Lookback: Obama's First 100 Days

2017 will bring a new US President, and an end to eight years of the Obama Administration. To mark President Obama's time in office, I'm looking back at the achievements and behind the scenes moments of his Administration through the fantastic photos taken by Pete Souza and his team of professionals.

To kick things off, I'm looking back at some of my favourite photos from President Obama's first 100 days.

On a tour of the State Floor of the White House, President Barack Obama looks at a portrait of John F. Kennedy by Aaron Shikler, Jan. 24, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome visitors to the Blue Room of the White House, Jan. 21, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama ride in a golf cart at an Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C, Jan. 20, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama walks along along the Colonnade toward the Oval Office, Feb. 26, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Close-up detail of President Obama's signature on a bill, and a pen used for the signing, aboard Air Force One on a flight from Buckley Air Force Base, Denver, Col. to Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 17, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama and his family arrive back at the White House aboard Marine One after a weekend at Camp David, Feb. 8, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wear 3-D glasses while watching a TV commercial during Super Bowl 43, Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, in the family theater of the White House on Feb. 1, 2009. Guests included family, friends, Cabinet members, staff members and bipartisan members of Congress. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama holds his hand on his heart as the National Anthem is played on television in the East Garden Room of the White House prior to Super Bowl game kickoff, Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Feb. 1, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Water glasses are prepared to be set in the Cabinet Room of the White House for the Economic Daily Briefing, March 23, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Brian Cowen of Ireland attend a St. Patrick's Day lunch hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the Rayburn Building, U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C., March 17, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

A simple plate of cheese, crackers and carrots is set for for the table setting of the meeting of closed, off-the-record lunch with President Barack Obama and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs in the President's Private Dining Room, March 10, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama examines the Resolute Desk on March 3, 2009, while visiting with Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg in the Oval Office. In a famous photograph, her brother John F. Kennedy Jr., peeked through the FDR panel, while his father President Kennedy worked. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speak together sitting at a picnic table April 9, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

First Lady Michelle Obama waits as President Barack Obama, background, signs the guestbook upon their arrival to Prague Castle, April 5, 2009, in the Czech Republic. (White House Photo/Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are welcomed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to Buckingham Palace in London, England, April 1, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Michelle Obama talks alone with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton prior to President Obama's Meeting with President Hu of China. Winfield House in London, England, April 1, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Independence Day Party at Winfield House

Last week I received the most sought after invitation in London- a ticket to the Independence Day Party at Winfield House, the official residence of the American Ambassador to the UK.

Ambassador Matthew Barzun and Mrs Brooke Brown Barzun hosted a celebration of the 240th Anniversary of the Independence of the United States, and boy do they know how to throw a party!

Festival themed, the party had coloured flags, vintage vehicles and plenty of food and drink- all appropriately American themed.

Highlights included a pop-up Starbucks, mountains of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and an amazing performance by Bastille. I'm still pinching myself.

I loved exploring the grounds of Winfield House, taking in the rows of beautiful roses, topiary and flags from all the states.

Thank you to Ambassador Barzun and Mrs Barzun for the invitation and a night to remember!

NATO comes to Newport

My hometown is full of buzz at the moment as NATO has rolled into town! President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron visited Mount Pleasant Primary School earlier this morning, and it was great to see the President's motorcade!

I also met Ambassador Barzun, US Ambassador to the UK.

Check out coverage of the event here! And here are my exclusive photos.

REVIEW: Architecture of Diplomacy: The British Ambassador's Residence in Washington

Copyright: The Architecture of Diplomacy: The British Ambassador's Residence in Washington, Flammarion, 2014

Since opening its doors in 1930, the British Ambassador’s Residence has been considered the premier diplomatic address in Washington. Designed by the celebrated British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, whose work ranges from vernacular and domestic architecture to the imperial splendour of his designs for the city of New Delhi, the  Residence combines elements from the neoclassical English country house with influences from American  architecture. His only building in the United States, its majestic interiors, exteriors and gardens in the English style have been delighting Washington’s social and political elite for over eighty years.

Architecture of Diplomacy © Eric Sander

Lutyens always conceived of his buildings in three dimensions, in contrast to the modernist placing of function ahead of form. Nowhere in the Residence is his mastery of dimension and his generous use of space seen to better effect than in the dazzling Grand Staircase. Lutyens employed a similar double staircase design at the Viceroy's House in New Delhi, with a large space above open to the sky. 

The Architecture of Diplomacy is the first book to be written about the residence, and it explores the building's design and the history that has unfolded within its walls. The book is written by Anthony Seldon and Daniel Collings, with photographs by Eric Sander and James Osen. It also has a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales.

Architecture of Diplomacy © Eric Sander

The west side of the Residence, viewed from the steps leading up to the swimming pool.

Through specially commissioned photography that lavishly illustrates the house and its extensive gardens, this book leads the reader behind the elegant gates on Massachusetts Avenue deep into the corridors of power. The book combines a masterful account of the history of the house and gardens with previously untold stories of visiting royalty, presidents, prime ministers and celebrities, to show why this Residence, its architecture and gardens occupy such a special place in the diplomatic history of the United Kingdom in the United States.

Architecture of Diplomacy © Eric Sander Lutyens' stunning Main Corridor comprises the principal East-West axis of the Residence. 

Those familiar will know that its neighbours include the Vice President's official residence, the Naval Observatory as well as Hillary Clinton's Washington D.C. residence. I've been fortunate to visit the Embassy and it is as spectacular as this sublime book shows. If you're a Brit in America, or an American in the UK, this book should have a place in your collection.

Architecture of Diplomacy © Eric Sander

At this point, overlooking the pool, we are now at the highest point on the site, a full twenty-three feet above the level of the entrance to the Chancery off Massachusetts Avenue.

Find out more about the party that accompanied the book launch by checking out Carol Ross Joynt's review of the party. 

Architecture of Diplomacy © Eric Sander

A view of the Ballroom looking southwards across the Main Corridor, through the Portico

outside the door and into the Garden. The three doors and two mirrors on this south side offer a perfect echo of those on the north side.