We have been back in the UK for four months now and this past month saw the arrival and departure of not one but three sets of American visitors. A family of six made the round trip to share the “Thanksgiving Holiday” with us which is typically celebrated on the last Thursday in November in the States.

I did try to explain that Thanksgiving did not actually exist in England but this did little to deter them. They were more than happy to bring a piece of the US to the UK, along with some loved and missed American goodies. I recently read an article that stated Thanksgiving celebrations were becoming more prevalent in the UK along with the associated Black Friday and cyber Monday shopping concepts. Nothing quite like giving thanks for what you have then rushing out to acquire yet more the next day.

I think that the UK shopping public is still getting to grips with this sales promotion trick. It was also reported that 31 per cent of what was brought on Black Friday was returned the following week. Hardly worth being trampled underfoot for, I gave it a miss.

I hadn’t quite realised how much we had all reacclimatised back into life on this side of the Atlantic until I hosted our US friends. The first month back I had attempted, on numerous occasions, to get into the passenger side of the car to drive. My visitors tried to get into the driver’s side when they clearly did not intend to drive and once inside were in awe of a gear stick. The roads seemed small, the cars smaller and the petrol prices astronomical. All things I initially thought too, despite being born and bred here. Being removed from your native culture makes you oddly nostalgic for things you never gave a second thought to before. I recall taking trips back from the States to the UK and thoroughly enjoyed travelling by train while admiring the passing English country and cityscapes. I used to hate British Rail and the subsequent privatised companies with a passion but remove me from the environment for a few years and suddenly it’s all sweetness and light!

Reflecting over the last few months there are a number of other things I enjoy about this small island. I now enjoy watching quality television programming without being interrupted every five minutes with “in your face” advertising. Sitting by the computer cajoling the BBC iplayer to work for the length of an entire episode is now a thing of the past. I can watch a great series in real time rather than months later. I enjoy reading The Sunday Times even though I never seem to get through more than 5 per cent of it in any given week. I am entertained by quirky phrases I had momentarily forgotten. The bakery attendant offered to slice my loaf in “two ticks” the other day. Just hearing the phrase made the five-minute wait bearable, his benchmark for two ticks being clearly at odds with my own. I am delighted that I no longer have to translate everyday words such as rubbish, toilet, footpath, petrol, mobile phone, trousers, etcetera in order to be understood. It feels like coming “home” and that’s a very reassuring feeling indeed.

Naturally there are many things about my adopted homeland that I do miss. Friends who had become a “substitute family” are no longer just down the street. The ease and cost of living, the can-do attitude, the excitement of being somewhere new with endless possibilities, even mundane stuff like the predictability of the weather forecast on any particular day.

My children have almost completed their first term at an English school. We have got used to wearing a school uniform, the longer school day, UK sports, examinations, even down to the spellings, certain words now include the letter “u” and “s” replaces the “z”. We are adapting well. Esher also seems to be a bit of a “FermanaghLand” location. Since coming back, I have met up with no less than 13 friends from Northern Ireland. It really is a home from home.

Travel they say broadens the mind. Henry Miller believes, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”. How very true. The very best part of that statement is that you don’t even have to leave home to start seeing things in a different light. I dare you to give it a try; the fire, your favourite chair and familiar cosy bed will still await you. Be glad, there’s a place in the world “where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came”. Cheers!

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