I remember, years ago, a friend’s British cousin telling me that in the UK, the Fourth of July was “just another day.” My ten-year-old mind boggled. (I think I’d pictured them all in mourning.)

But that’s pretty much how it is. Though I did spot this poster for “Independents’ Day” in an Oxford shop window today, boosting the “buy local” campaign:

At our house, though, we’re going for broke. It’s been a gorgeous, sunny, American-summer kind of day, and Sweetpea took an American flag to school for show-and-tell (a big hit, we were told). We paraded to Sousa and sang “Yankee Doodle.” And following in last year’s footsteps, we had a birthday cake for America, a (mostly) strawberry shortcake:

Note the 13 blueberries…

Wishing happy celebrations to all my American friends — wherever you happen to be.