Everywhere you looked, one of them seemed to be staring at nothing, drinking it in, transfixed: a dead stalk of dock weed or the blank corner of a stone wall or an icicle dribbled from the lip of a gutter.
Reading a speech on his behalf, the Jordanian prime minister said the Saudi initiative constituted "a corner-stone of a comprehensive peace in the region, and that Israel is putting obstacles in its way".
She also noted that social services is a cornerstone for the Welsh Government and that is why the budget has been protected over the three year funding period.