When I was a child I had never heard of Hallowe’en until there was a hallowe’en party one year when I was in the Brownies, and even then it was just about bobbing apples and a few party games. Now we seem to have adopted this tradition from America, although not to the extremes that I witnessed in New England last year. We arrived in mid September and the skeletons, giant pumpkins, witches and various other decorations which I had until then, not associated with All Hallows Eve, were already on on display in gardens and public spaces.

Now it seems we adopted Black Friday from the Americans. Black Friday used to the day after Thanksgiving when there would be massive offers in the shops. Now that shopping is done online, to a large extent, Black Friday can be anytime between the beginning of November and Christmas it would appear. Everywhere you look there are massive reductions, allegedly, although it is reported in the press that some unscrupulous traders put their prices up before they offer the discounts.

There is a school of thought that artists should not offer discounts, or sales, or reduce their prices in any way. Blow that for a game of skittles! Everyone is struggling in this economic climate. So with that in mind, I am offering a 20% discount on all paintings and prints on my website, from Monday 20th November, until December 16th. There might be time to get posted for Christmas!

So it seems I am helping to add to the Americanisation of the Uk. I wonder which tradition we will adopt next?