Staying in a friend’s 23rd-floor apartment, thus the stupid title.

Not much will be said: the flight in was bumpy, and Ottawa is covered in a thick blanket of snow. Went to a concert of swing tunes last night at the National Arts Centre (think Queen Elizabeth Theatre except with good acoustics and good sightlines), and due to illness, the concert was directed by last-minute replacement Senator Tommy Banks, OC.

There’s so much you could do with that. Canada has a top-flight swing bandleader as a senator. He’s from Alberta, which means he was appointed instead of one of the Senators-in-waiting.

However accidentally, he won my heart in his opening remarks by stealing one of Ronald Reagan’s favourite sayings: “When I met with the orchestra, I was able to say the most dreaded phrase by all Canadians: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.'”

Great concert, too. Nice and light, just what we were up for. Also, cheese is ridiculously cheap here: we got two small rounds of camembert and one of brie, all for $5. The Lovely One is ready to stay for the cheese alone.