In what seemed like a split second, a sedate summer morning outside the White House suddenly erupted into a frenzy of action.

Heavily-armed cops and Secret Service agents with fingers permanently in ears swooped as temporary barriers were quickly thrust into place.

Tourists were politely but firmly marshalled out of harm?s way, while sidewalks were stripped bare of bystanders as well as the legion of giant, gas-guzzling SUVs that stalk Washington?s wide roads like four-wheeled bears.

Even the army of inquisitive grey squirrels, that moments earlier had been darting cheekily through security fences and across the Oval Office lawn, raced up trees out of the way amid the commotion.

Journalists from across the globe were starting to gather under huge banks of television cameras and lights. But crowds were forced to strain from a distance to see what was going on at the monument-laden hub of the world?s most powerful nation.

The Bermuda delegation was in town ? but this hustle and bustle had nothing to do with Premier Alex Scott.

They were safely ensconced inside a wing of the historic home of the Commander-in-Chief, after breakfast talks with non-household names in the administration.

The big show of security was for Australian Prime Minister John Howard, whose limousine motorcade swept past the crowds quicker than a Glenn McGrath bouncer in an Ashes clash.

The PM from down under, a loyal supporter of the US-led war in Iraq and granted a gala dinner welcome in Washington as a result, appeared to have stolen Mr. Scott?s thunder.

Alongside the stars and stripes adorning most state buildings in DC, Australian flags fluttered in the breeze. And if you squinted at one from a fair distance, that Union Jack in the corner almost made them look Bermudian.

The Government trip to DC ? the first official delegation to gain such high access since Sir John Swan met George Bush Senior in the early 90s ? had been hyped back home.

Even though talks with heavyweight Republicans featured on the heaving, two-day schedule, officials privately never expected the visit of a small Island from the middle of the Atlantic to register with the media on the crowded DC political landscape.

And it didn?t; although the ultimate aim of the trip was to re-establish links and find common ground for the future on issues like security and the finance industry, never to grab Washington Post headlines or secure airtime on the rolling news stations covering this imposing, austere old city, clearly ? understandably ? still on edge after the horrors of 9/11.

US front pages were never going to happen for Bermuda ? even if reporters had not been transfixed by rows over policing the Mexican border, the ongoing crisis in Iraq and the President?s dismal popularity ratings ? ?Dubya? is now apparently more unpopular than Richard Nixon was in his desperate last days of power.

As the Premier?s team drove away, unnoticed, out of a White House side gate, asked tourists and sharp-suited political pen pushers if they knew Bermuda was in town.

They didn?t, so we asked reporters, assuming they might have a faint idea about the day?s visitors to the White House.

But they didn?t know Mr. Scott had gone to Washington, either.

?I?ve heard nothing about the Bermuda delegation,? said reporter Peter Gold, from the Japanese Fuji TV station.

?I know it?s a nice place to visit with nice beaches, golf courses and pink sand.?

He later admitted he had ?no idea? what a dark n? stormy was.

Richard Tomkins, of United Press International, said the Premier?s visit had made it onto a media list.

He too, though, was concentrating on immigration.

Broadcaster Carol Han said she just thought of ?paradise? when Bermuda was mentioned.

?Unfortunately, I do not think of the Premier,? added Carol, who was covering the visit of Winter Olympic champs to Capitol Hill.

Next up was New York Times staffer Jim Rutenberg.

?The big news is immigration,? he said, dashing to a press briefing across the city.

However, the reporter said he would not be covering the Bermuda talks this week ? but said he would be very interested in any US return to The Rock.

?I would be very pleased if the President decided to go. I?d love a trip out there.?

And as the Government delegation moved from the White House for private chats with some of the most powerful, hard-to-access politicians in the country ? including a clutch of potential future Republican presidents ? return invitations were very much part of discussions.

Mr. Scott later revealed that many key players had expressed a desire to jet out to Bermuda for future dialogue about the Island.

With US Consul General Gregory Slayton boasting key contacts in the Bush administration, this renewed friendship now appears strong.

So maybe those Washington journalists should ditch those tedious Senate sessions, and start dusting down their beach towels, checking that their swimming shorts still fit and sampling a few dark n? stormies.