost of living support.
It couldn’t be more of a contrast with people in Birmingham, who opened up when we asked yesterday.
Maxie George, 47, a market trader at Harris eggs and cheese, told us: “People are so worried – they have no idea what’s going to come on their gas bill or their electricity bill.
“If they’ve got a cooker they might turn it off. I’ve got an elderly lady stockpiling cans.”
Sonia Griffith, a teacher, added: “Rishi Sunak – he’s a multi-millionaire. He will never know what it is to struggle. Cereal is what he has for breakfast. Other people have it for dinner.”
At some point, the gulf between the boredom of the leadership contest and the worries of people on the edge will close.
As PM, Liz Truss will be forced to act. But for now, we carry on playing the waiting game.