THE flag should be flying above a medieval manor house in the North-East today, despite restrictions of the coronavirus.
A traditional ceremony is staged in the grounds of Washington Old Hall, in Washington, on Wearside, on US Independence Day, each July 4.
It features the raising of the Stars and Stripes standard of the US, to the playing of the national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner, amid pomp and pageantry with guests from, “across the pond”.
But with the National Trust-run property, the ancestral home of the family of the first American president, George Washington, closed due to the Covid crisis, a trimmed down version will be staged today.
Laraine Penson, of the trust’s North region, said: “Washington Old Hall remains closed but we have been working with partners to facilitate an event this year.
“It will feature a small invited group of representatives ensuring we can continue the tradition of marking the Fourth of July, whilst following Government guidelines on social distancing.”
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