Swede, neep or rutabaga?

Our third Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.

To my non-American readers, one cannot express the importance of this holiday enough. Even if families cannot get together for the Christmas holiday (which here is that day only, no Boxing Day), a supreme effort is made to unite the family for the Thanksgiving feast. Families travel huge distances to be with one another on the last Thursday in November, to sit down over a gigantic meal (see below) then fall asleep during the traditional football (American version) game on TV. The origin is related to the deliverance of the English settlers by Native Americans following the severe winter in Plymouth, Massachusetts

The Canadian’s too celebrate their own Thanksgiving, on the second Monday in October, reflecting the link to the English equivalent of Harvest Festival. Here in the US it is a Federal Holiday and as it always falls on a Thursday, the Friday is very often included so that a long weekend can be enjoyed by the family.

It didn’t take long for our son and daughter-in-law to determine that Thanksgiving would be held traditionally at our home. That isn’t a problem for my wife Gail, who loves “mothering” the extended family and is more than happy to cook for six (quite a small gathering really). The day starts off with me sprawled in front of the TV (there’s not that much to do whilst the turkey is cooking, at least that’s my excuse), to watch the magical annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York. It truly is a great couple of hours entertainment and although similar parades are held in cities throughout the land, Macy’s is the regarded as the best.

The Menu
We shall be having the traditional turkey with all the fixin’s – green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc. but with two additional fixin’s. With three of the six being of English birth, we must have roast potatoes (in lieu of sweet potatoes) and our daughter-in-law’s family tradition is to have mashed rutabaga [or as the English call than Swedes, the Scottish, neeps], so we include that. The traditional dessert [pudding] is pumpkin pie, something I thought I would not enjoy, but I do! We will also have an alternate choice, probably blueberry and maybe cherry pie. On a day when I (and nobody else) will be watching their waistline, I might just have them all!

On a more thoughtful note. As much as I enjoy the traditional feast, I do realize that we have a huge amount to be thankful for. My thoughts and prayers are with those who for one reason or other cannot be with their kinfolk, or worse haven’t the food to fill their bodies or a roof over their head – and there are many of them in this, the richest nation in the world!

I shall have a lie-in on Friday. However, Gail will be up before the sun to grab the bargains (or attempt to) in the "Black Friday" sales. But that's another story.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A catholic music taste - part 3

My love of "stirring" music continued. Brass and military band music, plus the powerful symphonic compositions of Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky were, and still are, favorites. The brass and military band concerts almost always included one of Suppé's [pictured here] rousing overtures, Light Cavalry, Poet and Peasant, etc. or an overture from an opera, Rossini's William Tell (naturally), The Thieving Magpie, etc. or of a Wagnerian masterpiece such as Lohengrin.

So opera was gradually introduced to me, albeit via the overtures and/or intermezzos. Again my Scottish work colleague, Jack McDonald, came to my aid when suggesting a visit to a touring version of Verdi's Rigoletto at the Theatre Royal in Norwich. I at once fell for the wonderful music and drama of Verdi. He remains my favorite operatic composer to this day. You will note that so far, my favorite composers were all of what in my opinion was a "romantic" school - Brahms and Verdi especially.

So listening to operatic arias, I began to appreciate that to be great, music didn't necessarily have to be loud or stirring. It can be just as powerful when quiet, gentle and serene. I then experimented with older composers, Bach, Mozart, Haydn - especially their symphonic works in the case of the latter, then more concertos, quartets and sonatas.

The violin concertos of Brahms, Mendelssohn and Dvořák were played on the Dansette until they virtually wore out! Another favorite was Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor. However, I can never hear this wonderful work now without thinking of the famous Morcambe and Wise TV sketch with André Previn [watch here], well worth watching, especially if you've never seen it before, although if you are English, this is highly unlikely.

Meanwhile I was still listening to "pop" and the latest trend in the alternative to rock 'n roll in England at the time, "Folk". This, like Trad Jazz during the early sixties became very popular and many folk clubs were formed, usually meeting in the upstairs rooms of the good old English pub. My best friend and I, later to become my brother-in-law, quickly became members of a local club and visited several others in neighboring towns, joining in the rousing choruses, swilling our dimpled mugs of good old English ale and wearing the uniform of "folkies" - a heavy cream colored Aran sweater and brown corduroy trousers! I cringe with embarrassment when I think of how we thought we were so "cool".

Popular folk singer and groups of the time were The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makim, Ewan MacColl, The Spinners (not to be confused with The Detroit Spinners), Pentangle, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and the American folk stars of the time Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary and the wonderful Tom Paxton.

To be continued . . . . . . . . . . . oh yes, there's lots more!

Fair Trade

Our weekly Bible Study group enjoyed a change of venue this week when on Tuesday we went on a “field trip” to the our local One World Market store. The object was to learn about the difference between fair trade and free trade.

Why should I, as a Christian, bother with fair trade products? Take coffee grown in a third world country as an example. Farmers very often barely survive and yet they are working to give a product (and large profits) to a huge company. The farmers remain poor because the companies do not pay them as they should.

Should we pay more for fair trade coffee? I intend to from now on and by doing so play my part in making sure those farmers get paid a fair price. Hopefully I can make a small difference in the world on behalf of the poor by purchasing coffee, chocolate and other items that have been made by companies who participate in fair trade.

A bonus is that One World Market, located on Ninth Street, Durham (not to be confused with World Market which is not a "fair trade" store as many people think) have a wonderful selection of chocolate and gifts.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Maggie at OWM for opening my eyes.

A weekend in VA

We are home from our 39th wedding anniversary celebratory weekend in Virginia. Not everyone’s idea of a romantic getaway I know, but we thoroughly enjoyed our four days in the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. We both love history and have nearly always spent our vacations either at or within easy reach of historical or cultural locations.

Colonial Williamsburg is awesome. The Visitor’s Center is extremely well run and informative. I suppose one can describe the historic area as a large open-air museum, but that’s not really the feeling you get when talking to the costumed guides (they really live the part, believe me). It has got to be the nearest thing to being transported back to the eighteenth century.

The "Governor's wife and daughter" talk to some visitors in Williamsburg

Our anniversary was celebrated on Sunday at Bruton Parish Church, which has served Christians from 1715 and still does. I suspect that no one could nod off during sermons through the centuries - the pews have perpendicular backs!

A musketeer gives a demonstration of his skill at Jamestown Settlement

The settlement at Jamestown is where it all began. The Visitor Center at the Settlement is impressive – a wonderfully designed building with great facilities. The galleries really give a good sense of the formation, struggles and (eventual) success of the settlement.

If Jamestown is where it began, then Yorktown, just 20-odd miles on the other side of the peninsular, is where British rule of the colonies was decided in the siege of Yorktown. It was a cold and windy afternoon that the Park Ranger took us on a tour of the battlefield. She told me that she would be “hard on the British”. Actually she was very fair and her narrative was very informative and entertaining. We took this with a smile – what else could we do, being surrounded by Americans?

An American howitzer and four mortars at Yorktown battlefield

If you get the chance and are interested in the history of this great nation, a visit to this area is highly recommended.

Baby talk

A chance word at Holy Eucharist this evening gave me the idea for another installment of the main theme of this blog.

My wife was holding the baby, literally, as a church member had brought along her six-week old son and Gail immediately gave mother a break by holding him throughout the service. Young Timothy started to whimper during our monthly, informal evening service of Eucharist with Healing, so his mother passed Gail a pacifier [dummy].

During the supper which followed (our Vicar had made a truly excellent vegetarian black bean soup), baby talk showed up some other "same language-different words" for common baby items. Gail fortunately did not have to undo Timothy’s babygro [onesie] to change his nappy [diaper], but she did have to wind [burp] him. Nor did she have to push his buggy or the older version “pushchair”, [stroller] or put him to bed in his cot [crib] or Moses basket [bassinet]. When Timothy is old enough to ride his first bike [cycle] he will probably need stabilizers [training wheels] and when his parents need a night out they will need the services of a baby sitter [child minder].

As much as I enjoyed our Vicar's soup, the icing [frosting] on the cake at tonight's supper was the inclusion of some ginger nut [ginger snap] biscuits [cookies] - yummee [yummee]!

Christmas is coming . . . .

On Thursday of last week we received our fist Christmas card. Admittedly it was from England, although why so early I have no idea. I'm sure this is the earliest ever. Unlike when living in Spain when we had a card delivered in April (just in time for Easter). No, that wasn't early, it was late!

On Friday we received our second! There was a good excuse for this as the senders, dear English friends, had posted the card in England en route to the ferry on the first part of their road trip to southern Spain where they, and their cat (who has her own passport), are spending three months in their beautiful home in Torreblanca. Experienced in Spanish life, they too, are aware of the failings of the Spanish postal service, so made sure that their card to us bore an English, rather than Spanish postmark!

Although we have, as yet, sent no cards, to England, Spain or anywhere else, we have sent the package of Christmas gifts to our Norfolk, England family. Our reasoning was threefold: we already had the gifts; it included an early December birthday gift; and we wanted to beat the bottleneck we know that the Royal Mail suffers pre-Christmas.

The US Postal Service, as usual, excelled themselves. Our daughter emailed us to let us know that the package had arrived in five days. Credit where credit is due.

Library visit and a sense of smell

I've always been an avid reader and consequently I always have had a "love-affair" with books. Not only the content, you understand, but also the actual item. Perhaps this influenced my decision to choose the printing industry as a career. When conducting visitors on tours of the book-printing plant I worked in for all of 35 years, I often astounded them with the enthusiastic statement, "the smell of a new book, turns me on"! It still does. Borders, Barnes & Noble and the like may try to disguise this by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, but it doesn't fool me. I can still breath in that combination of paper, ink and binding adhesive. It comes a close second to the scent of freshly baked bread or newly mown grass.

Alas, the same cannot be said for public libraries. They have a unique aroma and in my experience it is an international condition. I cannot remember never being a library member. We were when in England, in Spain, and didn't waste any time signing up when coming to live in North Carolina. Of course the digital age has changed the layout of many such establishments. Vast amounts of space are now taken up by audio books, CDs, DVDs and of course by many, many computers.

We have the choice of several branches, but we prefer the trip downtown to the main county library, where there is an enormous choice of the written word to be digested. It also carries copies of Trains magazine which I enjoy reading but have never got round to subscribing to. Our regular three-weekly visit was scheduled for Wednesday, but without any prior notice we found it to be closed for the day - staff meeting. Okay, while we were in the vicinity I took the opportunity to pay our annual property tax [council tax] and rescheduled our visit for Thursday.

With respect to librarians, they are one of those breed of workforce that are "born, not made". I know I can be accused of stereotyping here, but I'm speaking from experience over many years and many libraries, in Norfolk England, Benalmádena Spain, and now here in Durham North Carolina. Don't take this the wrong way, this is not a criticism (although a small minority are less than helpful), just an observation.

So what am I saying here? Hardly any differences between public libraries in England, Spain and North Carolina? Actually, no, there isn't. I'm not sure though how many books one is allowed at a time now in Norfolk County libraries (it was 8 when we lived there). In Spain it was a meagre 4, but our wonderful Durham County Library allow us 50, yes fifty, at one time - that's books, audio books and CDs! Just how the most enthusiastic reader would get through this amount in the three week checkout period I'm not sure. I usually borrow four books, one a week plus a spare. Perhaps I'm not such an avid reader as I thought I was!

I never did find out what that meeting was about. My usual charitable wife did remark, after a encounter with a particularly sourly staff member, that it certainly wasn't a training session on "How to greet customers with a smile"! No coment.

History is made - 2nd (and final) update

Okay, it's now official. The North Carolina presidential ballot was won by Barack Obama. Apparently there were not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit. Therefore, the Democrats gained a clean sweep in all positions - Presidential and State

Now I can back to my blog theme of comparing everyday living in NC to Europe in general and England in particular.

History is made - update

Only one state, North Carolina, has yet to confirm whether it's Presidental vote was red (Republican) or blue (Democrat). Apparently 40,000 votes cast were "unconfirmed" and each and every one has to be checked for authenticity. Even though Barack Obama has about 14,000 votes more than John McCain, it's too close to call. Amazingly, it will not be confirmed officially until November 24th!

And I am pleased to report, and I'm sure you are pleased to hear, that the jigsaw puzzle pictured yesterday was completed by my better half - despite the help(?) she received from Nimbus 2000!

Big cat puzzle

History is made

It’s 3pm here in North Carolina and although after all the excitement unfolding before our eyes on TV last evening, we remain one of two states in which the presidential race hasn't been decided. The result is too close to call in this, the Tar Heel state (the other is Missouri).

Despite this Barack Obama piled up a 349 to 162 lead in electoral votes over John McCain. As 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency we do know that Barack Obama is our President Elect. North Carolina has 15 electoral votes and apparently it could be some time before they are decided, even though Senator McCain trails Obama by 11,000 votes (out of over million).

The Democrats had a clean sweep for other offices in the State Legislature, including the Governor . . . . . and the proposed Food Tax for our fair city was heavily defeated — good news (for now).

Meanwhile, our eleven-year old kitty, Nimbus 2000, pictured below, couldn't give a hoot - she's seen it all before!

Did you really expect to complete that jigsaw puzzle today? =^..^=

An historic day?

It’s here at last! After twenty months, countless speeches, goodness knows how many hours of TV coverage and advertising, Election Day has finally arrived. Americans are up for this one. Of that there is no doubt. Millions have voted early and long lines [queues] are expected at polling stations around the nation today.

To continue my theme of differences between here and England the US Presidential Election is a prime example. Obviously there is no such thing in England, but I suppose the equivalent is a General Election. A similar term of office is served both by the American President and the British Prime Minister (although the former is four years while the latter, normally about the same time, can call an election at almost any time before five years). I was going to say that the English, together with their Scottish, Welsh and (Northern) Irish neighbors don’t actually vote for a Prime Minister directly - the only voters who have anything like a chance of that are those living in the prospective PM’s constituency. Although at first glance it looks as if here voters do, that’s not exactly the case; the complicated (to me) business of the Electoral College does that, so to a certain extent it’s an indirect vote here. However, all voters have the chance to vote for one of the Presidential Candidates.

Although we are, as yet, unable to vote here, I do realize things are very different. The last time we voted in person in England was in 2001 in local elections. The small village hall was the venue (open, as all polling stations, from I believe 7am until 9pm) and manned by two officials plus the statutory police officer. The voting paper had at most six names, if that and an officially provided soft pencil (attached by a piece of string to the polling booth) was all that was allowed to mark your voting slip.

Here the number of polling station officials is enormous; I’m not sure about the police officer though. The voting paper is Letter size (8.5”x11”) and contains not only the presidential candidates but those for State and more local offices as well as some local issues. For example, our local County voting papers will have also the candidates for State Governor, Lieutenant Governor (a sort of Vice Governor), candidates for the US Senate, the US House of Representatives, State Treasurer, etc. A highly charged local issue is for voters to decide whether they accept the proposal by our City Council to apply a 1% “Prepared Food Tax”. This would apply to restaurants, fast food outlets, delis, etc. (Not popular in this household)! Some States are also including much more important issues than a 1% Food Tax on their ballot papers - same sex marriage, abortion, etc.

Another difference here is the very size of the country. The polls close here in NC (Eastern Time) three hours before those in California (Pacific Time).

I, like millions of others, will be sitting in front of the TV this evening watching the drama unfold. The long campaign has certainly been tiring but at times entertaining and often frustrating. Today’s result will no doubt have an effect on us all – let’s hope America has chosen wisely.

God Bless America!