A tale of a gift exchange ...

First, we threw Churchill back in their face, now ....

Mr Brown's gifts included an ornamental desk pen holder made from the oak timbers of Victorian anti-slaver HMS Gannet, once named HMS President.

Mr Obama was so delighted he has already put it in pride of place in the Oval Office on the Resolute Desk which was carved from timbers of Gannet's sister ship, HMS Resolute. 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 given to Queen Victoria.

Finally, Mr Brown gave a first edition set of the seven-volume classic biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert.
...
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.

...and in the finest tradition of American generosity to our friends,

Gordon Brown has been given a collection of 25 classic American films on DVD as his official gift from Barack Obama .... the Obamas gave the Browns two models of the presidential helicopter, Marine One, to take home to sons Fraser and John.

Sigh.