Due to an error of communication, I find myself at a loose end in Washington DC on a public holiday (Columbus Day). At least I have a computer to call my own, and not too many emails piled up to deal with.

Plane flight was not too bad yesterday – I would rate it as one of the better transatlantic experiences I’ve had, and will definitely try and fly United again – decent food, any time I thought I was getting thirsty a stewardess appeared with more iced water, and reasonably comfortable seats (last time, I flew Air France which was really crap). I watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (very good, as I had expected – my favourite of the books as well); Around the World in Eighty Days with Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan (total rubbish – is Arnold Schwarzenegger really that short?) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (was really getting into it and then the plane was landing and it stopped about two thirds of the way through).

Dropped in on an old friend last night, who was playing “Traders of Genoa” – which looks like a fun game. After it was over, a bizarre discussion ensued with one of the other players, a somwhat right-wing immigration lawyer. I suspect that the amount of beer consumped in the interim more or less guaranteed that it would generate more heat than light. Still, a useful reality check for me, exposed as I am only to liberal (ie mainstream) European media.