This weekend...

The Golden Age finds Queen Elizabeth I facing familial betrayal

and danger for her throne and country.

In the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe,

Elizabeth finds her rule challenged by the Spanish King Philip II,

who is building a sea-dominating armada

to ferry his powerful army to England

and restore the country to Catholicism.

Preparing to go to war to defend her kingdom,

Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties

with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Raleigh.

The Thanksgiving Story

Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration

of the Pilgrims and the Indians that took place in the autumn of 1621.

Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest,

and the local Indians did participate,

this "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday,

simply a gathering.

The story behind the holiday traditions.

The Pilgrims, who sailed to America aboard the Mayflower, were originally members of the English Separatist Church. They had fled their home in England to escape religious persecution.
The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620.

Their first winter was devastating.

At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a generous one. And so the remaining colonists decided to celebrate it with a feast.

It lasted for three days.

This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year.

Many years passed before the event was repeated.

After a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, turned her obsession into reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

Since 1941, Congress has declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday to be commemorated by friends and families all over the country in the fourth Thursday of November.

BUY NOTHING DAY

To buy, or not to buy, that is the question.

Saturday November 24th 2007 is Buy Nothing Day (UK).

It's a day where you challenge yourself,

your family and friends

to switch off from shopping and tune into life.

The rules are simple:

for 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without
shopping.

Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without
spending!

This year our message is clear, shop less - live more!

Everything we buy has an impact on our planet. Buy Nothing Day highlights the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. The developed countries - only 20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the earth's natural resources, causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and unfair distribution of wealth.As consumers we need to question the products we buy and challenge the companies who produce them. What are the true risks to the environment and developing countries? The argument is infinite - while it continues we should be looking for simple solutions - Buy Nothing Day is a good place to start.

(click here for more information)