i quickly walked up to fred , who tried to politely stand up , but i signalled her to keep seated , and then apologised to her from the bottom of my heart , and everyone else in the room knew that it wasnt just her that i was apologising to , it was to everyone , and then i turned to walk out with as much dignity as i could muster , although i didnt get very far , i glanced up at the mezzanine and noticed that not one person up there was looking at me .