Council Meeting

I have just returned from a very dull and soul-destroying council meeting. Whilst I understand that such meetings are vital in the mechanics of the council, they are not the best places for 18 year olds to congregate.
The meeting was held in Guildhall, in a large lecture theatre. at the front of the room was a long table, of 10 councillors, and the Mayor of Winchester. In front of this were 4 more councillors, facing the "audience". This audience was made up of the other councillors, sat spaced apart in rows, with name cards and microphones set up with each one.
The meeting began with the arrival of the Mayor, at which point everybody stood up, and bowed. Mr Mayor then proceeded to explain that the purpose of the meeting was to agree on a budget, but that there were other matters to deal with first. The council then went through each item in the book of minutes.
First of all were any announcements i.e The Landlord Service and Councils Service passing their yearly survey. Next were any apologies (absences) followed by 30 minutes of Q&A, where the councillors proceeded to argue and debate about matters such as council housing, and grants for voluntary organisations.
The next item to be discussed on the agenda was any petitions, of which there were none.
Finally, the councillors began to discuss the budget, however, by this time, the public gallery was full of discontented brain-dead teenagers, who, after over an hour and a half of this soul-destroying experience, left the meeting. I feel I must also add at this point, that we were not the only people in the room who were becoming restless, as one councillor seated in front of me began playing with his Blackberry, and 2 councillors, as well as the Mayor himself, on the main table, were eating some form of confectionery.
However I must admit that this was a new experience for me, and was relatively interesting for the first 20 minutes, however i do not have the capability to understand what the councillors were talking about, and so am really hoping that this will be the last council meeting that I am required to attend.