“I have a feeling that the Brits’ love affair with B.O. is near an end, if not already dead.”

Depends who you talk to. There are plenty of liberals and socialists who would worship the ground over which he hovered. There are many others who never have liked him.

The British are keen on symbolism. When the PM visited POTUS he brought a series of unique gifts.

The Resolute desk which sits in the Oval Office at the White House and has been used by all but three US Presidents, was made in 1879 by William Evenden, a skilled joiner, in the Joiners Shop at the Royal Dockyard at Chatham, using timbers of the British ‘discovery’ ship HMS Resolute which, in its time was used by the Royal Navy on anti-slavery patrol.

To compliment the desk a pen holder was made in the same Joiners Shop which is now based in the Historic Dockyard Chatham. It was made using an off-cut of timber salvaged from HMS Gannet – a Victorian Naval Sloop – during her restoration in 2002. The Gannet was the sister ship of the Resolute and was once named “The President”. In addition, another treasure given to the US President was the framed commission for HMS Resolute, a vessel that came to symbolise Anglo-US peace when it was saved from ice packs by Americans and presented back to Queen Victoria.

Finally, Mr Brown gave a first edition set of the seven-volume classic biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert. [Note - one of Obama's first acts was to return a bust of Sir Winston Churchill which appeared to have become surplus to requirements.]

Sarah Brown gave Sasha and Malia Obama an outfit each from Topshop, which has just opened its first American store in New York. She also picked six children’s books by British authors which are shortly to be published in America.

As a gracious gesture, President Obama gave him a gift set of 25 classic American movies, including the timeless thriller “Psycho.” Unfortunately, none of them worked because they were the US DVD zone! Was a White House staffer sent out at the last minute to get the set from the local Wallmart? Who knows.

Finally, the Obamas gave the Browns two models of the presidential helicopter, Marine One, to take home to sons Fraser and John (allegedly from the White House gift shop!)

I leave it up to you to consider how many British people felt about the gifts from POTUS to the PM of a long-term ally supporting then in major conflicts.

Oh yes. When POTUS came over to the UK for the G20 he brough the Queen aniPod loaded with pictures of her state visit to the USA in 2007 when he wasn’t even President. (Its just possible she had access to newsreel shot at the time … She already had an iPod from one of her grandsons.)

I doubt whether it was a snub of the Queen (although it obviously has that effect). What concerns me more is how much the UK Government were involved. Was it France snubbing UK or was it Gordon Brown and his government snubbing the Queen?

This government has form. The Head of State IS the Queen. She has a similar role to your flag. It is not the same role as POTUS. The government have tried repeatedly in subtle ways to undermine that role and by implication, put the PM into it.

Satin or silk?

thanks for the laughs.

RT – You can say that again.