It’s night-time in London, but early morning in Beijing.   I had forgotten how discombobulating it is to fly half way round the world and find oneself in the enormity and incomprehensibility of Beijing, which I have been to three times, but never managed to orient myself in either the urban geography or the culture.

I’m here for what is described as an International Art Education Conference:  Art Education in the New Era, with delegates from art institutions across the globe – Florence, Prague, Moscow and Cape Town.   I’m in the Art Museum Forum and have discovered – too late to change my talk – that its theme is Opportunities and Challenges of Art Museums in the Digital Age.   Not really my special subject, but I can always learn.