I'd forgotten that this firm is putting me up at the Cadillac of literary history venues, the Algonquin Hotel. Every door boasts a quote from the Vicious Circle -- or maybe it is all Dorothy Parker; in any case, my room offers this jewel, which has got to be some kind of vicious irony from the gods, considering my lack of love life: "Report on a Yale prom: 'If all those sweet young things were laid end to end I wouldn't be at all surprised.'" (If you're like me, you stared at that, said, "huh?" inside your head, and then started laughing uproariously in sudden comprehension.)

The room is very small, but the history of the place more than makes up for the size. And the bed actually gets turned down! And there are two round chocolate gold coins, stamped on one side with a likeness of the hotel cat, and the other side with a literary "A", on the sheets! And there's -- get this -- free wireless! And there's a crazy old-fashioned bath drain that I've only ever seen in BC's bathroom in the hood! And there's a $10,000 martini (you get a diamond with it)!

This hotel is a big, BIG plus in the Mighty Big UK Firm's column. I do love places with history.