There was the celebratory brunch on Sunday morning….

Then a fayre on Monday, where I took Amelia for all sorts of fun, including her first paella meal (although here they call it Pie- ella here) special balloons, face-painting, carousel rides, a petting zoo and more!

Did you know that British people love meerkats? It’s true!


My big treat was finding a dress that was originally over £200 for just £20 at a sidewalk sale!
Today celebrations included a village fete at the Abbey Gardens. It was packed with people! There were costume contests, swing dancing lessons, kid crafts, games, rides, and lots of picnicking. Amelia made a crown.

This kid is very patriotic. To be honest, I don’t know if I ever dressed Amelia up in red, white and blue for the 4th of July when we were in the States. Here, it somehow seems a lot more… classy.

There are decorations absolutely everywhere here. I love it!

Here’s a band at the garden today. Super fun.

Our neighborhood party was this afternoon. Unfortunately, we were very late, since Jeff still has to work (everyone else has had a 4 day weekend) and many people had left since it was so cold and windy. But it was sweet– there were long tables set up, where it was evident that neighbors had sat down for tea and cake together. We were able to chat up some of our neighbors, which was really nice. The one thing that struck me as just a little odd was at the very end, when we all had to pick up the tiny pieces of paper confetti off of the grass. As usual, everyone talked glumly about the weather– very British, indeed.
It’s been fun. I am really looking forward to reading all about how everyone else celebrated such a unique occasion!
It has been interesting watching bits of it on TV from afar so nice to read a first hand report from your neck of the woods as an ‘outsider’.
I discovered your blog just last week and have been loving reading through a lot of the ‘back issues’, I especially love the ones about food! Either at your place or eating out – great stuff!
Hi there MeMock– thanks for introducing yourself! I am really glad to hear that you are enjoying the food posts– more are on their way! I hope to be eating some genuine Belgian fries in 1.5 days!
Amelia is adorable in these pictures! She looks just like the Little Princess, of the cartoon. It’s very funny! Does she ever watch it (it is British, and the Queen walks around with a scarf on her head, much like QE).