The Glorious Fourth

This evening my town indulges once again in its annual orgy of patriotic pyromania: the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air to a fare-thee-well. We shall thankfully be elsewhere leaving the family manse in the care of its guardian angel, who has so far successfully protected it from the aforesaid annual exercise in negligent arson.

We saw survey results the other day on the (one hopes not infallible) internet which revealed that a sizeable chunk of the American populace believes that this 4th of July celebrates America's 2014th birthday.  One does have to wonder what  else some folks may think they're celebrating.

Happy 4th, anyway.

Oh, and the video clip is not me being egregiously unpatriotic and obnoxious.  Not entirely, anyway.  It seems the melody for "The King Enjoys His Own Again" is the very same as "The World Turned Upside Down" which the British military band played at Yorktown for Lord Cornwallis's surrender to the American and French forces.  So they tell me, anyway.  It does seem a touch cheerful for the purpose, though, doesn't it.

And before the day is over, this day also commemorates the death day of the blessed Chideock martyrs, Fr John Cornelius,  John Carey, Patrick Salmon, and Thomas Bosgrave.  Their story can be found here.