Today will begin, as always, with attendance at the annual Thanksgiving service at the Anglican Cathedral, following which the Colemans will return to their Hamilton parish home for a family celebration that will include three of their four sons, and a friend, all of whom have travelled to the Island especially to share the holiday. Like the US representative and his wife, it will be their first Bermuda thanksgiving and they are all looking forward to the experience.

Given the spectacular views of Harrington Sound and the South Shore from their gracious hilltop official residence, they will enjoy a light snack as lunchtime and then relax and enjoy each other's company until the evening, when they will sit down to the traditional turkey dinner.

By then Mrs.Coleman will have set the table with the beautiful heirloom tablecloth that was her grandmother's, her finest china and silver and decorations appropriate to the occasion.

Naturally, roast turkey and stuffing will be the centrepiece of her menu, but she is adapting her usual recipes to include some real Bermuda touches.

The meal will begin with pumpkin soup with a little curry added to cut its sweetness. Instead of just mashed sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, Mrs. Coleman is adding mashed carrots to the potatoes, as well as some ginger beer "to give a local flavour". Since she is "big on potatoes", she will also serve Irish potatoes. The creamed onions will incorporate sherry peppers "to try a new routine", and haricots verts amandine will complete the main course.

Taking advantage of her orchard, Mrs. Coleman will serve banana bread, ice cream and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

"We are not big dessert eaters, so that's as fancy as I get," she says.

While it is the Colemans' first Thanksgiving in Bermuda, it is by no means their first abroad. One, in particular, stands out in Mrs. Coleman's mind.

"We flew to Switzerland for a friend's surprise fortieth birthday party, and it was around Thanksgiving, so our hostess had gone all over Geneva to find a restaurant that could prepare an American thanksgiving dinner. She found a country restaurant outside Geneva, with the typical Swiss d?cor, but the food was absolutely dreadful. She had tried so hard and was absolutely devastated, but we were all very polite and said how wonderful it was. However, the next day the truth came out, and we all still laugh about that horrible turkey dinner. We would have been better off with a fondue!"

Prior to coming to Bermuda, for several years the Colemans joined with friends in Palm Beach, Florida for a collective Thanksgiving celebration, to which each participant contributed a part of the meal.

Today, however, Mrs. Coleman will simply savour the memories of past Thanksgivings even as she enjoys creating new ones in Bermuda. She is, after all, no stranger to the Island, having visited here each June as a child, and for several summers as a teenager.

"Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to sit down and realise how lucky we are to be together as a family, and to be grateful for everything God has given us," the wife and mother of four says.