Dear Comrades of German Comedy,
Hope you’re well.
Later this week I’m off once again discovering Britain in all its glory.
The new tour starts with a three-day stint in Wavendon, part of Milton Keynes, which is, to paraphrase the infamous Russian holidaymaker Alexander Petrov, “famous throughout Europe and, in fact, throughout the world, I think.”
It was dubbed ‘Buckinghamshire capital of shrubs’ by The Guardian newspaper but I am particularly looking forward to a visit to Xscape, which opened in 2000 and is a major feature on the skyline of Central Milton Keynes as seen from the east. The Xscape is 44 metres high, making it the second tallest building in Milton Keynes after Mellish Court in Bletchley. (I’m not going to Bletchley, though.)
It features a 170m long real-snow ski slope, a 16-screen cinema, a number of shops and restaurants and a climbing wall. An interesting point is the two large funnels on the front of the building are sometimes mistaken for lifts or part of the cooling system; in fact they are stairs.
Other tour highlights this month are Bridport, a market town in Dorset, 1.5 miles inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker; and Wimborne, home to one of the largest and longest established model towns in England.
It depicts Wimborne at the time the model was made, in the 1950s. It is at 1:10 scale, resulting in the model of the Minster being several feet high. The model shop windows accurately show the goods, which the real shops were selling at the time. The exhibition also includes a model railway based on Thomas the Tank Engine, which was opened by Christopher Awdry, and expanded in 2014.
Do svidaniya!
Henning
PS: Please find below a list of upcoming tour dates. Please note more dates are constantly being added. In case you’re wondering what the new show is about: it’s an unbiased look at Brexit. And just like the public discourse on the issue the show is light on facts and heavy on casual xenophobia. Wunderbarski!
