BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM Royal Air Force cadets try to shrug their way out of their teenage years. Emotionally, kids seem the same the world over. But I was struck by how well-spoken these teens were -- obviously, English is their first language, and they wield it well. I was also impressed by their sense of historical continuity in their community. This legacy is as inescapable in rural England as the rolling fields of green alfalfa and the pink cheeks of the residents.

Puttin’ on the Brits

STEEPLE Morden is a farming and bed-sitter community about 60 miles north of London. During the Second World War, it was home to the 355th Fighter Group, the famous "Steeple Morden Strafers."

In summer, I accompanied my father to England for a reunion of his wartime fighter squadron. It was quite a do, as little Steeple Morden hosted royalty for the memorial dedication -- some sort of duke, I believe.

The Royal Air Force and sundry aviation-enthusiast groups were involved as well. The airfield is now an alfalfa farm, but some of the original Nissen huts still stand.

England in summer is green, green, green. I was struck by the genuine sense of historical continuity in the community's culture, and that influenced the way I shot pictures to record the event.

Events included traditional English garden parties, draining pints at local pubs and listening to rather charming speeches by local officials.

It was the first time I'd taken a digital camera on a trip. How can I bore relatives without a tray full of Kodachromes? The pictures here were taken during a single afternoon.

BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM A digital camera allowed a seamless double exposure on a dim afternoon, capturing a pair of P-51 Mustangs over an ivy-covered, century-old schoolhouse in Steeple Morden.

BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM Residents Lorinda and David Crow hosted a garden party undaunted by gray, sprinkling skies.

BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM Even the smallest Royal Air Force base generally boasts a "plane on a pole" framed by flowers to greet visitors. Often full-size Fiberglas replicas are used instead of the authentic -- and now-fragile -- Hawker Hurricane.

BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM These folks on a London commuter train just looked quintessentially British in the north light.