Giving thanks

Waking up in London on Thanksgiving morning is enough to make even the most brazenly cool (editorial license at play) New Yorker a wee wistful. No standing in the cold to barely catch a glimpse of Garfield's whiskers in the Macy's parade; no being brought to tears about the turkey being dry, the carrots cold or the potatoes lumpy; no one intentionally mentioning things over dinner that they know will upset you, things that stopped being important to you years ago.

No, enough indulgent self-pity for today. Instead I am going to start us off on a list of things to be thankful for today. Because that is what the day is about after all. Or, at least I will convince myself of such whilst I sit at my desk tucking into a limp 'Thanksgiving Special' on granary from Pret. (Incidentally, I prefer harps to violins).

Today we give thanks for...drum(stick) roll please:

1. The Democrats control Congress again and Rumsy is gone.

2. There are no more 'hungry' people in the U.S. No, that's not a typo. By government decree, the 35 million Americans who aren't always sure where their next meal is coming from will now be referred to as people experiencing "very low food security." Eat that load of turkey, George Orwell. So with spin aside, I am most thankful 2008 is one day closer.

3. Amy Winehouse The Billie Holiday of the 21st century. Amy's new album Back to Black is raw, genius material about life in contemporary London. And the rousing, churchy 'Rehab', in which Winehouse describes how her father tries to wean her off alcohol ('Try to make me go to rehab/ I say no, no, no'), shows Lily Allen who's the boss.

4. Posh and Becks. That in this year of calamitous celebrity break-ups, England's favourite couple are holding it together. Stop snickering.

5. This Fox News Video


6. New blogger buddies. And last, but never least, I am thankful for all of my loyal readers. So without further ado, over to you...