The main event, Saturday night's scrum at the Washington Hilton, is no longer mandatory for my husband, Mike Elliott, now that he's graduated from journalism to run the ONE Campaign. Happily, we've got some much more welcome invitations than the one to be among a cast of thousands at the Hilton.
Before the weekend really gets underway, Thursday was a high-minded day. First, Mike and I were invited to hear Tony Blair talk about governance, development and Africa at Georgetown University's beautiful Gaston Hall. The former PM was on great form in an animated conversation with GU professor Steve Radelet, speaking about the Africa Governance Initiative and issues such as the passage of the Power Africa bill that could make a big difference. I've never seen students and others in the audience line up so fast to ask questions - and all were friendly, which wouldn't have been true in Blair's homeland.
And Tony Blair was just the warm-up act for our friend, Patty Stonesifer, who spoke the same evening about her transition from being the founding CEO of the Gates Foundation to running the local DC charity, Martha's Table. A fascinating conversation on food security, nutrition and early education.
We are kitchen-less this week (new countertops being installed) so rounded off the evening with a warming duck noodle soup down the road at Mai Thai. The calm before the storm.
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