For the past few years, I have made an effort to celebrate Thanksgiving in London, even though it is a totally American holiday. Explaining the holiday to my British friends and colleagues is always meant with bemusement, although they are aware of "Black Friday" and associate it with that, and this is one aspect of the holidays that is unwelcome to me and paints a poor image of America. I think most people have heard the stories about greedy people fighting over sale items and waiting hours outside the shops for them to open so they can grab bargains. "Black Friday" has never been of any interest to me, and I am sad that it has taken over more of people's minds whereas Thanksgiving Day, a holiday worth celebrating, seems to be forgotten. I love Thanksgiving for many reasons; I love that it brings people together and it is a time to reflect. As a child, I also loved watching the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (please allow us to watch this in the UK, television networks!) Thanksgiving ushers in the Christmas season.
Of course, we do not get the day off of work, so most of my Thanksgivings have actually been spent working. This one was also spent working, but I had lined up Thanksgiving dinner in the evening after work. This was arranged and organised through the Benjamin Franklin House, named after the man who lived here, who was one of America's founding fathers. I'm actually going to see the house in a couple of weeks, so keep on checking back for photographs and a write-up.
The Thanksgiving Day feast took place in the Clothworker's Hall, one of London's famous livery companies or guilds. These companies were set up to ensure that standards, fairness, and consistency were maintained in the different areas of expertise. The halls tend to be lavishly decorated, as you can see from my photographs. Clothworker's Hall is located near Fenchurch Street station.
On entering, each guest received a glass of mulled wine, which was then topped up for the next twenty minutes while we waited to sit inside the main hall. I do not generally care for mulled wine, but this one was sweet and did not taste much like red wine, so it was good. I met a couple new people here - New Jersey and my home state of Ohio.
The table accommodated a large number of guests, and there must have been about seventy people. I wasn't able to capture the full length of the table, but you can get an idea above and also see how lavish the main hall looks.
We had flattened leaves on our placemats!
Then, the turkey arrived, and it was followed by all of the sides. Each "area" of dishes served six to eight people. The sides included cornbread (the good sweet kind as opposed to the more savoury kind), a mixture of roast carrots/sweet potato, green beans, mashed potato, roasted baby onions (I've not come across these before), stuffing, and the turkey. Gravy and cranberry sauce were available to have as well.
The turkey came out with a miniature American flag, which was a nice touch.
Overall, it was really nice to meet new people. I met people from New Jersey, Ohio (my home state), Illinois, Mississippi, and Texas. Most had been in London a short time or were just visiting. Topics of discussion ranged from travel to music to auctions to food to work. Just like that, the time flew!
For dessert, we had pumpkin pie and then seconds of more pumpkin pie. This was served with whipped cream, and it was a good traditional American pumpkin pie. After pie, we were treated to coffee (or tea) and a chocolate.
On the way out, I captured the beautiful little room on the side at the top of the staircase, which contains an old stained glass window.
The window is dedicated to Samuel Pepys, who was a member of Clothworkers. Pepys was an MP, naval administrator, and was famous for having a diary that has proved important historical use. He wrote about the Great Fire of London, the Plague, and many more events and details about London that would have been lost forever if he had not written them down.
Overall, Thanksgiving Day this year was fun, but it was over so quickly. I had such a nice time meeting new people and enjoying the good food that the time flew! (Also, it did not help that work was busy and I rushed across London.) This was the most traditional Thanksgiving that I have had in London, and I recommend it for American visitors/expats and also for British people who want to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving. With that said, Happy Thanksgiving (or belated Happy Thanksgiving)!
Previous Thanksgivings that I have eaten at various venues in London are below:
Thanksgiving Lunch @ Jackson + Rye, Chiswick
Thanksgiving at The Jones Family Project
Thanksgiving at Balthazar (Covent Garden)
Thanksgiving at Christopher's Restaurant in London (Covent Garden)
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