At Sailabration, Baltimore snubbed the Brits — again

Sailabration ended with "happy visitors, good will and civic pride," according to The Sun's editorial ("The second defense of Baltimore," June 20). Except for the shabby treatment of the superb instrumentalists and marchers of the British Royal Marines band, who played and marched to an almost non-existent audience every day at Fort McHenry.

Why this colorful and superbly presented performing group of Brits did not receive at least an occasional notice of their presence I do not know. I searched diligently for a mention on the Internet and among the handbills announcing Sailabration but found none other than that of their participation in Sunday's Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert.

As a result, every day they performed for almost no one. Worse, in performance they had to strive not to be drowned out by the chauvinistic excesses shrieking from the public address system, whose operators apparently neither knew nor cared about their discourtesy to the kindly efforts of friends who had traveled some 3,000 miles to help us observe our bicentennial anniversary. I am embarrassed by Baltimore's treatment of them.

Harry Gehlert, Baltimore