Beggars belief

The Galactic Empire was dying.

It's a muggy night in my diminutive room. The windows don't open and the aircon isn't working at full efficiency at this end of the building.

I pack the car, hang a U-turn, and head for the highway. Next stop Charlotte, with Henry James' Portrait of a Lady (BBC R4) as the soundtrack. I arrive at Ayrsley Town around in the early afternoon and lunch on fried green tomatoes and local cloudy IPA.

Vietnamese soup for tea. No beggars anywhere.