Happy Independence Day!

[timj]

July 4, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, The symphony orchestra performs " The 1812 overture" which has nothing to do with American Independance, but is a great excuse to fire cannon.....TimJ

bandstand with orchestra



16 cannon with powder

[petertong]

Hi Klassical,

I for one am glad we are friends with our British cousins these days instead of enemies... that lets us focus on more important things like enjoying a certain singer from another former british territory

I was reading about the battle of Kings Mountain (on the border of South and North Carolina - during the Revolutionary War) the other day. Vicious fighting. And of course during the war of 1812 the Brits captured northern Maine, burned our capital, ravaged the New England coast, and attempted to take a large chunk out of the US starting with New Orleans . What a ways we have come!

Anyhoo... a belated happy birthday to these united states!

Peter T.

PS: Do Americans expats in England get together for Independence day celebrations ? Back in Taiwan on July 4th the American Chamber of commerce would put together a really large get together for American expats. Fireworks, everything... almost felt like we were back in the States again... a fun day - complete with grease pole climbs and all kinds of fun activities - and capped off with an amazing fireworks display (actually was better than the ones I've seen here in the US I think).

klassical said:

Greetings from America! I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I should even approach this (what I thought would be a very sensitive) subject. I thought I might pretend to be a loyalist or something. But "y'all" are so friendly that I can't help but post a reply and say thanks!!! It reminds me of the time I was in Hampshire (at L'Abri in Greatham, 1975) and someone made red, white and blue cupcakes for the American students on the 4th of July. How gracious you folks are! It makes me wonder why we separated in the first place. I've always wondered what would have happened if King George III would have come to Philadelphia, taken a personal interest in all the fuss over here, and invited Jefferson, Adams, and others from the colonies to take seats in Parliament. I remember reading a letter from Lord Chesterfield to his son in which he made the argument that London ought to stop demanding taxes of the colonies (which were designed to add something like 20,000 pounds to the treasury) and remember the trade England enjoyed with her colonies which was bringing in I believe about 20 million pounds (the numbers are probably off but I'm sure you get his point). Obviously there were several voices in England around 1776 supporting colonial arguments...and oh how clear is hindsight!!! Anyway, I'm so glad we're all friends now. Just to prove how strong that bond is, I just got back from a 4th of July boat parade. As I made my way down the boardwalk afterward, there were thousands of American flags waving proudly to be sure. However, I also spotted a few British flags as well. How cool is that!! Again, thanks to all of you in the UK for your warmth and friendship. God bless the United Kingdom and God bless the United States of America on this, her 231st birthday.
Klassical

[postscript]

Delighted the family you are staying with went to so much trouble to help make you feel at home. Glad you had a good Independence Day Celebration.
Peter S.

[postscript]

What a very lovely tribute klassical. Thank you. I am sure that sentiment is echoed across the States, the UK and otehr former colonies in large measure. What we need to remember is that the best families have tiffs and the ability to have a tiff is a strength not a weakness.
Peter S.

[chrisw]

Happy 4th of July!
^{I miss Philly!}

[postscript]

Quite agree, TimJ. Makes me nostalgic. With the dollar nearer where I think it ought to be --the first time I came over it was ALMOST $2.5 to the £1 I should be out there! Just not possible at the moment unfortunately.
Peter S.

[klassical]

Thanks to Peter T and Peter S and all who contributed to this thread during the past couple of days. All of the posts warmed my heart immensely! Wow, Caite, your host family is amazing!! I do hope everyone in the States and Americans everywhere had a terrific fourth. I also hope all of Hayley's fans had a great fourth, too! (How many of you have taken a hit with the question..."Is there a fourth of July in England?"). And those of you in the UK, know that the hearts of those of us here in the States are especially with you when we hear of terrorist threats and attacks, just as yours were with us on 9/11. May we always keep each other lifted up in prayer! Having said all that, I am happy to report that all of us within the English-speaking world....in fact the entire world...have been conquered, not by war. revolution, or terrorists but by the phenomenal young New Zealander with the voice of an angel. Happy summer/winter to Hayley fans around the world!!!
Klassical

[Mark]

Hi Caite

What a lovely & thoughtful idea of the family your staying with to help make you feel more at home Thanks for sharing the photos - did you spot yourself in the mirror on one of them ?

Happy Independence Day for yesterday

<3 Mark x

[meldy]

I went inside to sit for a while after my brothers set out with their fireworks and when I closed my eyes, the noise from all the fireworks around the neightborhood actually felt like the I was really there on Independence Day! I watched "The X-Files" (yeah I loved that show!) maybe it was an American-thing, but Gillain Anderson (actress who played Agent Scully) is actually from England! We're all somehow connected!

Meldy

[Mark]

Hi Meldy

I lked the x-files too but we I haven't seen them repeated on UK TV for quite some time. You're right, we are sort of "all connected" in a way - even more so through the internet, which includes of course our forum Did you get to see any fireworks ?

Thanks also to Klassical, Tim, Caite and anyone i' ve missed for sharing your independance experiences. I for one and it looks like other members too, were thinking about you all yesterday.

Best regards
Mark

[meldy]

Hey Mark,

Yeah, they don't show "The X-Files" on TV anymore but I watched it because I have the 9th season on DVD I absolutely agree with you, this forum is also a great example on how we are all somehow connected even though we're thousands of miles/kilometers away

I saw lots of fireworks!! Especially since I live like a block away from "Knott's Berry Farm" theme park and they do a whole firework spectacular show! Pretty neat

Meldy

[petertong]

meldy said:

I went inside to sit for a while after my brothers set out with their fireworks and when I closed my eyes, the noise from all the fireworks around the neightborhood actually felt like the I was really there on Independence Day! I watched "The X-Files" (yeah I loved that show!) maybe it was an American-thing, but Gillain Anderson (actress who played Agent Scully) is actually from England! We're all somehow connected!

Meldy

Hi Meldy,

I don't know if Gillian Anderson is from England, but she did attend high school here in Grand Rapids, MI, USA... I do believe I've driven past the school a few times... if she is from England she must have done something serious to get rid of any accent!

best regards,
Peter T.

PS: the only downside to the 4th is eating way too much during cookouts!!!! Not the best feeling afterwards

[petertong]

klassical said:

And those of you in the UK, know that the hearts of those of us here in the States are especially with you when we hear of terrorist threats and attacks, just as yours were with us on 9/11. May we always keep each other lifted up in prayer! Having said all that, I am happy to report that all of us within the English-speaking world....in fact the entire world...have been conquered, not by war. revolution, or terrorists but by the phenomenal young New Zealander with the voice of an angel. Happy summer/winter to Hayley fans around the world!!!
Klassical

Definitely true... we are in this together.

One interesting and perhaps weird thought I had... was that if the British Army had been able to take New Orleans not much would have stopped them from going up the mississippi river and taking the center portion of the US at that time. The Brits tended to win when they were backed up by their navy (ie near water). That would have been huge... it may be conceivable that the "Canterbury Association" (which would have had a different name obviously) might have decided that setting up their model Christian city in the new British Territory instead and therefore the original NZ Westenra might have chosen to settle in what is now the central US instead of NZ (passage was over 3x less expensive - as NZ was about as far distant as you could want to go). Anyways, a fun thought

I bet Hayley is glad things worked out the way they did!

Peter T.

PS: Interesting tidbit, Edward Pakenham the British General that led the attack on New Orleans (and was killed) and Stonewall Jackson were actually distant cousins ... sad isn't it! An account of the battle from the British point of view here: homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/harry/harry22.html

[toronado]

petertong said:

PS: Interesting tidbit, Edward Pakenham the British General that led the attack on New Orleans (and was killed) and Stonewall Jackson were actually distant cousins ... sad isn't it! An account of the battle from the British point of view here: homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/harry/harry22.html

And his sister was married to the Iron Duke! Imagine how much different the war might have gone had he been in command.

[meldy]

petertong said:

Hi Meldy,

I don't know if Gillian Anderson is from England, but she did attend high school here in Grand Rapids, MI, USA... I do believe I've driven past the school a few times... if she is from England she must have done something serious to get rid of any accent!

best regards,
Peter T.

PS: the only downside to the 4th is eating way too much during cookouts!!!! Not the best feeling afterwards

Hey Peter,

Oh yeah, I got confused for a while there because I remember Gillian mentioning England when she was growing up. She was born in Chicago then moved to England Then after like 9 yrs or so came back to the U.S., she was the only one with a British accent at her school But she currently lives in London, so I guess she just loves England

Cookouts!! Yum!! But yes, the side-effects or should I say, consequences are not very pleasing hehe i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Meldy