It's reassuring to know that, even with Congress' job approval rating in the low double digits, a seat in the U.S. Senate is still considered a prized possession.
Before long, the girl had swung around to my seat to demonstrate her double-jointed elbows and thumbs as well as a disturbingly loud clack in her jaw when she opened her mouth full bore.
And following the decision of Martin McGuinness to resign as an MP in order to avoid so-called "double-jobbing", by holding a seat in both the House of Commons and the Northern Ireland Assembly, a by-election is also expected in his Mid Ulster constituency.