“Was it worth stressing over PCR tests and dashing through the LAX terminals like alunatic? Yes”

For the first time in what seems forever, I am on a trip to a foreign land. I am in Las Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters convention and trade show. This is where you will find absolutely everything to do with pro audio, video, TV, film and broadcasting, and it is a subject close to my heart.

It’s good to be back, but it’s not the same. Many of the in-hotel restaurants have reduced opening hours. Getting a cab is no problem, nor is parking at the enormous Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), which has just added an extension that feels bigger than the whole of NEC in Birmingham. Service isn’t as good, with a reduced number of servers compared to before. All of which are small changes, but nevertheless they are there.

Then there’s the sheer hassle of getting here. The flight over was stressful, compounded by British Airways’ poor customer support. I decided to route my outbound flight via Los Angeles, and allowed myself three hours between flights. BA changed the flights and left me 20 minutes at LAX to do immigration and change planes, which was clearly ludicrous. Only after causing a stink on Twitter did it move the LAX to Vegas leg to a later flight, with the assurance that two hours would be enough. You can guess what happened next. The Heathrow to LAX leg was delayed by 30 minutes, leaving me 90 minutes in theory – but in practice that translates to 60 tops, because you can’t arrive at a departure gate as the engines fire up. Despite all the promises, the immigration line wasn’t the super-speedy automatic passport reading