I had rather longer chats than "sorry" with other people, on topics including proprtional representation, assisted dying, university debates, teaching humanism in schools, differences working in the foreign office under a new government, and the problems arising from a working-class background.
The reason I went wasn't for the convivial conversation, though, and certainly not for the canapés, but because I got to see what the inside of the US Embassy looked like.
This is what it looks like from the outside:
My guess is that the fancy fluting there is some kind of protection against explosions. Take it off, and it's basically a large glass cube. This gives it the properties of a greenhouse, which makes it very energy-efficient.
It's easy to find, as it's right opposite a protestors' caamp:
If you're building an embassy somewhere, consider where protestors are going to set up camp nearby. At least this one doesn't offer as much space as Grosvenor Square did when the Embassy was there.
There are some very nice stretches of water around the building, including this lily pond.
This is so there's a moat to stop people trying to ram the building using stolen trucks packed with things that go bang.
This is the wall that greets you once you get past security and into the building:
The sense of scale isn't appparent from the photo, but that eagle is enormous. When I stood in front of that wall, my head came up to the first line of writing at the bottom (which is where the names of past ambassadors are carved). I'd need two of me just to reach the bottom of the circle with the eagle in it.
The reception was held in an atrium at the bottom of some steps to the right of the eagle wall.
I arrived relatively early, which is why it looks empty. I expect that the interior walls are somewhat sturdier than the glass, exterior walls. This was the most expensive embassy building to construct in the world, so that security money has all gone somewhere.
Speaking of interior walls, on the left there, there's a wall with the US Constitution written on it:
The Deputy Chief of Mission who gave us a welcoming speech was at pains to tell us how the US and the UK are both strong advocates of freedom of religion and freedom of lack of religion. He said how the separation of state and religion was written into the US constitution. I sensed his sudden unease when he realised that this is rather not the case in the UK.
Finally, there's this picture of George Washington hanging at the far end of the reception area:
It's a copy of the Lansdowne Portrait, but probably not one by the original artist unless it's on loan from somewhere. Washington looks to be saying "walk this way", but you can't because the adjacent corridor he's pointing at has two guards on it.
All in all, it was well worth a trip but I'd have liked to have seen more of it. Apparently, they do tours.
I had to eat a packet of liquorice allsorts on the way home. Those canapés were not filling.