The best laid plans of mice and runners

When I saw my diary for last Wednesday, I realised that a snapshot of my activities that day would be the perfect way to answer that ubiquitous question posed by friends, family, old colleagues, and assorted others: “what do you actually do?”

Business Minister Mark Prisk was visiting Washington and our plans for his visit promised to be so interesting that I was sure my questioners would be reeling with envy at my “day in the life of” blog. And when the day came, it lived up to my hopes. Our meeting with Senator Mark Warner was brilliant. We admired his lute (made in Virginia) and found that his proposals for business regulation reform weren’t actually that far removed from what the UK has already been doing with its Red Tape Challenge.

And our discussion with Hill staffers (organised by the Kauffman Foundation) was fascinating—talking about how crowdsourcing just might transform business finance. And I interspersed these calls between discussions on the sanctions that the US and the EU are imposing on Iran and the impact on the oil market as well as a little HR (applications from eligible candidates for this post in San Francisco are welcome!). A great day.

Unfortunately fate interrupted before I managed to put finger to keyboard on Thursday morning. Out for my last training run for the annual Cherry Blossom 10 miler which was on Sunday, I was jogging serenely along the beautifully picturesque C&O towpath near our flat, only to find myself ignominiously knocked to the ground by a rogue cyclist. As my face smashed against the tarmac and my blood splashed onto my shoes, I lamented not just the pain, but the blog I’d planned to write when I got to work. The few hours of scans to ensure my face wasn’t broken, in my first brush with the US healthcare, was poor compensation. But despite two black eyes (which I am still sporting), some nasty cuts, and some diminished dignity, I did manage to complete the 10 miler on Sunday – probably the only person to do so with one eye almost entirely closed. It’s a great DC tradition (the run, not the black eyes!), with a fantastic atmosphere and great views. Well, from what I could see of them…

So having not absolutely told you about Mark Prisk’s visit I will return to the idea of a day in the life of a diplomat another time. Right now, when not thinking about EU-US trade and Iran sanctions, I’m mainly focussing on how to explain my black eyes to a range of new contacts on my trip to Boston today…