Let's rewind 301 years to a small village called Stratford-Upon-Avon, half way across the globe from Walt Whitman, a child was born known by the name of William Shakespeare.
I'm going to assume you've heard of him.
On the 23rd of April this year it was Shakespeare's 450th birthday & a I attended a huge festival in Stratford-Upon-Avon on the 26th (which apart from being my Mum's birthday - Happy Birthday Mum, is the date of Shakespeare's baptism in the Holy Trinity Church).
As part of UEL's international program I was on a coach tour to the Cotswolds, an old patch of English countryside about two and half hours out of London. We stopped off for breakfast & chicken teddies (chicken nuggets in the shape of teddy bears, can you get any more English?) at a little place called 'Bourton-on-the-Water'... All of the names are weird, don't ask, I don't know the answer.
The majority of the houses in the Cotswolds are made from Cotswold Stone, which is a type of creamy golden limestone. The area is also known for the construction & craftsmanship of dry stone walls made out of this limestone. All of the paths are directed by these dry stone walls which reminded me a lot of my uncle's place in Stanthorpe. Each time he mows he uses the stones he finds to create small dry stone walls in the hope that one day his own miniature railway will run through the entire block of land. Every time we've visited Dad always adds to the walls. The Cotswolds in general is a very beautiful place & each village is skirted by a patchwork of yellow canola crops.
Stratford-Upon-Avon itself was impressive & the four main streets had been cut off for pedestrians only in light of the festivities. There were Shakespearean characters roaming the streets, one group of American boys had travelled all the way here for a camp & were volunteering their time to quote entire monologues of their desired characters.
As a tour group we visited the Holy Trinity Church, which is surrounded by an old church cemetery & covered in green. It has the most impressive church organ I have ever seen & visiting Shakespeare's grave on the 450th anniversary of his baptism was quite special. Truth be told, I never thoroughly appreciated his plays in the beginning, but I always felt they were better taught & understood from a theatre point of view. Every play I studied in Drama, I adored. Maybe introducing Shakespeare to a class full of teenagers who can't read Old English with a story about two kids who fall in love in three days & in the process kill six people (including their stupid selves??) isn't the best idea.
Alicia & I (being nerds, & more creepily twins, in almost every aspect...) found a 'Time Warp' shop full of Star Wars & Doctor Who memorabilia - life size Dalek included! Then we stumbled across a Beatrix Potter shop. If you grew up without the stories of Beatrix Potter, I pity you! I was completely enthralled by this shop & walked out with three new soft toys for my bed after joking with the shopkeeper that yes, they were indeed for me & there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I bought myself a Peter Rabbit in his pretty blue coat, & a Little Nutbrown Hare & matching Big Nutbrown Hare which are from a story called "Guess How Much I Love You".
Sorry to drag this out, but it was a really wonderful experience, & also the last of my organised school tours. So I will leave you with the video footage from the day which is accompanied by a rather interesting Shakespearean TedxTalk. Enjoy!
Currently listening to Aaron Tveit's incredible live sessions including his cover of She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel ♪ Aaron Tveit also starred in the aforementioned Les Mis, as Enjolras.
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