Brown provides the amusement to complement Sócrates' self-regard

Behind the scenes:The EU has experienced many bizarre days, but British prime minister Gordon Brown's performance in Lisbon yesterday ranks with the oddest.

For reasons best known to himself, Brown decided to miss the treaty signing and, instead, arrive late for lunch, and to jot his signature in the vellum-bound document on his own.

In fact, Brown arrived so late he almost missed the washing-up, and was lucky to find someone at home to give him the treaty to sign.

Foreign secretary David Miliband was embarrassed, particularly when the hosts asked where the boss was. Miliband, his smile fixed in place, looked at his watch, shuffled, and looked like a man who desperately wanted to get out of camera shot as quickly as providence would allow.

Gathered in St Jeronimos's Monastery in Lisbon just before noon, it was clear, judging by the comments of some officials, that at least a few EU leaders found Brown's behaviour odd.

Amateur, sniffed one diplomat.

Although Brown managed to avoid a group photograph with his fellow leaders, he will have to endure exactly that at today's summit meeting in Brussels. Having landed and penned his name, the British prime minister shimmied - less than an hour later - past colleagues as they gathered outside under the clear January sky.

A few eyebrows arched as he passed. Brown explained that he could not get to Lisbon in time because
he had to attend a House of Commons' scrutiny committee, one of Tony Blair's inventions.

Admittedly, he is more "a House of Commons man" than Blair, who would have quite happily existed in 10 Downing Street without ever darkening its door, but still . . .

Portuguese prime minister José Sócrates, who had dragged colleagues to Lisbon because he was damned if he would let the Belgians grab the glory, was sooo enjoying his day!

"Perhaps history will not mention the words that will be uttered in this ceremony," he said, with the air of a man who did not really believe that history would be guilty of such an oversight.

While Brown provided the amusement, and Sócrates the preening self-regard, the true star of the day was the building, the burial home for kings and queens and a Unesco world heritage site.

Begun almost 500 years ago, the monastery, funded by bountiful revenues from pepper, cinnamon and cloves, commemorates Vasco de Gama's successful voyage to India, and home.

However, not all of the shadows in St Jeronimos were 500 years old; notably, the Irish referendum. EU leaders desperately tried to avoid mentioning it, lest they offend.