The band played on

At twelve o'clock exactly
They all would fall in line
Then march down to the dining hall and eat
But Casey would not join them
Although ev'rything was fine
But he stayed upstairs and exercised his feet

The first few hours of the day disappear in admin and slide-tinkering. I miss Bjarne’s keynote, but catch the rest of the conference - four tracks of C++-heavy material. I regularly bump into Jutta, because we choose the agile/product sessions.

The food at the conference party is plentiful. The drink flows freely. The jazz band knock out fast rhythms and complicated riffs. We escape the catering tent, to the relative calm of the conference venue.

In due course Mike, Rob, and I repair to the whisky bar (my room). Towards the end of the evening, Mike is trying to explain some aspects of Cyber-Dojo architecture, when he realises that his thought process is being derailed by Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part 1). I switch to Music For Airports, but it’s clear that the gathering is ending.

For some reason, it seems like the right time to re-register for VAT. It turns out to be harder than I had expected. I go to bed, eventually, still unregistered, and none the worse for it.