Unionist, nationalist and republican leaders converge on Downing Street again this afternoon for separate meetings with Mr Tony Blair. They may be asked to "hang about" afterwards for further negotiations.
The determination of Mr Blair to secure devolution to Northern Ireland in parallel with Scotland and Wales by the end of the month has made a strong impression on the participants in the talks. It may be that nobody on this island has properly taken the measure of this prime minister and his zeal for constitutional reform. Even Sinn Fein, whose plans for Northern Ireland are, as everyone knows, even more ambitious than Blair's, went into Downing Street last Friday as if to another routine and probably unproductive encounter.
But Blair transformed the occasion by his insistence that progress must be made. Insiders got a sense that Dublin, which had been the driving force at Hillsborough, was now in the back seat. At the end of 10 hours of talks, participants reported that the parties generally were in a good mood.
Official sources said there was no significance in the fact that Mr John Taylor left early. Indeed, Mr Taylor was the party leader's foremost supporter at the meeting of Ulster Unionist Assembly members at Stormont next day, whatever reservations he might have had about the document Mr Trimble had brought back.
Like Albert Reynolds, Tony Blair would appear to be a "one-page man". But the single sheet of A4 paper presented for the UUP's delectation on Saturday singularly failed to titillate their taste-buds. It is not clear how much of a hand Trimble had in the preparation of this particular dish but, according to different sources, he made no great effort to persuade his party colleagues of its merits.
Over the weekend things got worse rather than better. Even the prospect of losing good jobs with a salary of £37,000 plus expenses did not mollify unionist politicians. The forthcoming Euro-poll was a source of gnawing anxiety.
Somebody had better tell Tony there is an election on, was the word of the day. It was not a case of people rejecting it outright so much as saying "Where's the rest of it?" The theory and principles weren't in the document: an explanatory appendix was needed.
The Assembly party members did not have a sense of what was in the prime minister's mind when he wrote the draft. Despite their reservations about the Hillsborough text, at least it had included some sort of explanation of the course that was being recommended.
Sinn Fein might go in for cryptic sound-bites and mantras, but unionists liked everything spelt out in detail. Unless Coach Blair can deliver some particularly inspiring pep-talk to his disparate squad of players, it seems the allocation of shadow portfolios will have to wait.
Republicans were initially much encouraged by the events of the weekend, not least Mr Blair's decision to "name the day" for devolution despite - or perhaps because of - the negative outcome of the unionist deliberations at Stormont.
But worries have begun to accumulate since. As republicans see it, Mr Trimble is trying to get off the hook once more and there are signs of equivocation from the governments. For their part, unionists were reportedly encouraged by the Taoiseach's statement in the Dail that Dublin and London would have to "reflect and assess" the situation if the June 30th deadline was not met.
Reflection and assessment sound remarkably like a review to some unionist ears. While there have been hints that this afternoon's talks could stretch into tomorrow, a more likely outcome will be to wait until after the European votes are counted. Even then, unionist spokesmen are holding firm to their "no guns, no government" stance in relation to Sinn Fein.
Other seasoned observers take the view that this is an unsustainable position in the long run. However, they believe there will have to be concessions to the unionists and go on to muse about republican statements on the end of the "war", the SDLP acting as guarantors of good behaviour and/or weapons disposal by the republicans, and Orange feet on the Garvaghy Road under agreed conditions.
Speaking to reporters at Stormont yesterday, after another UUP meeting - uneventful this time - Mr Trimble did not look like a man about to flee on the next plane to Rio de Janeiro. While reiterating the party's bedrock policy on arms he took a measured and constructive approach to the latest Downing Street proposals.
They were incomplete and needed to be teased out further. Sinn Fein had talked of "jumping together", and unionists were ready to do that. He dismissed threats to his leadership.
Separating the slogans from the underlying message, it was clear that Mr Trimble wasn't walking away, either from his Prime Minister or the Belfast Agreement. But he has learnt a lesson from Sinn Fein on how to respond to controversial Downing Street documents without giving your own position away: the UUP leader is seeking "clarification".