AS the two world leaders walked into the Dun Cow Inn, Tony Blair put an arm around George Bush and said: "Welcome to my local".

About 80 people crammed inside the pub at the bottom of Sedgefield village for lunch with the US President.

They started with cream of leek and potato soup, followed by fish and chips with mushy peas (the President did not put ketchup on his chips, preferring to dunk them instead, but appeared to enjoy his peas).

Dessert was lemon creme brulee, but by then the President was too full.

All had soft drinks, with Mr Bush on non-alcoholic lager. Mrs Bush and Cherie Blair enjoyed Appletise while Mr Blair had a Diet Coke.

On the top table were the "Famous Five", the five men who were in John Burton's house in Trimdon the night, in 1983, an unknown barrister from London came in search of a last-minute nomination.

Mr Burton, the Prime Minister's constituency agent, was sitting next to Laura Bush and his wife, Lily, was next to Mr Bush.

He said: "It was surreal sitting in between two of the most powerful men in the world."

Sitting next to Mrs Blair was Peter Brookes, with his wife, Christine, opposite.

He said: "Mr Bush was telling us how his dad is doing a parachute jump next month for charity on his 80th birthday.

"He said how much he had been looking forward to coming to Sedgefield and County Durham and how he had not been disappointed."

They also spoke about how County Durham's Sedgefield was twinned with Durham, in North Carolina.

Like Mr Burton, Mr Brookes was one of the Famous Five.

Another, Phil Wilson, said: "He was very interested in talking to us about Tony's history, and I presented him with a CD that our folk band, Skerne, recorded after September 11 raising money for the victims.

"He said he was going to listen to the lyrics on his way home on Air Force One."

The group also included Father John Caden, Mr Blair's former tennis partner.

Bar staff said Mr and Mrs Bush and the Blairs were friendly and seemed relaxed throughout their visit.

Assistant manager Jenny Waddleton had been looking forward to the visit for days and was not disappointed.

The 52-year-old, from the nearby village of Bishop Middleham, was working behind the bar and served drinks to the guests.

She said: "I think in real life Mr Bush looks much younger than he does on television.

"He was very chatty. He introduced me to Mrs Bush and said how nice it was to be here and we said it was wonderful to have him here."

Mrs Waddleton admitted to being nervous before meeting the President, but was reassured by security staff.

She said: "Mr Blair was utterly charming. He seemed very sincere and took time to speak and chat with everybody.

"These visits are always a rush, but it never felt like that and they were here for longer than they thought."

Landlord Geoff Raynor admitted feeling under pressure ahead of the lunch, but no more so than for any other large party.

He said: "We have a number of people come here and we try to treat them all with the same respect."