The British embassy contributed to the inauguration festivities by hosting a reception. Guests included Newt Gingrich, Ted Cruz and Rudy Giuliani. Nigel Farage was the first foreign politician to meet Mr Trump after his election victory; Sir Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to Washington, met him for the first time this week, at a dinner with 146 other diplomats.
● Donald Trump will place his hand on not one but two Bibles when he is sworn in: one given to him by his mother when he graduated from Sunday school in 1955 and one used by Abraham Lincoln. The only other time the latter has been used was in 2009 by President Obama. For his second inauguration, which fell on Martin Luther King day, Mr Obama used the Bible that had belonged to the civil rights leader. John F Kennedy, the first Catholic president, chose a Douay Bible, whereas George Washington was sworn in using a book borrowed from a Masonic lodge because the organisers had forgotten to bring one along.
● One person who won’t make it is Melania Trump’s cobbler. Marinko Umicevic, a Bosnian shoemaker who sends her pairs of leather-heeled stilettos with memory-foam insoles, was invited to attend but had his visa denied. “Everything was ready — tuxedo, bow tie, even gifts,” he said. He said that he would find another way to deliver gifts of traditional Serbian slippers for him and an embroidered nightgown for her.
● For the first time in 60 years the inauguration procession to the White House will not be announced by Charlie Brotman, the veteran voice of presidential parades. Mr Brotman, 88, said that he was “heartbroken” to learn that Mr Trump had decided to hire a supporter, Steve Ray, to take over the role he had performed since President Eisenhower took office. “I felt like Muhammad Ali had hit me in the stomach,” he said of the moment he learnt that he had been fired. A local television station has hired Mr Brotman to commentate.
● Although Mr Trump is expected to attend only three inauguration balls, dozens of unofficial balls will be held honouring everything from the state of New Jersey to Mr Trump’s LGBT supporters. Bikers for Trump, a band of motorcyclists riding into town to celebrate the new president, have said that they will help to protect the “DeploraBall”— a reference to Hillary Clinton’s description of Mr Trump’s “deplorable” alt-right supporters — from protesters.