ABSTRACT
What happens? Everyone is tired. It is late afternoon or early evening. If it is hot, it is very hot. If there are mosquitoes, it is their mealtime and many maraud. The participatory parts of the programme were so good – we could not have stopped them in their tracks. And there was no way we could have shut up ‘Old Big Mouth’, the recognized authority (recognized by Himself) once he had started. And that visiting professor who talked about active listening deep into the lunch hour. So we are late. What to do? The clock ticks. It is past the agreed time to end. One or two have already slipped out (to pick up children, to catch a bus, train or plane, to honour an appointment, or because they have had enough). Others fidget or furtively frown at their watches. Minds stray to home, family, in-tray, bar or bed. So, limit damage. Abandon reflection. Dispense with evaluation. Cut losses and conclude before anyone else leaves. Anyway, perhaps it’s as well. The evaluations would have been bad when everyone was so exhausted and fed up. And then we might never have been asked again.
