It was not a particularly bright idea to arrange a visit to a shopping centre in loyalist east Belfast for Tony Blair immediately after he had shaken hands with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Belfast is a small town in some ways and word leaked out that the Prime Minister would be visiting the Connswater Shopping Centre on his way from Stormont.
Reporters covering the talks were tipped off during the afternoon that opponents of Mr Blair's Northern Ireland strategy were gathering at Connswater to give him a piece of their mind.
At the centre, Mr Blair's group switched from a relaxed pace into fast-forward mode as they were pursued by protesters who shouted "traitor", "scum", queried the Prime Minister's genealogy, and urged him to "go on back to England".
Some protesters had brought surgical gloves with them. They hoped to wear them while shaking hands with Mr Blair, to make the point that he was contaminated by Sinn Fein. They never got to the handshake stage and ended up throwing the gloves at him instead.
There was a sinister side to the incident as a man who dissented from the protest was followed in the car-park by loyalists seeking to note down the number of his car.
Some of those present in Connswater had been observed taking part in the demonstrations in Co Fermanagh on Sunday.
It is impossible to say whether the protesters were representative of majority feeling in the unionist and loyalist community. That test will have to wait for the referendum due to be held if a talks settlement is reached.
At one stage it seemed as if the Prime Minister would have to leave Connswater by the back door, which would have compounded the disaster, but in the event he faced his tormentors and made his way back through the boos and chanting to his car.
A public relations disaster certainly, but also, perhaps, a valuable crash-course for Mr Blair in the realities of Northern Ireland politics.
Although a statement issued very rapidly from No 10 Downing Street said he was unfazed by the "orchestrated" protest, nevertheless the difficulties facing the peace process must have been brought home to him.
Earlier, it was an unusually nervous-looking Gerry Adams who arrived at Stormont to meet the Prime Minister. The meeting with Sinn Fein was said to have lasted 20 minutes, longer than any other encounter. The wags said it was not so much a case of "Tiocfaidh ar la (Our day will come)" as "Tiocfaidh ar lamh (Our hand will come)".
Only a year ago, Mr Adams and his supporters were unceremoniously turned away from the gates of Castle Buildings. This time they were inside, chatting with the head of the British government. Even the media were allowed as far as the steps. Up to now they have been confined to the car-park.
Mr Blair did not say directly that he had shaken Mr Adams's hand, only that he greeted Sinn Fein in the same way as any other party. There was a feeling in the air that this event marked the end of the conflict, although there are enough doubts and uncertainties to prompt caution over such a judgment.
Mr Adams was smiling broadly as he spoke to reporters afterwards. It was clearly a more relaxed meeting than his encounter with Sir Patrick Mayhew when the latter was Northern Secretary. Sinn Fein sources recalled how Sir Patrick's hands shook as he read from prepared notes and how he resisted Mr Adams's efforts to engage him in genuine conversation.
Ulster Unionists hovered on the sidelines at Stormont yesterday, taking it all in. They may have been centre-stage in recent weeks, but the media were only interested in the handshake they couldn't see. Ms Liz O'Donnell, elegantly representing the Irish Government, was asked only perfunctory questions by reporters who were focusing on the Main Event.
Interviewed for the BBC documentary series Provos, Mr John Major said he had placed Northern Ireland "right at the top" of his priorities when he became prime minister. Yesterday's events were further proof that it has a similar importance for Mr Blair.
It is expected that Mr Adams and his colleagues will be greeted at Downing Street in due course. Most of the symbolic and historic events have now been enacted. It is time for the serious talking to begin.