Mr Black and Mr Morgan were in the village of Cookham, near Maidenhead, to meet some friends for dinner and to see a local play.

BBC: Michael Black (l) and John Morgan

But while the storm was raging outside, I was fortunate to meet with some of the families, friends and veterans who had come to honor loved ones who had given their lives in service of this nation.

WHITEHOUSE: Honoring the Troops on Memorial Day

With a little bit of list management in advance, setting up some SXSW specific lists of close friends, people I wanted to meet, and some influential bloggers and writers attending the Austin madness, I felt on top of the information on Twitter, but I never felt that it was breaking news or providing another insight into the event.

FORBES: Do You Want To Know My Killer App For Mobile From SXSW Interactive?

"That does not work, particularly if it makes the prisons overcrowded, unresponsive places where they toughen up and meet some rougher friends and then are released to fend for themselves in the outside world, " he told MPs.

BBC: Clarke warns against longer prison sentences