The President's Many Men 17/6/14

I resent anything that stops me getting to the wine shop, so police cars, barriers stretching as far as the eye can see, and cops telling me I can't get to the other side of the street are always going to bring out my wrath.

Except tonight. Emerging from my building to the heavy security, I was completely thrilled that it was all in favour of President Obama, who would be arriving shortly.

So, I stood with my iPhone, among a handful of people, with the video set to record.

When the first motorbike appeared, there were a few screams (not hugely loud - there couldn't have been more than 30 of us there), but we were to be disappointed. The President did not follow. Then, another group of bikes turned up, lights flashing and promising the great man. They came and went, too. Then, another lot (you're getting the general picture now?).

Finally, a cavalcade that would have outdone any Star Wars movie appeared. Headlights, flashing lights, lights on the top of police cars - it felt like an invasion. And, in the middle of all the bikes, trucks, SUVs, big black cars, little black cars, there was what we had all come to see: a car with a flag on it. Well, two cars with flags on, to be precise.

It was over in seconds. "He was in the second one," said a rather smug man, who appeared the only one of the assembled throng who knew what was happening.

Now, I didn't expect the President to get out of his car and offer to have a selfie taken with me, but all the same, it was a bit of a letdown. In the UK, I have no interest in anyone else's excitement when the presence of a royal (no, I refuse to give that word a capital letter) beckons.

I scream in London, when I am stuck in traffic when the horses leave Buckingham Palace at mid-day and make their way down the Mall.

I am a reluctant party goer for any royal wedding. But I admire Obama hugely: a black President?! Geez. I am so thrilled to have seen that in my lifetime.

He was part of the reason I relocated to LA. He was elected on the eve of my 50th birthday and I watched the TV coverage through tears - and not because of my advancing age. I felt like having a new start and thought it would be interesting to be in a country that was embarking on new times, too.

So, despite the fact that the moment came and went in, well, less than moment, I felt thrilled to have accidentally caught it. There is still a great deal of racial prejudice in the US, and the poor guy has inherited a heap of shit from Bush, not least the mess that was created in Iraq, the "benefits" of which we are now witnessing. I admire his achievement.

I have never made any secret of the fact that I am no royalist; anyone accorded privilege purely by virtue of their birth just sticks in my gut. It's true that to some extent, we are all accorded privilege, or lack of, by virtue of our birth, but for most of us, that doesn't come with the title Head of State, a ton load of houses, and a taxpayer funded lifestyle.

Of course, Americans love the royals; they love Downton Abbey and its residents more, probably because they are under the delusion that they really are royalty.

Personally, I dislike Downton Abbey almost as much as I dislike the royal family.

Despite the criticism Obama attracts in vast areas of America, I remain convinced that he is a good man who got where he did on merit, hard work, shrewdness, and, incredibly, against all the odds.

If I had had a little American flag on a stick, I would have waved it when he went past.

Instead, I went into the Irish pub McQuaids opposite my apartment block and watched my video of the motorbikes and cars.

All the President's men. Dozens of them.