Off Topic: The UK’s US Election Celebrations

With typically British understatement, I’d like to point out that we over here on the right side of the Atlantic are pretty chuffed that the Yanks seem to have finally got the hang of this voting lark. OK, they’ve all been a little excitable and gone really rather O.T.T., but what do you expect from Americans? At least the plans to retake our colonies and end their foolish rebellion can be shelved for another four years. Anyway, we thought you might be interested in hearing how the UK is going to be celebrating the election of President Obama. (Hey, OS X doesn’t recognise the spelling ‘Obama’ — they’re going to rush out 10.5.6 to fix that, right?)

The UK Government hasn’t gone quite so far as declaring today a public holiday — more’s the pity. Instead they’ve arranged for celebratory firework displays to take place across the length and breadth of the nation. If you’re in the country, be sure to check your local rag to see where the nearest one is being held.

Unfortunately, we’re also receiving reports that some people are planning to spoil things by being bad winners and celebrate the defeat of President Bush instead. (You can try pointing out to them that he was already on his way out the door, but it doesn’t seem to help.) Their planned celebrations take the form of burning Bush — or ‘that guy’ as he’s popularly known over here — in effigy. In fact, on my way in to AE Towers this morning, I passed a group of urchins who were sat with their dummy — which wasn’t a good likeness of the President at all — begging “a penny for the guy, guv’nor,” which appears to be some kind of satire on the bail-out given to Wall Street. Most unseemly.