It's nearly midnight on my last night in Washington. Whenever I come here I always make a noctural visit to the Lincoln Memorial. It's a great place to sit and think - to contemplate the meaning of life, if you like. That' where I am now - sitting on the steps leading up to one of the most awe inspiring memorials to a great American leader.
I'm looking down towards the Washington Memorial which glories in its own reflection in the waterway which separates it from the Lincoln Memorial. Over to the left is the tragic memorial to those many thousands who gave their lives in the Vietnam war. And way over to the right, just visible through the trees, is the Jefferson Memorial. Any of you who have stood where I anm sitting now will realise what a special place this is.
It's a year since I last sat here, wondering what the next twelve months would bring. I sit here now thinking how lucky I am to live the life I lead, to have the family I love and the partner I will spend the rest of my life with. I look out at the Washington Memorial and see a great shining beacon of optimism. It's inspirational in its own rather abstract way.
I always leave America injected with the free spirit which is so prevalent here. It's as if I've had my annual fix of the "Ameri-drug". If you've ever been here you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, you'll think I'm babbling.
American politicians rarely complete a speech without uttering the words: "America IS the greatest country on earth. Sitting here now, I'd have to agree with them ...
Except for England of course...
