MEMORIAL DAY

A fountain and a suitable flag show outside a cemetery in New Orleans.

The weekend that marks the start of summer is Memorial Day weekend. Last Monday in May we call Spring Bank Holiday so it's, normally, the same day. This year 2012 we have an extra holiday - yay - but next weekend because of the diamond jubilee of our Queen. So it's a 4 day weekend for us, next week.
For me it's strange, if you know me you know I am a huge Americophile and unlike so many of my fellow countrymen a great admirer of most Americans - especially those who fight for their country and even more especially those that give their lives for their country.
We don't do patriotism like Americans, we don't do Memorial Day.
We should do Memorial Day, no really we should.
Again unlike a lot of my fellow countryman I support our troops wherever they are and most importantly whomsoever they are fighting alongside. I have got in to arguments for saying this but I do believe that American troops are always amongst the very best in the world.
My son was in the RAF and when he went to war in his still secret part of Iraq there were 60 Brits and 15,000 Americans, that's another story of course but all this just goes to answer why I as a Brit feel justified in remembering America's dead on Memorial Day.




So raise the flag and remember and I'm with you in spirit - oh and have a great weekend!