Friday morning

Breakfast meetings downstairs…quiet hushed conversation except from guy holding forth in the corner about the good old days when a $50, 000,000 loss was the worst that could happen.

Check out then Step out – bright sunshine, down 6^th avenue to W34th Street look up at Empire State Building on the left, turn right past Macys and left again to Penn Station right next to Madison Sq Garden.

In the station, waiting area with actual seats (not like London) and then you get called in a mad scramble (much more like London) down to the train.

Hurtle under most of Manhattan and emerge in small town America! Hudson to the left. Bright sunlight, ice on the water…more frozen the further north we go.

Sunshine also fades and the clouds have an ominous look. Hillsides have occasional mansions on them. Towns we encounter are commuter ones at first, then past Hudson New York State seems to own the places, not the city…

Friday afternoon

Reassuringly familiar now, just like in London, the train stops for inexplicable signal failure just outside Albany Rensselaer.

Bernadette is there to meet me with Aunt Sheila. Ridiculous length of time has elapsed and there are more stories to be told and to hear than the human head and heart can hold.

The dog. Sam. Huge, Not sure about me, barking and snapping away at me!

In the evening we go to Denise’s house for a family get together…so many people

Denise Michael Vincent Dominic Philip Dante Deirdre John Bridget Nolan Corby Dennin Michael Mary Dessy Isabella Emmett Sandy Liam Lila friends of the boys after a Basketball game –

So much food, Denise has cooked for all of us, we’ve bought some things, it’s great, a huge family get together. But I do realize that I can’t retain the depth and complexity of the information at hand – I need a written record of it all – try to make notes in the notebook at the start of the day but get sidetracked by more information –am aware that I need to get email addresses and so on for everyone but it is really difficult.

It's a blur of really nice people – great company that I haven't seen for years.