January the 20th

London (5:56 p.m. EST, 10:56 p.m. GMT)

I'm with some British friends in their house. One of them is channel surfing for Obama news as we finish a dinner of burgers and chips. For dessert: sweet potato pie, Obama's favourite. All day people here have been saying how excited they are, for some reason that terrifies me.

Durham, England (11:40 a.m. EST)(5:40 p.m. GMT)

It's dark in england and the BBC 24 hour coverage is on. Everyone's missing lectures to watch it on t.v.

Dartford, U.K. (11:00 a.m. EST)(4:00 p.m. GMT)

A ballet teacher to her toddler's class in a scout hall, "Everyone sit down in the circle with Freddie the Frog Legs"

A girl says to her friend,"He text me again."
"Who?" says a third person.
"Big Ugly Lee."

Cork, Ireland (10:30 a.m. EST)(3:30 p.m. GMT)

The archivist where I work was very pleased that I was leaving work to go home and watch the inauguration. The people of Cork are cautiously optimistic, but quick to harangue any American who seems too excited.

Bluewater Shopping Centre, Greenhithe, U.K. (9:30 a.m. EST, 2:30 p.m. GMT)

A balding man in a lime green polo top is leaning over a glass cabinet in a jeweller's. His companion - a short, dark-haired lady. A young man asks his friend: "Do you reckon he's buying her a ring?"

Coffee Shop, London (7:31 a.m. EST)(12:23 p.m. GMT)

Three LSE students pore over a legal pad, discussing an econ excercise with concern. The flat screen television on the wall across from them has been showing an endless montage of inauguration images, interspersed with live images from Washington, where all was still at the crack of dawn.

Southampton, England (5:22 a.m.)

The phrase “Yes We Can” becomes the day’s clarion call for action. Sleepy eyed students smile at the phrase – the very fact that they get the reference is something special. From over here, we sense something special – something like history. Are we guilty of expecting too much, piling too heavy a load on those slim shoulders ? The students have seen that iconic setting before, and a black man addressing a huge crowd there before, on grainy black and white film. So it’s not surprising that expectations should soar, perhaps uncontrollably, for today, at least.