Notes from a Small Island

"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain--which is to say, all of it.  Every last bit of it, good and bad--old churches, country lanes, people saying 'Mustn't grumble' and 'I'm terribly sorry but,' people apologizing to me when I conk them with a careless elbow, milk in bottles, beans on toast, haymaking in June, seaside piers, Ordinance Survey maps, tea and crumpets, summer showers and foggy winter evenings--every bit of it."

After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson, the acclaimed author of such bestsellers as The Mother Tongue and Made in America, decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while.  This was partly to let his wife and kids experience life in Bryson's homeland--and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another.  It was thus clear to him that his people needed him.

But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.  His aim was to take stock of modern-day Britain, and to analyze what he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, zebra crossings, and place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey, and Shellow Bowells.

With characteristic wit and irreverence, Bill Bryson presents the ludicrous and the endearing in equal measure.  The result is a hilarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain.

The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson's savagely funny account of his journey back to his roots in small-town USA, took Britain by a storm of guffaws. It was followed by Neither Here Nor There, in which Bryson applied his unique brand of wry humour to the foibles of Continental Europe and the Europeans. Both books have rarely been absent from the bestseller lists since. Now Bryson, who moved to England seventeen years ago and settled in North Yorkshire with his family, turns an affectionate but ironic eye on his adopted country. Britain will never seem the same again.

Kerry Shale has performed his acclaimed solo show The Prince of West End Avenue in the UK, Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Other stage work includes plays such as The Normal Heart, True West and Disappeared. TV work includes Sharpe, Cracker and Tales of Narnia. His films include Yentl, RKO 281 and 102 Dalmations. Kerry has abridged and read Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent, A Walk in the Woods, Notes from a Small Island, Notes from a Big Country and Down Under. He has received three Sony Awards for radio acting and writing.

Abridged, running time approximately 3 hours