On Wednesday 15th October, Mark Lanning, a Cultural attaché from the US Embassy gave a very insightful lecture on the political system and forthcoming presidential election in the United States of America. The event was extremely well attended, with sixth formers and year 11 keen to hear the talk.

We all enjoyed hearing about a variety of topics such as the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary branches of government; how to run for president;  the current candidates and their policies, as well as the ‘doodies’ they would have to undertake once they are elected.

Amongst the staff, sixth formers and year 11s who attended, many of us were selected to answer questions on the spot. These ranged from the relatively simple, ‘who was in the running for president’, to the much more difficult ‘what is your opinion on whether the public’s decision to vote would be effected on the current credit crunch. We all enjoyed the audience participation, as all who answered questions were given prizes courtesy of the American Embassy.

We particularly enjoyed the Saturday Night Live skit featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton, in which ‘Palin’ declared that she excelled at foreign policies as she ‘could see Russia from her house’. We were informed that the notorious parody had ended up on respectable news channels across America. We also watched several clips from the presidential and vice-presidential debates, and to many of us the real Palin did not seem too different from her impersonator.

The Greenwell Society were then privileged to enjoy a wonderful dinner with Mr Lanning. The conversation flowed as the topic went from our plans post-Woldingham, to Mr Lanning’s views of actors such as Schwarzenegger, entering the world of politics. We talked about the possibility of inviting Katie Price, better known as Jordan, as our next guest speaker on her business empire. Mr Lanning was kind enough to invite us to the American Embassy in Russia during our forthcoming trip in February.

It was an informative and enjoyable evening for all, and we would like to thank Mr Lanning, Mrs Ruffle and the rest of the Greenwell Society for making the event such a success.

Susannah Upton
The Greenwell Society