Quite the evening in the capital of the old republic of the south. An hour or so with Henry James in the Starbucks across from the legislature, then, thanks to knowledge of the alleyways acquired on my first visit (as the AirBnb was hidden within them) bypassed the most impassible of the crowds and and managed to get to the largely empty and brightly lit park by the university for a bit more of the novel on a beautiful summer's evening. Then back by the side routes. Small panic at the grocer's, as as the tenner I thought had been squirreled away in the wallet was nowhere to be found, before remembering I had some spares in the vest pocket. Quite the hubbub. Broad and general festival. Vuvuzela vendors doing a big business. Custom-printed buttons appeared to be the second item in the carts. Perhaps a means of categorizing political rallies by civility: when buttons are in play, we're a few steps removed from the barricades.
