Thanksgiving 2012

Like most people in Britain, I spent most of my day unaware of Thanksgiving Day, one of my favourite days happening over the other side of the sea.  It was an unusual day on many counts.  The most unexpected event was the crowd of 80 or so people gathered at the roundabout just outside the railway station in the centre of town.  I was just trying to remember to stop at the grocers on the way home when I ran into them.  I was nearly through it when they started counting down: 10-9-8…  I emerged from the crowd just in time to catch the lighting of the Christmas tree in the centre of the roundabout.  I chuckled to myself as I walked into the grocers as I became aware that the town tree was lit in the middle of Thanksgiving day.

Another unusual event was steak night at the pub.  It happens every Thursday, and we have been before, so it was not unusual in its existence or our appearance.  The 'Thanksgiving Special' on the menu and the presence of a little Thanksgiving-do at the centre of the pub replete with mini American flags and party horns was, however, atypical.  The musical selections was the essence of the British stereotypical concept of American music: Vegas Elvis, truncated Don McClean, 80's Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Frank Sinatra, and late 80's Heart.  Mmmm.  My beloved pointed out that nearly every time we have come to that pub, around half a dozen times or so, we have encountered Americans there.  I am still resistant to the idea that Americans would wave flags and blow part horns on Thanksgiving Day.  But this was the same day that my wife had to point out to me that term 'fish fingers' was English, not American.  So I am clearly no longer able to distinguish betwixt the twain. The question remains: why so many Yanks in Surbiton?