An English Thanksgiving

Well, even though they do not celebrate Thanksgiving over here, I really was able to celebrate in a neat way the entire weekend. Thursday night I attended the second awards banquet with 9 of my fellow male co-workers. It was a very fun evening, as the banquet took place at a Marriott Hotel in Leicester, about an hour and a half away. The food was delicious as I was served, fried goat cheese and a Chinese veggie dumpling to start, a beef medallion, veggies, and mashed potatoes for the main course, and a walnut chocolate cake for dessert. This was all followed by chocolate covered strawberries, cheeses, grapes and tea. The food was not the only enjoyable part to the evening. There was a dance and singing act from Russia, followed by a speaker who was a famous rugby player, and then the awards ceremony itself. The best part about all of this....WE WON!! Castlet won the award for World Wide Exporter 2009. Everyone was very excited, and to be a part of the winning company makes it an even better feeling. After a celebratory drink we headed home...finally getting there at 2AM!!

Sunday afternoon was a party at Margaret and Bryan's called An American Thanksgiving. They normally have a Christmas party but because I am here, they decided to do a Thanksgiving party in my honor. It really was an amazing party and day. There was a piano player, playing some American favorites, a wonderful buffet including pumpkin pie, and an endless amount of wine. Jaime and I had decorated the house on Saturday with American flags, red/white/blue streamers, pilgrims, leaves, pumpkins, and other things. It was really fun decorating, since I missed out on doing this at home. Everyone who came to the party loved the decorations. It was fun getting to explain to everyone what Thanksgiving was as well. So many people didn't know and it was nice getting to explain my family traditions and the history. One couple even brought me a little present for Thanksgiving, a tea cup with the Lincoln Cathedral on it. A very nice gesture from people I had never met before. Everyone was so generous and having everyone wish me Happy Thanksgiving, really made the day a special one. While I may not have been able to watch the Macy's parade, or play games with the family or eat a turkey feast, I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving in a special way that I very much enjoyed.