[Magdalen] And so it begins...

[Roger Stokes]

On 27/11/2015 15:01, Jim Guthrie wrote:
> No Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday (an FDR Innovation in 1939), 
> but I see our friends across the pond have adopted Black Friday as 
> their own:
>
>> From today's NYT:
>
> "LONDON — The British don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, of course, but 
> they have enthusiastically embraced another great American holiday 
> tradition: Black Friday. A little too enthusiastically, it seems. Now, 
> some retailers are even trying to dial back some of the frenzy they 
> unleashed just a few years after introducing the whole idea.

Earlier this afternoon I was talking (at the opening of a new micropub) 
with a friend whose first wife ia American about this development.  We 
agreed that there is no reason for it this side of the pond as we don't 
have a public holiday for it to follow and help make a long weekend.  As 
the article observes, it has been the cause of mayhem and injuries with 
no logical justification.  Yes, retailers have seen sales increase but 
how much money have they made out of it?

The other American import we lamented was trick or treat which is not so 
well organized as a fun children's activity over here as I believe it is 
in the US.  Teens and adolescents see it as an excuse for causing mayhem 
and general disturbance to others, as well as low-level damage in some 
cases.

Roger