Annette Dittert | Dear Britain

When Annette Dittert stood in front of Downing Street at midnight on January 31, 2020, to report live on ARD’s *Tagesthemen* that Brexit had finally taken effect that night, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes just before the broadcast. London had long since become her home. Now the break with the EU was irreversible. For her and many Britons who had hoped for a different outcome right up until the end, it was a somber day.

Ten years later, Annette Dittert wonders what has become of the country. She takes us on a journey across the island: We visit the Royal Albert Hall and the House of Lords, swim in the sea off the island’s east coast with the women’s group “Blue Tits,” and chat with Scots, priests, and earls. And we’re guests of the author on her narrowboat Emilia, a small, colorful steel boat on Regent’s Canal, right in the heart of London. The result is a multifaceted portrait of the quirky and charming British people, whose precarious economic and social situation is felt in everyday life—not only as a result of Brexit—yet who always maintain their composure.