latest update no white smoke as yet welcome to the first red lines of 2020 we've huddled together in the

very compact radio studio in the basement of parliament buildings at stormet gareth gordon is here

jane mccormick is here so too is the press association's ireland editor david young the politicians

are well some of them any we are milling about upstairs in the canteen in their offices.

Some of them are down with the Secretary of State at Stormont House.

Garth, it is nine minutes past three on Thursday afternoon as we speak.

Where are we with the talks?

Well, could you just indulge me before we get into that if I could make an apology?

Earlier on Talkback, I tried to describe this process as we say it from the Great Hall.

And I thought I was doing so by quoting Samuel Beckett.

And I said, he said, nothing nobody comes nobody goes

it's awful

but I'm told

I wasn't quoting Samuel Beggott

I was quoting

a French critic

who described

waiting for Godo

as nothing happens

nobody comes

etc which just shows you

I should stick to football

...