4th of July

The 4th of July is Independence Day in the USA (but for me it's first of all my youngest daughter's birthday - so congratulations Laura!).

The vans arrived at 9 this morning and brought us to Chesterfield, 45 minutes from Amherst.

The Parade in this little town has a longstanding tradition and people come here from all over the area to watch it.

Just as Bruce promised, the weather was sunny and dry - so perfect for the 4th of July. We flocked together under the old town hall, next to the brass band, in front of the country singer.

People were sitting along the main streets and we had done our best to wear the colours of the nation. Little flags were handed out and at 10.30 am the parade started with the Star spangled banner sung by a young woman with a good voice (so we wisely hummed along).

The parade itself consisted first of all of the honouring of community members, among which volunteers, which I thought was a nice token of recognition. All associations were represented: boy scouts, brownies, the cycling club, the most original car, the firebrigade, the police force, the veterans, a Scottish band, a wagon drawn by oxen, the local riding club, the Harley Davidson fans, old timer cars and tractors of every shape and colour. They all waved as they slowly passed by, we all waved back and took picture after picture.

Naeema and I sneaked away to the quilt exhibition which was absolutely incredible. This age-old craft is clearly alive and we saw some exquisite pieces of art.

In the afternoon the parade in Amherst took place. It is a little less impressive, though the sirens of the many police cars and fire brigades tried to make up for this. In this parade, there was a slight political hint by the women's movement for birth contol, less pollution, health care.

At 5.30 pm we were invited to ITD House for a lovely barbeque prepared by Kaye and her husband. We were spoiled with food and drinks and chatted on the porch with families and professors. Then we were called inside to sing "happy birthday" for José Luis. There were yummy desserts and a cake with many candles.

Darkness set in and we walked to Umass to watch the fireworks. On blankets spread out on the lawn, huddled together against the cool evening air we watched Independence Day 2009 come to an end in a colourful spray under a star spangled sky.