Independence Day

We commemorate the USA’s Independence Day by flying the “Star-spangled Banner” on 4th July. Its stripes represent the original thirteen states who, perhaps unwisely, eschewed the benefits of being subjects of the British Crown in 1776. As you peer through the cool, dank, overcast, misty drizzle of Sherenden Park in Wimbledon fortnight, spare a thought for the million Americans still without power (and air conditioning) in 41 degrees Celsius days after the violent, heatwave-induced storms of last weekend. SW