Bush and Schroeder will make up for the paucity of substance with a good deal of friendly banter and bonhomie before the press assembled in Mainz.

A simple order of an espresso in the morning is extended into a ridiculously long banter about the million different variations of beans and water that they offer.

The drafters of the farewell communiqué are, no doubt, already at work listing all the issues on which the two governments see eye to eye. Bush and Schroeder will make up for the paucity of substance with a good deal of friendly banter and bonhomie before the press assembled in Mainz.