A new expression to replace ‘as dull as ditchwater’?  Alistair Darling’s  platform speech to the TUC on Tuesday  was  received in silence and apathy, with possibly four or, as much as four and a half seconds, of applause.

Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail described him as “standing as limp as a sweet pea in the rain”!

Clearly, Darling was on a hiding to nothing, with little of substance he could offer, but surely he could have put up at least token resistance by injecting some fizz, some attack and personality  into the way  he spoke?

There will always be pitches that don’t go as planned.  The scintillating solution that  wasn’t, the audience that was unreceptive, the brief misread and so on.  None of these are reason to be dull.  You may not win but pitching with energy, wit and enthusiasm can lead to a next opportunity. And you’ll feel better for it, darling.