Old school New England 92 - Scanorama

WARNING
an unforgettable
experience!
An experience for life!
Join us and explore spectacular Svalbard!
Let yourself be captivated by Svalbard’s breathtaking landscape,
facinating wildlife and the pristine wilderness. We promise you
true excitement if you are so lucky as to meet the ‘King of the
Arctic’, the polar bear.
When in Longyearbyen we recommend you to visit ‘Huset’, the
most northerly gourmet restaurant in the world, renowned for its
fantastic cuisine, specializing in the use of Arctic ingredients. Not
to mention its extensive wine cellar – one of the best in Northern
Europe.
March offer in the period 01.03–31.03 NOK 4490,- per person.
The price includes 3 nights in a double room at Svalbard Hotell,
and a snowmobile safari.
Offer code: Scanorama12 (the offer applies to weekdays only)
New in 2012: 01. March we open our brand new conference
centre at Huset! Conference package offer in the period 01-31.03
NOK 8690,- per person.
The price includes 3 nights in a single room at Svalbard Hotell, with
full pension, including one evening with a 4 course dinner at Huset
restaurant, conferenceroom for two days and a snowmobile safari
to Von Post.
Offer code: Scanorama12 (the offer applies to weekdays only)
BOOKING: TEL (+47) 79 02 46 60 / WWW.SVALBARDBOOKING.COM
POST@SVALBARDBOOKING.COM
THE WEEKENDER
Funny guy: Germany’s ‘comedy
ambassador’ Henning Wehn
nights (Sat-Sun 10am-4pm.
www.london comedy course.com).
The Comedy Pub also runs
weekend courses with a
professional comedian for $175
(Saturday 10.30am-12.30pm,
Sunday noon-4pm).
Where to stay
Lastminute.com is a good place
to find your hotel and buy tickets
for shows at the Comedy
Pub and other venues. The
Strand Palace Hotel is close
to the West End and currently
under refurbishment, with
some rooms available at a discount
(372 Strand. Tel: +44 20
7836 8080. Doubles from $130.
www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk)
Where to eat
Eating while watching comedy
is frowned upon. You’ll only
end up spraying a mouthful of
coq au vin over your friends.
It’s best to eat first and many
of the restaurants in the West
End do “pretheater menus” for
early birds. The Italian Kitchen
does a two-course soup and
pasta menu for $15 (43 New
Oxford Street. Tel: +44 20 7836
1011. Noon-7pm. www.italiankitchen.uk.com).
Or, if you fancy
something spicier, the comedy
clubs of Piccadilly and Leicester
Square border Chinatown.
The newly opened Manchurian
Legends will appeal to
more adventurous palates (12
Macclesfield Street. Tel: +44
20 7437 8785) even if some
of the dishes – “stir-fried pig’s
intestines with leeks” anyone?
– sound like the punch line to
an old-fashioned joke. Nearby
Rules, the oldest restaurant in
London, serves traditional comfort
food (game, pies and puddings)
of the kind you’d expect
John Cleese and Michael Palin
to tuck into (35 Maiden Lane,
Covent Garden. Tel: +44 207 836
5314. www.rules.co.uk).
Make them smile
All comedians, even the ones
who go onstage wearing a
leather jacket, desperately want
to be liked. So don’t be afraid to
ask them for their autograph.
“They’ll be flattered,” promoter
Mike Manera says. “You can
have a comic onstage in front
of 400 people, making them
howl with laughter, and then
they’ll be standing at the bus
stop with everybody ignoring
them. Comedians are easy to
talk to; 90% of them are really
nice people.”
The last laugh
Many comedy clubs turn into
clubs after the final act. Up the
Creek plays disco, soul and funk
from 11pm to 2am and is the
kind of place where bad pickup
lines provide their own kind of
comedy.
� GO TO LONDON SAS takes you to
London daily from Copenhagen, Stockholm
and Oslo. Book your trip at
www.flysas.com or use your Euro Bonus
points starting at 12,000 points one way
64 DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012 SCANORAMA