Apparently it's Christmas!

...or so say my surroundings. It suddenly hit me the other day in an unfortunate deluge of Christmas-themed items - red and green coffee cups, a Christmas-themed travel section in the paper, Christmas lights on Oxford Street, the signs everywhere encouraging you to make Christmas dinner reservations, etc. We complain with amusement how in the States the marketing blitz of Christmas starts earlier and earlier each year, but I think it's even more pronounced in England, especially without Thanksgiving to serve as a buffer. Oh well, at least I haven't heard any Christmas carols yet, though I'm sure that will change quite soon...