Perhaps they could spend the day at Dreamland in Margate, as by 1946 OTL it had reopened to the public. The site had been requisitioned by the Government in 1940, but given how the Neuroi conduct their wars I can't see it remaining closed for business in the timeframe of OWAW. It'd be good for them, I think. Not because the park's wooden Scenic Railway coaster might provide thrills to combat pilots, but because it's a chance to be normal for a bit. The 501st have had to be serious for so long that some R&R in a fun park right next to the seaside feels... not necessary, not exactly, but like it would do them a power of good. Plus, you are now imagining Flan sat on a beach in a very Victorian bathing costume being utterly enraptured by a Punch And Judy man putting on a puppet show.

Please find enclosed some relevant imagery:-

Fig. 1: A shot of Dreamland in 1946, showing some of the sideshows and attractions. Gertrude is not allowed to use her nascent powers of the Force to cheat on the Hook-A-Duck.

Fig. 2: The gardens at Dreamland during the 1930s. They were still there in the late 40s and 50s, and it was part of the marketing that Dreamland was "a pleasure park in a flower garden". I imagine some of the sapphic couples in the unit are taking a break to hold hands in the shadow of the (fake, built in the 1870s) ruins of the abbey amidst the flowers.

Fig. 3: The Scenic Railway, along with the entrance to the Magic Garden, an illuminated garden area with lots of electric lighting sculptures. This photo's from 1951, but the coaster isn't any different. Not pictured: Francesca trying to finagle her way into being the brakeman, to the quiet terror of the unit.

The golden sands of Margate seafront in the summer season of 1946. You can see just how close the entrance to Dreamland is. That building with the fin is an Art Deco cinema, lit up with Dreamland's lights. It's still there too. Remilia is inside being introduced to the charms of the silver screen by some of the more excitable girls of the 501st, possibly even by choice.

The Ovaltiney puppet show, at Dreamland's Sunshine Theatre, a children's entertainment area so their parents could explore the park (and consume a small ocean's-worth of local Fremlin's ale) that Just So Happened to be basically an advert for Ovaltine, something my legal team has advised me to refer to as "something a human being could, in theory, drink". Flan is in here, as is an incredibly embarrassed Lynne Bishop. Weee aaaaare the Ovaltineys, happy girls and boys...

One of Margate's famous mechanical elephants, built in the same manner as all great British inventions: in a shed by a man in a flat cap called Frank. This is, alas, not strictly contemporaneous, with their first appearance in 1949, but we can bump it up the timeline because who doesn't want a ride on a robotic walking elephant powered by the engine from an old Ford?

Why am I rambling about this? Well... I live here. The Isle of Thanet has been my home for all my life. Manston airport is still there, with periodic attempts to revive it for commercial use. Dreamland's still there, including the Scenic Railway - which is now over a hundred years old, despite the best efforts of arsonists in 2008 who Definitely Were Not paid off by the guy who owned the land, who wanted to demolish the park and build a Tesco on it. Margate beach is still there, and is still full of London families going on a trip to the seaside.

My point is... the history of this tiny little island-in-an-island I call home isn't of any particular note to the world at large. It's just the sticky-out bit of Kent. It isn't important, not really. But it matters. It has stories that deserve to be told and be heard. It deserves to be a setting for love and friendship just as much as Paris.

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"She's old, she's lame, she's barren too, // "She's not worth feed or hay, // "But I'll give her this," - he blew smoke at me - // "She was something in her day." -- Garnet Rogers, Small Victory

FiMFiction.net: we might accept blatant porn involving the cast of My Little Pony but as God is my witness we have standards.

Look, if you've made me look up what a Girls Und Panzer is, you can put up with this =]