I would like to wish my regular US blog readers a happy 4th July.
Although I have only managed to visit New York, Newport (Rhode Island), Boston (Massachusetts), Bar Harbor (Maine), and Portland (Maine) during my travels, I feel as if I have Internet friends from all over the country ... and I wish you all well!
Although I have only managed to visit New York, Newport (Rhode Island), Boston (Massachusetts), Bar Harbor (Maine), and Portland (Maine) during my travels, I feel as if I have Internet friends from all over the country ... and I wish you all well!
I'm a regular UK reader of your blog and it is my intention to have a happy 4th July.
ReplyDeleteIt is my 47th wedding anniversary and it is really kind of the Americans to celebrate along with us - although we do find them a little noisy :)
Nobby,
DeleteCongratulations! May I wish you and your wife a great wedding anniversary! My wife and I will be celebrating our 35th next month, so we have a few years to go before we reach our 47th.
All the best,
Bob
Thank you Bob. I look back over the years with a sense of dedication to the institution of marriage and the knowledge that together we have saved four people from being unhappy :0)
DeleteNobby,
DeleteMarriages are like most things in life; you have to work at them ... and in the end you get out at least as much as you put in. We may have had our ups and downs over the years, but we both stuck at it and made it work.
I am proud - and lucky - to be able to say that my wife is my best friend, and I don't know what my life would be like without her.
All the best,
Bob
Good God, you mean we've lost the colonies? Has anyone told Jacob Rees-Mogg?
ReplyDeleteCheers
Andrew
Rumblestrip (Andrew),
DeleteThey are still trying to break the news to him a little at a time. I understand that he was recently told about the war in South Africa ... and expressed a hope that the Boers would be given a damn good thrashing by our gallant redcoats!
All the best,
Bob
Thanks Bob! Looking forward to a wonderful day here in New Hampshire. Little bit of a cookout in the back yard. Later watching the Boston Pops on the television.
ReplyDeleteHistoric note.
Fremont, NH had a Mast Tree riot here back in the 18th century; your King's agents tried to reserve all the "good" trees for the ship building trades.
I'll end with a Revolutionary War exhortation from General Stark to his troops, "... live free or die.!"
Don
Brigadier Dundas (Don),
DeleteSounds as if you have a great day planned, and I hope that you enjoy it.
I'd never heard about the Mast Tree riot before; it sounds as if it might be the basis of an interesting little scenario.
All the best,
Bob
Thank you Bob! Here in the Pacific NW we are a few hours behind the rest of the parade.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Britain for getting us off to a great start. Um-mm...are there any bits we can give back?
William Stewart,
DeleteHave a great day ... and please don't feel obliged to return any bits of territory that you feel might be surplus to requirements. Like most things in life, as soon as you get rid of something you'll discover you need it!
All the best,
Bob
Also in the PNW, one has to engage in the local tribal festivities, including snide smart Alec comments from third generation immigrants about my Englishness etc. Sometimes I feel like a freak show. If only I'd married a Canadian instead!
DeleteOn territory, I subscribe to the idea of the PNW seceding and building a wall from Nunavat to Arizona. I don't think the U.K. wants anything given it's current foreign policy stance.
DeleteStephen Briddon,
DeleteIt doesn't sound that different from the sort of comments I had when I began living 'sarhf of de river' in 'Lund'n', having been brought up (or 'brung up' to use the vernacular) north of the River Thames. I was only truly accepted when I proved that I was born in Lambeth!
All the best,
Bob
Stephen Briddon,
DeleteAccording to the BBC series Taboo, ownership of Nootka Sound is the key to everything on the PNW coast.
Build a wall! A rather Trumpist attitude if ever I heard one! Just promise to build one ... that will keep people out!
All the best,
Bob
Thanks for the laughs and felicitations, gentlemen!
ReplyDeleteI had a good day playing board games. Now relaxing (also in the PNW, and wouldn't object so much to that kind of wall, Stephen! ha ha). I suspect the noise will be starting up soon (yesterday there was a sort of dress rehearsal).
Here's to all of us (American, Canadian, British, etc.)!
Fitz-Badger,
DeleteFelicitations and greetings to you too!
It sounds as if you've had a great day ... and I hope that the fun will continue in spite of the noisy celebrations!
It would be rather ironic if Washington State did leave the Union and applied to become part of Canada. Now that would be worth tweeting about!
All the best to all my regular blog readers on the Pacific North West,
Bob
What a lot of PNWers (though Cascadian is my preferred term). Just declared independence from household chores for the day. Huzzah!
ReplyDeleteStephen Briddon,
DeleteI've not heard the term Cascadian before. I assume that it is some sort of portmanteau word?
I assume that the war-cry for your declaration was 'No relaxation without perspiration'?
All the best,
Bob
I think Stephen was being tongue-in-cheeky. The wall would be to keep those red state folks out. I saw another proposal for the blue states to secede (labeled "bluexit"). I don't take any such proposals seriously. I think it's more likely the US will get more states, not fewer (Puerto Rico, possibly).
ReplyDeleteCascadian/Cascadia derives from the Cascades, one of the major mountain ranges of the PNW.
Fitz-Badger,
DeleteTongue-in-cheek is certainly young Mr Briddon's style!
As a 'remainer', I wholeheartedly support keeping the United States as a single entity ... and even expanding it if that is possible. I always felt that it was better to stay in the EU 'club' and try to change it rather than standing outside shouting about how badly it was run. Apparently 48% of the voters agreed with me ... but the majority did not.
I always assumed that the wall building idea was a political flim-flam ... but apparently its proposer was actually being serious and had never heard of the Maginot Line and the concept that people can go over, under, or around a wall!
Thanks for the explanation about the word Cascadian/Cascadia. It makes perfect sense.
All the best,
Bob