As you may remember, in my Independence Day column this year I included excerpts from a British columnist's take on the US.

It's always interesting to hear what our cousins across the pond' think of what us Yanks' are up to (sorry, folks, but the denizens of L.A.-i.e. Lower Alabama-do qualify as "Yankees" to the Brits).

So it was great fun to meet and talk this weekend with a recent visitor to the Camellia City, 20-year-old Katie Robertson of Lincoln, England.

Katie is currently an exchange student at Ball State University in Indiana.

Ed and Alice Jernigan opened their home and hearts to this charmer, and plenty of local citizens welcomed the personable young visitor, who said she felt "quite the celebrity" during a get together in her honor at the Jernigan's home Sunday night.

Katie finds she likes Alabama ("I can't believe all these TREES"), and its "very nice" people, quite a lot.

It was a fine, celebratory mood at the Jernigan home, where two locally based fellow Brits, Hilda Davies and Olga Morton, enjoyed swapping stories with Katie, who also received a brief and enlightening civics lesson from a contingent of local leaders.

(Later, she discovered the joys of Golden Flake Cheese Curls…aren't cultural exchanges fun?)

More on this special visit (and the connection that brought the Jernigans and Katie together) in an upcoming story….

And it was such fun to see all the cool costumes at the Greenville High School auditorium Saturday night…and it wasn't even Halloween yet!

Kudos to the hard-working women of the Camellia City Junior Woman's Club for all their efforts in putting together the 2003 Butler County Junior Miss program (and its cute trick or treat' theme).

All the girls looked beautiful and the talent presentations went very well. After several spills during rehearsals, there were fears at least one of the young ladies might slip and fall on the new-and-still-slippery stage at GHS Saturday nightn but the evening went off without a hitch.

I'm betting our new Junior Miss Emmaline Walters, local look-alike to actress Sandra Bullock (Bullock only wishes she could dance so exquisitely) is still on cloud nine.

Emmaline was already a beautiful and charming young lady when I taught her in elementary art and music in the sixth grade…and time has only improved this dazzler.

Congrats, Emm'!

We'll be bringing you a profile of this delightful young lady in the coming weeks…

And let me assure all the dear ladies who are readers of our sister publications that the story on the Reigel-Boss reunion WILL be carried in Crenshaw County, too (once I finish it…things have been busy, y'all).

And keep those great ideas comingn remember, I need those favorite recipes, all you fabulous Camellia Cooks!

Angie Long is a staff writer and columnist for the Greenville Advocate.

She may be reached by e-mail at angie.long@greenvilleadvocate.com or you may call and leave a message at 334.382.5145.