Canadians have Thanksgiving too. How about that?
November 30, 2009This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in America. It’s a unique and ingenious holiday that ensures there is no retail slowdown between Halloween and Christmas. I was surprised to discover Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving except it’s in early October there, which presumably means Canadians had it first. No? Ok! Ok! You had it first! You had it first! Thanksgiving Day itself was on Thursday, so most Americans took a long weekend and singled it out purely for food consumption. I kid you not, everyone is visibly a bit bigger this week. I was talking with my hairdresser yesterday (it had to happen, I live in LA) and she was telling me that she had read an article in the newspaper (I nearly stopped her there), that apparently scientists (again, I nearly stopped here there), had discovered a naturally producing chemical in turkeys that makes one sleepy. .So that,. she concluded .is why we all feel tired after our Thanksgiving meal.. I finally stopped her there. And told her to put down the scissors for a second. I pointed out that while there may be some truth to her assertion, there is more evidence to suggest that it is less about the chemicals in the turkey, and more about the unholy stuffing of your stupid faces with said turkey that is going to induce those feelings of drowsiness. .When you overeat, you usually feel tired. Turkey, or no turkey. It’s a bit like saying scientists have discovered a chemical in chocolate that makes you fat!. She didn.t say much after that, and I definitely have a lopsided haircut.
I actually had a traditional Thanksgiving meal in an Italian restaurant which was a bit weird, but rather nice. As the waiters delivered the set menu dishes to the table they were noticeably a little embarrassed by the pile of sludge chucked onto a plate that was usually graced with a quaint carpaccio arrangement. That said, it was well cooked sludge, the highlight being creamed sweet potato with a bourbon gravy (which did make me wonder why if you were going to add butter, cream and gravy, did you really need to start with sweet potatoes?) Thanksgiving Day was followed by what Americans call .Black Friday. which sounds horrible.and it is. It’s basically a day when all the shops launch a massive post-thanksgiving/pre-Christmas sale, and it results in absolute mayhem. I passed a line of people who were camped outside a clothing store here called .Dress For Less.. Now Dress For Less (as the title suggests) is already a hugely discounted store, so I have no idea what kind of sale they were offering? I mean just how cheap can clothing get without buying direct from PhilipinoChildLabour.com? These lines of frankly insane shoppers were everywhere I looked which made me think surely the answer to the current economic crisis is to have everything on sale all the time. Just one big sign as you fly into any US airport says .Welcome to America. Everything must go!.
I have been back in the States for just a couple of weeks after another thoroughly enjoyable tour across Canada with the Just For Laughs team. I am starting to think that Canadians might be the best audiences in the World. No? Ok! Ok! You.re the best audience! You.re the best audience! I would like to thank all the people who came along to one of the many shows, particularly in places like Winnipeg where it is so cold that it takes an enormous effort just to raise your head above ground, never mind toddle along to the local theatre for a few laughs. I am extremely flattered that at least some of the crowd made the journey out to their local theatre just to see me, which leads me to a formal apology. I did get a few emails/messages from people saying that they were disappointed I didn.t come out and meet people after the show. I.m really sorry about this; I.m still a bit uncomfortable with doing this. It took until my 4th tour of Australia before I was able to do this over there! It.s not you, it.s me. I am hoping to come back to Canada next year for some solo shows, and I promise I will make the effort to come out after the shows. But for now, please accept my apology.
Next year looks fairly uncertain at the moment. I am still waiting to hear back on several touring options, so I will post something on the sites and send out something to my mailing list when I know more. I will most likely be in London for most of January and early February working up a new show. These will mainly be unannounced spots or shorter sets at smaller clubs. I will let people know if it.s a longer set or preview if you guys want to come down. My 1-hour Comedy Central Special is due to air over here in February so I will let my (shall we say?) .boutique?. fan base over here know when I have a firm date. I shall avoid wishing you all a Merry Christmas just now, and therefore set myself the target of writing another blog before then, otherwise it.s just rude. I am also looking to revamp my website for next year, so if there is anything that you would like to see on there, or things you don.t like or find confusing, please email info@dannybhoy.com with your suggestions. Please Note. .Can you come and do a show in Toowoomba mate?. is not a website suggestion.
Take care all. And to my America friends I wish you all a slightly belated Happy Thanksgiving! And to my Canadian friends I wish you an even more belated Happy Thanksgiving! And to all my other friends, what.s up with Thanksgiving? I mean you.ve got Christmas! Why do you need another Christmas?…Is this on?
Best,
Danny
