At one reception I met acharming Spanish woman who revealed within 10 minutes that she was a "Young Global Leader", had a PhD in microbiology, had started up her own biotech company in the US and was on the verge of a major public health breakthrough.
Mary, acharming and gently-spoken woman who speaks English with the soft lilt of the native Gaelic-speaker - has a photograph of them all in Edinburgh: some haven't seen one another since.