A huge crush of people. For most of the evening I only made it to the edge of the throng. Then suddenly the room had cleared. Americans are like that—not the English, we hang on long past the time we’re welcome picking at the food and looking for wine in empty bottles.

And:

What to say? I do not know what was going on but it was happening with great style and wit.

And

he tells a joke about Degas and the telephone that I still don’t quite get.

From the Alan Rickman diaries.