Today we drove to a neighboring shire to spend a day with the Bard himself, William Shakespeare, at Stratford-Upon-Avon. With all the heavy rains over the past two days, there has been disastrous flooding in many parts of England. Stratford is one of the locations suffering from serious flooding. One of the theatres here had to cancel performances because the building was flooded. The Avon, normally a gently coursing river that winds through the town, is a massive flow of water that has overtaken the banks. Where there was once a lovely riverside walk, there are now the tops of park benches just visible above the water. (I took this picture from the steps leading to the walking path down to the river bank, which is supposed to be at the tree line. Look closely along the tree line - you can see the tops of the benches)
The first stop on the “tour de Shakespeare” was his birthplace. I had visited these attractions when I was here almost 20 years ago, but I don’t remember that much. When I saw how much it would cost to go inside, I decided I remembered enough. Rather than pay to go in, I determined that a picture of the exterior would suffice. I don’t need all the expensive tourist moments… really, I can’t afford it! =)
I went into Holy Trinity Church to see Shakespeare’s grave. It was only 50p (the equivalent of $1) to enter, so I figured I could afford that! I didn’t realize he had been named a lay rector in 1605 and that is why he was given the privilege of burial inside the church. His wife was buried beside him on one side, and on the other is Thomas Nash, the grandson of the poet.
The Guildhall became the town’s schoolroom in 1553, years before Shakespeare was born. 
He was schooled there, and there is even a plaque on the side of the room where he sat. Now the rooms are still used by the local school, King Edward’s, and the young boys give the tours of the old structures. I am glad I spent the two pounds to go in – it was worth it to see the old room and sit in the area where he might have sat. When I jokingly asked our teenage tour guide if he felt inspired when he sat in that classroom, he seemed caught off-guard. He laughed and then said, “No, not really. Besides, they don’t teach us literature in this room anyway.” Why can't I teach literature in a room like that?!? That's right, we don't have any buildings from the 1500s in America. =)
One free stop on our self-created tour was this garden. It is a lovely green space with statues based on Shakespeare’s plays. Each of the structures has a quotation from the play and then the artist’s depiction of the character. The artist chose the darker plays, which worked well for the twisted way he shaped the metal of the statues.
This is a depiction of the events/ characters / issues in Hamlet. The quotation is from the famous soliloquy: “To be, or not to be: that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; / No more; and by a sleep to say we end / The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation / Devoutly to be wish'd.”
Unfortunately, while we were perusing the shops, Jason got called into work again. We had to leave and drive the hour home. It was frustrating because there was more to see, but there is nothing to be done in such situations. When one is on-call, one cannot ignore the phone! At least we had hit the major places I wanted to see before he got the call!Some of you have mentioned to me that you’re concerned because Jason never smiles in any of the pictures. Some have suggested it is because he’s miserable that he has to put up with me for a month. You may not be too far off! ;+) He has been a good sport, and he puts up with what must seem to him like incessant chatter from me in comparison to his rather reticent habits. My theory is he just doesn’t like smiling in pictures; he actually CAN smile. In fact, this photograph proves it. He didn’t MEAN to smile in the picture, but I said something to try to make him laugh. Whatever it takes! =)
Day: 22 July 2007Location: Stratford-Upon-Avon, Bicester
Highlights:
- the short but lovely visit to Stratford-Upon-Avon
- noting that the boats at this little dock were all named for female Shakespearian characters (fun pop quiz: see if you can match the character name to the right play! This is for Literature nerds only... the rest of you have better things to do with your time!) The boats read: Viola, Helena, Beatrice, Virgilia, Miranda
- seeing Les’s Soft Whip Ice Cream Truck (aww, I miss you, Brother)
- tossing the Frisbee in the sports field next to Jason’s house
- making breakfast for dinner (I LOVE breakfast for dinner! That makes me think of my family because it’s one of our favourite meals!)
Phrase of the Day: “sweet as a nut” – Jason was watching the British Open while I was typing on the computer and I was mostly tuning it out (I hate watching golf on TV) but when one of the very British announcers said “sweet as a nut” to describe a shot, it caught my attention. =)
- seeing Les’s Soft Whip Ice Cream Truck (aww, I miss you, Brother)
- tossing the Frisbee in the sports field next to Jason’s house
- making breakfast for dinner (I LOVE breakfast for dinner! That makes me think of my family because it’s one of our favourite meals!)
Phrase of the Day: “sweet as a nut” – Jason was watching the British Open while I was typing on the computer and I was mostly tuning it out (I hate watching golf on TV) but when one of the very British announcers said “sweet as a nut” to describe a shot, it caught my attention. =)
