Special Relationship Bolstered by Great Weather and Wine
by Christopher Werth
Ambassador Susman with AACL members
In London, the weather is everything, which is why the new U.S. Ambassador, Louis Susman, and his wife Marjorie–who just arrived in the typically rainy British capital the month before–couldn’t have picked a better day to welcome AACL members to their new abode. The unusually bright sunshine kept wine sipping foreign correspondents and embassy press officers lingering long on the veranda at Winfield House until they were finally ushered inside for the ambassador’s off-the-record address.
With an imposing portrait of George Washington peering sternly over reporters’ shoulders in the main hall, the embassy assured all the muckrakers in the room that America’s “special relationship” with Britain remained as strong as ever (amid recent rumblings that Number 10 had been slighted by the Obama administration in the lead up to the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh). The embassy also sent out the word that it’s eager to work with ACCL journalists reporting from this side of the pond.
Given all the big, important issues on the horizon–from questions over Britain’s role in the war in Afghanistan, to the upcoming UK elections–both Mr. Susman and correspondents working in London will have a lot on their plate in the coming months and years. But the conversation soon turned lighter, and business cards were exchanged as the rest of the canapés and champagne made their way around the room. Even Washington himself looked pleased.
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