December 19, 2012

Tonight we were the guests of Mr John Cushing, honorary Wing Commander at Lakenheath, for the Thursford Christmas Spectacular. Thursford (population about 275), is about 45 miles north-northeast of Lakenheath and Brandon near Well-next-the-sea on the North Sea coast.

Mr Cushing’s father began to collect and restore steam engines in the 1930s as diesel powered vehicles became the norm and steam engines were being sold for scrap. He also had a fascination with carnival rides and fairground attractions. A 19^th century gondola merry-go-round is still in working order. In the 1970s he opened his farm as a museum and the collection was transferred to a charitable trust, now run by his son John. John is also the Director and Producer of the annual Christmas show.

A Mighty Wurlitzer, the fourth-largest in Europe, with 1,339 pipes was part of the collection. In the 1980s this led to the first Christmas concert which grew over the years into a multi-million pound spectacular rivaling any Broadway show. Shows (beginning in early November and closing on December 23) are always sold out well in advance. The cast includes 48 singers, a 28-piece orchestra, 20 dancers, 4 bagpipers, 2 pipe band drummers, a comedian, a juggler and Wurlitzer virtuoso Phil Kelsall (who has never missed a performance in 30+ years).

Mr Cushing and his wife met us at the entrance and escorted us through a Christmas fantasy land known as ‘Santa’s Magical Journey’ capped by a visit with Father Christmas. The fantasy land is complete with animated penguins, polar bears, reindeer and other animals playing in a winter wonderland and arranged in a way to capture the imagination of the young and young at heart. Santa’s workshop is a warehouse packed with presents where the Elves are busy wrapping, stacking, and checking to make sure everything is perfectly set for Christmas Eve. The scale of this warehouse enterprise and the huge number of presents stacked on the shelves were proof positive that Santa had the resources to deliver toys to ALL the boys and girls around the world!

Prior to the show we were served mincemeat pies and sausage pastries, mulled wine and soft drinks. The nearly three hour show was absolutely awesome! Popular show tunes, rock and roll, country, jazz, and classical pieces interspersed with precision Rockettes-style dance, burlesque, ballroom, and other dance styles, individual and choral vocalists, light shows, colorful costumes, and the comedy and juggling routines. This was all intermingled with Christmas carols to make the season bright. No wonder the show attracts 170,000 visitors each year despite being fairly remote from any major city.

We had such a wonderful time. The experience rekindled much of the magic and wonder of Christmas and we left with our hearts full of the joy and peaceful promise of the season.