Is it any wonder that my heart sinks every time I stumble off a plane at London Heathrow Terminal 3? Is it possible for an international terminus's walkways to look any more unwelcoming?
That being said - I am having the rare, rare treat (because of conferencing) of staying in a central London hotel - to be exact, the Hotel Russell in Russell Square, a magnificent late Victorian pile - all terracotta on the outside and fleshy marble within - built in 1898. I was here just once before, in December 1998, recording a radio program on "Victoriana," with the producer David Olusoga. Presumably we were here because it's so totally Victorian. We were also in a very small bedroom (unlike my current perch, which has a huge bay window overlooking Russell Square), in which we were both of us trying (like a bad, or indeed illegal, MLA or CAA interview) to ignore the fact that at least one of us was going to have to sit on the bed.
And what do I find in tonight's Evening Standard? That David O is presenting a program tonight - the first of two - on "Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners" (I'm not sure who's meant to have forgotten them, but that's a different question). I'll be watching this (if I can stay awake) - I call this a very strange coincidence.
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