Thankful

I'm just home from a brilliant holiday in New York, specially timed to ensure I could spend Thanksgiving with best friends there in Manhattan. Although not my first visit to New York, it was my first experience of Thanksgiving Day and I would heartily recommend it if you have chance to be in the US. Folks genuinely celebrate just taking time with family and friends and for only that single day, will travel hundreds of miles if necessary to be together. And there is no distraction (both the pros and the cons) from gifts and presents but just good old-fashioned hospitality and the sharing of a feast of a meal. We didn't have marshmallow-topped potatoes (yes, honestly) but we did have a delish turkey, lovingly basted for hours, and a candied fruit pie (old family recipe) and with a nod to the Brits, a trifle ! There wasn't much evidence of the Pilgrim Fathers, apart from a couple of massive inflatables in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but given the latest worldwide events, we did all feel happy to be together and that we had a lot to be thankful for.