A Happy 4th of July to All of My American Friends and My Friends Across the Pond

[Robert]

Thank you, Gareth. That was much, much better.

[Pcdunn]

Can someone explain to me where the American accent came from if they were all Englishmen?

Hello, Harry.

Well, the Englishmen came from all over England, bringing different regional accents, then there were settlers from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Plus there were many European immigrants even prior to the 1770s, Dutch, German, French, Spanish down south and out west... We were a bunch of mutts even in the beginning.

American accents are multiple: Southern (with various regional variations), Applachian, Bostonian, Texan, "Down East" (Maine), New Englander, Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, and the so-called Standard American accent which is what most American newscasters speak.

If you want to study the evolution of the English Language, try the book or TV documentary called "The Story of English", which is fascinating.

[Sam Flynn]

Thank you, Gareth. That was much, much better.

That's Barbra on the piano, by the way. The vocalist is Jim Reeves

[Robert]

Jim on vocals? I could have sworn he was playing the drums in the distance.

[Sam Flynn]

Jim on vocals? I could have sworn he was playing the drums in the distance.

Nah, Rob - that was Sir Peter Pears thumping a wooden crate, skiffle-style.

[Robert]

Here is Sir Peter playing a dustbin (Yehudi on violin) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODEShfdxoR0

[Mayerling]

Jackson was a tough S.O.B. Someone pulled a gun and tried to shoot him but the gun misfired. Jackson grabbed the guy and beat the hell out of him.

c.d.

To date, Andy Jackson is the only U.S. President who beat the hell out of his attacker in a Presidential assassination attempt (the first known one, by the way).

The attacker (in January 1835) was a dotty house painter named Richard Lawrence. Lawrence believed he was King Richard III of Britain and the United States, and that Jackson was a usurper (Jackson was frequently called "King Andrew" by his enemies) who had stolen his throne and property. Little did Lawrence realize, if he was King Richard III he would have been buried under a future car park in Leicester (but how would Richard Lawrence have guessed that - the gasoline engine car would not be invented for nearly half a century). Lawrence, tried for attempted murder, was sent to an insane asylum where he died in 1861.

Jeff

[Mayerling]

Here is Sir Peter playing a dustbin (Yehudi on violin) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODEShfdxoR0

Thanks Robert. I listened to Tommy Donnegan here, and than listened to him doing "Hand Down Your Head Tom Dooley". He was quite good.

Jeff

[Mayerling]

Hello c.d.

George Washington was a royalist!

For a bit of American nostalgia:

His ancestors were from a place not far from me, Washington Hall in County Durham, preserved today as part of the National Trust.

One entry into Washington proudly states: "The Original Washington".

One of my Grandmas lived there as a very young child, along with a lot of other squatters during WW1. Her Mam had come down from Scotland when the head of the house was killed at the Battle of Ypres and these people who had lost their bread winner and were homeless were housed there.

So, his family were natives of County Durham, as was John Lilburne, mentioned earlier, whose opinions underpin so much of the United States constitution - particularly the 5th Amendment I think.

So, there aren't any hard feelings, as we have a shared history.

At least one of his relatives was knighted - a "Sir William Washington". He had curious relatives by marriages. One was George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, and another (in his own century) was Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers. In fact, a later Earl Ferrers (in the 19th Century) is named Washington Shirley, and was the subject of a weird breach of promise suit in 1846.

Jeff

[Sam Flynn]

I listened to Tommy Donnegan here, and than listened to him doing "Hand Down Your Head Tom Dooley"

Ah! So now I know where my dad got "Hang down my leg long tooley", his nickname for a famous England 2nd row rugby forward (Wade Dooley).

[Fleetwood Mac]

To date, Andy Jackson is the only U.S. President who beat the hell out of his attacker in a Presidential assassination attempt (the first known one, by the way).

The attacker (in January 1835) was a dotty house painter named Richard Lawrence. Lawrence believed he was King Richard III of Britain and the United States, and that Jackson was a usurper (Jackson was frequently called "King Andrew" by his enemies) who had stolen his throne and property. Little did Lawrence realize, if he was King Richard III he would have been buried under a future car park in Leicester (but how would Richard Lawrence have guessed that - the gasoline engine car would not be invented for nearly half a century). Lawrence, tried for attempted murder, was sent to an insane asylum where he died in 1861.

Jeff

This is a sad indictment of the modern day. The world needs more people believing they're Richard III. Clearly they can't all be Richard III but that's beside the point.

I would support them: "yeah, they've got beards and they're wearing a ruff, easily Richard III, all of 'em".

These people should be cherished, not locked up. What's the alternative? Everyone aspiring to moving numbers around spreadsheets?

[Beowulf]

Can someone explain to me where the American accent came from if they were all Englishmen?

Years ago, being from NY and leaving all my 'r's off, I wondered why did we do that?

Then one day a Beatle song was playing...and the answer came to me!