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Brit expat in Germany forced to dismantle his Little Britain museum
| Published: | 4 Sep at 6 PM |
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A patriotic Brit living in Kretzhaus is being forced to get rid of his homage to the UK by dismantling his Little Britain-themed outdoor museum.
As a result of the Brexit referendum, 15-year expat resident Gary Blackburn decided to make his own Little Britain museum in the front garden of his house in the normally quiet town of Kretzhaus outside Bonn. His creation, a homage to populist British culture, contains a decommissioned 52-ton Centurion tank as its centrepiece in addition to two red double-decker buses, red telephone boxes, a post box, a huge Union Jack, a lime-green mini, a three-wheeled Reliant car, a Robin Hood cabin with a miniature tri-plane on its roof, model cows painted red, white and blue, and a life-sized model of Queen Elizabeth with one corgi seated inside the hut.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Gary’s neighbours weren’t exactly impressed by the outdoor museum, calling it an eyesore at best and various other descriptions at worst. His explanations that the tank is a sign of peace as it’s decorated with white doves and poppies standing for peace in Europe and commemorating all the fallen soldiers in both world wars didn’t go down well with local residents. After a petition by townspeople and a local parliamentary debate, it was discovered that Gary had disregarded the town’s planning rules and he was ordered to take the entire display down.
According to a local councillor, it’s not the town hall’s job to decide on the artistic or other merits or the display, it’s simply a matter of obeying the law. He added if the rules had been adhered to in the first place and planning permission had been applied for, a more objective decision could have been made. However, according to Gary’s Little Britain blog, this may not be the end of the story as he wrote the museum has been ‘temporarily shut down’, adding he hopes it will soon be open again.
As a result of the Brexit referendum, 15-year expat resident Gary Blackburn decided to make his own Little Britain museum in the front garden of his house in the normally quiet town of Kretzhaus outside Bonn. His creation, a homage to populist British culture, contains a decommissioned 52-ton Centurion tank as its centrepiece in addition to two red double-decker buses, red telephone boxes, a post box, a huge Union Jack, a lime-green mini, a three-wheeled Reliant car, a Robin Hood cabin with a miniature tri-plane on its roof, model cows painted red, white and blue, and a life-sized model of Queen Elizabeth with one corgi seated inside the hut.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Gary’s neighbours weren’t exactly impressed by the outdoor museum, calling it an eyesore at best and various other descriptions at worst. His explanations that the tank is a sign of peace as it’s decorated with white doves and poppies standing for peace in Europe and commemorating all the fallen soldiers in both world wars didn’t go down well with local residents. After a petition by townspeople and a local parliamentary debate, it was discovered that Gary had disregarded the town’s planning rules and he was ordered to take the entire display down.
According to a local councillor, it’s not the town hall’s job to decide on the artistic or other merits or the display, it’s simply a matter of obeying the law. He added if the rules had been adhered to in the first place and planning permission had been applied for, a more objective decision could have been made. However, according to Gary’s Little Britain blog, this may not be the end of the story as he wrote the museum has been ‘temporarily shut down’, adding he hopes it will soon be open again.
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