It has been said that Waiting for Godot is a play where nothing happens - twice. Some would say that the Stormont talks are a process where nothing happens several times a week.
Unfair, say sources inside the talks. Steady progress had been made: the parties had made on average 11 submissions on various agenda items, this process was now complete, and they are ready to move into intensive bilaterals and multilaterals from next Monday. The gap between the parties is reflected in their different perceptions of each other. As far as Sinn Fein is concerned, the Ulster Unionists just aren't trying and are only in the talks to make sure the process doesn't go anywhere.
However, loyalist sources provided a very different perspective. As far as they are concerned, Sinn Fein had its head in the clouds, putting forward "outlandish documents" and failing to get down to the brass tacks of real negotiations.
These loyalist sources said they would much prefer to deal with the pragmatic realists from the SDLP and the administration in Dublin. There was no problem about Sinn Fein aspiring towards a united Ireland but, in the context of a short-term talks process, the republicans were not "players" because they were not coming to the table with any practical notion of how to reach agreement.
Socially, the talks have loosened up somewhat. At the start there was fairly strict segregation in the canteen with "Prods" on one side, "Taigs" on the other and the two governments in between.
That unofficial segregation has come to an end. True, delegations still stick together over their chicken and chips but it's a question of taking the next available table rather than lining up in the green or the orange corner. There is now what one source calls a "variable geometry" without any clear demarcation, although the Ulster Unionists still tend to sit in a small alcove partitioned off from the other groups. A microcosm of the map of the island perhaps?
The UUP is still maintaining its refusal to fraternise with Sinn Fein. Indeed, the Sinn Fein weekly, An Phoblacht, reports that Martin McGuinness, having exchanged "Hellos" several times with a unionist delegate, finally asked him: "Can you not say anything but hello?" Quick as a flash, the unionist switched to the Donegal Gaelic salutation: "Cad e mar ata tu?"
Senior Sinn Fein members are concerned that the talks are dying on their feet because the unionists are there only to exercise a veto on progress. There is an onus on the two governments, particularly the British government, to change that by injecting dynamism into the process, according to the party.
Reporters and camera crews are not allowed into the building. There are security considerations here, according to Northern Ireland Office sources. Indeed, there is even an official reluctance to discuss the layout in case some terrorist group takes advantage of the information to launch an attack.
But insiders say the layout and office arrangements are not particularly conducive to interaction. The politicians and civil servants from Dublin, as well as the SDLP, Sinn Fein, Women's Coalition and the Labour grouping, take up one floor, whereas the unionists, loyalists and Alliance occupy another.
The British government and the independent chairmen have their offices on still another floor, which also houses the conference room for plenary sessions.
There is a committee or "miniconference" room on each floor but most of the hard talking will probably take place in party offices. Thus, final agreement on the motion to move into substantive talks was hammered out in the office of the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, where unionists found themselves gazing on a portrait of the Apprentice Boys' hall in Derry.
Another reason for not admitting the media is that it would allegedly make it more difficult for the politicians to cut a deal. At present the journalists are kept outside in the car-park, where a number of prefabs have been set up for press conferences and filing reports.
However, during the visit of Mr Tony Blair, the Fourth Estate was allowed as far as the steps of the talks building. Probably in due course we will be allowed in for set-piece speeches, as occurred during the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation at Dublin Castle (now expected to resume on December 5th).
Some participants expressed the hope that when the talking gets really intense, delegates won't be "running in and out to the media" but concentrating on the real business in hand.
There has been a fair degree of comment on the way Sinn Fein delegations tend to vary in composition, as if a conscious effort was being made to give everyone a "taste" of the talks. The skill of Mr Martin McGuinness as a negotiator has been commented on by observers who would not normally be admirers of republicans or their ideology.
UUP sources said the Sinn Fein delegation seemed "very down-in-the-mouth" yesterday, possibly as a result of the republican movement's internal difficulties.
There was a lighter moment when Mr Gerry Adams, with tongue in cheek, described some remarks from the UUP's Mr John Taylor as "uplifting". This was taken to mean that the Sinn Fein president was amused by a suggestion from Mr Taylor that the Republic should rejoin the Commonwealth.
UUP sources said the talks participants were "not really doing much". They were expecting the chairman, Senator George Mitchell, to tabulate the positions of the different parties in order to highlight points of difference and agreement. Mr Mitchell has used this approach in the past, with positive results.
Ironically, while republicans are blaming their internal problems on the slow pace of the talks and the reluctance of the Ulster Unionists to "engage", UUP sources say they are becoming more wary about participation precisely because of those internal republican difficulties. UUP insiders worry that the divisions could be serious enough to lead to a breakdown in the ceasefire.
Sources in the middle ground said they were disappointed with both the UUP and Sinn Fein. They found the unionists "patronising" whereas Sinn Fein speakers were reluctant to go beyond their brief. Instead of speaking their minds freely on the issues, they tended to "retract into Provospeak".
According to these sources, there is still a "considerable amount of tension" in the conference room where plenary sessions are held, although there "definitely a very relaxed atmosphere at mealtimes". However, it is still a long way from the Dail bar or the self-service restaurant in Leinster House. And the food? "The quality of the coffee and tea is still bad; the grub is mediocre."