Independence Day, or The Fourth Of July, or July 4th, is the day that Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum thwarted an alien attack on the world by convincing a drunk Randy Quaid to crash a plane into a spaceship. It is celebrated every year in America with a day off and some sports, and every year, Will Smith sings the theme to The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air whilst Jeff Goldblum plays jazz flute at the All Star baseball game called The Superbowl World Series Playoff. It is televised live to a global audience of literally hundreds.

The date also coincides with the day in 1776 that George III, King Of The World, had finished playing with America, and gave it back. To be fair to George, he was just about to star in his own film, ‘The Madness of King George’, and he took the role a little bit too seriously. Not only did he give America back, but he also gave Colin Firth a speech impediment for The Kings Speech, and a bald head for The King and I. Mad.

Anyway. On the 2nd July 1776, Congress voted to declare Independence from Colonial rule, but the decision was not reported until 4th July. In what can only be described as an act of life imitating art, the 2nd July is actually World UFO Day, as it commemorates the supposed UFO crash in the 1947 Roswell Incident. You couldn’t make this stuff up (I have made some of this stuff up, but not the UFO Day thing).

Back to history. Congress wasn’t too happy about being ruled from Britain without any representation, and they threw some tea off a boat in Boston Harbour. Well, you don’t mess with the British when it comes to the national beverage. We were so angry that we sat down with a nice cup of tea and waited for it to all blow over. *Tea is available from the Queens Pantry by the way. Don’t throw it into the (river near you). You’ll be fined for littering.

Well, it didn’t blow over, did it. Some troublemakers, known as The Committee of Five (John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston) formed a group and wrote The Declaration of Independence. It was their first album together and went on to become a huge hit in the US. The Committee of Five didn’t really roll off the tongue, so they renamed themselves The Backstreet Boys (in reference to the back streets of Washington where the Declaration was written). Asked about the name change, Adams (who later changed his name to Nick Carter) stated that the name wasn’t agreed by ‘Everybody’ (yair-air) but said that ‘I Want It That Way’ because he was ‘Larger Than Life’.

Whilst the 4th July is celebrated as a national holiday in the US, a word of caution. Jefferson and Adams, the only 2 signatories who went on to become Presidents of the United States, both died on the same day in 1826. That's right. The 4th July. So, keep a close eye on Franklin, Sherman, and Livingston. Tell them to stay in this year.

Out of respect to our forefathers, The Queens Pantry will be taking the day off this Sunday 4th July as well as Monday 5th July. We will be drinking tea.