Nott What You'd Expected...

My Winter's Tale... a December Shakesperience

*i'll apologize for the lack of pictures up front.... patience..... this wifi connection is terrible....

Where to begin. It's been too long (by my post-a-day standards), so prepare yourself for a dramatic, breakneck paced tour of Stratford-upon-Avon and all that Shakespeare's ghost inspires...

A quick recap of Thursday would be impossible without mentioning Kate's dog. Kate is our resident 'Dr Dolittle'... at her farm in Minnesota, she runs a foundation with her mom that saves injured animals, protects strays, etc, and does a lot of awesome stuff for the area. Basically, she knows her fauna.

After settling in after no class all day, I was surprised to hear the familiar, haunting (yeah, Abe) sound of panting and paws on tile.... A quick look out the door revealed Kate, busy directing a beautiful black rotwieller mix into the house. Long story short, we coddled the pup, gave it some water, covered the house in fur, and Kate ended up taking him (i think the top few names were "Jujo and Max, but there were many possibilities for our 10th flatmate....) to the police station, as the pounds were full....

Later that night, Mary's parents graciously took us (including a self-invited M & C) to Pitcher and Piano, where they had decorated for Xmas..... we were lucky enough to claim the 'cove' overlooking the place- I felt like some guy on WallStreet, watching my minions run about like ants, doing their insignificant drunk business...

Friday was another early morning- our itinerary was set for a day in Stratford-upon-Avon (actually the name of the town, it is one of many on the Avon River.... kindof like Stroke-on-Trent near Notts, which is on the Trent....).

We arrived at Stratford forewarned of its 'touristy' nature, but Mark was a little premature in his judgement. Mark actually skipped out on Stratford years ago when he backpacked across Europe, thinking it was too overrun with tourists to get the 'real' Shakesperience.... Silly English profs...

We had on our itinerary 5 total 'Shakespeare Houses' to hit- they come in a pack for tourists, one ticket for 12 pounds for all 5 homes.... not a bad deal, really.

Homes included his Birthplace (immaculately protected and preserved), his wifes' family's cottage, his home when he moved back to Stratford (demolished by a hated former-owner who refused to pay taxes on it and disliked the mobs of tourists who came to see it), and then finally the home of his daugher and her extremely wealthy doctor husband.

It's so strange to think of the huge impact that one person has had on such a tiny town. The preservation and popularity of the hamlet (is there a better word?) is solely based on his popularity as the 'Greatest Writer of All Time' (rightly deserved).... To see the room he was born in, the school he attended (still in operation- how wierd would it be to go to the same school that Shakespeare did?)- it was all really surreal....
I guess i would compare it to going to Washington DC or the Louvre, and finally seeing paintings or buildings that you've always been told about or seen in pictures.... in real life, they're just buildings or just pictures.....

Shakespeare's grave is just a grave, and these places just historical buildings, but it still carries a feeling or aura of importance knowing that, again, this is my English Majory Mecca....

The show our first night was Pericles- one of the basic tragicomedies, love lost, love found, death, betrayal, awesome casts, and interesting seats.... It was played in an African theme- dictators, tribesman, machetes and machine guns.... really awesome, very dramatic.... almost cried once or twice (keep in mind i teared up while watching Nutty Professor with Eddie Murphy...((why do they have to be so mean to the fat guy in the comedy club?)))

The second night was spent at Winter's Tale, with the same cast (the Royal Shakespeare Company, best Shakespeare in the World, without a doubt). I hate the concept of Winter's Tale, but the first act almost redemed it. The 1940s theme was pretty solid, and the cast was great, but Shakespeare got a little lazy in plot development (in my undergrad unpublished opinion). I'll spare the lame details, but don't go to a production expecting to walk out without questions....

Going to these plays, i can understand why Mark and Carol go to 2 plays a week.... it's entertaining, enlightening, you get a 'cultural high' (some call it pretentiousness.... if that word exists)..... I really enjoyed having the text, which i've been lovingly 'forced' to read in past years, brought to life- these actors actually know what the text means, and could be speaking Aramaic and the audience would still have a clue about what was going on.... they're just that good.....

We spent some time both days walking around the city streets -still in their 10th century design plan- and went to Starbucks entirely too many times. Aaron needed his fix, and we needed Aaron to have an excuse to spend 6 dollars US on a grande carmel macchiato.

Our nights were spent in an awesome bed and breakfast run by an Indian family who also owned a restaurant in town. The guys were in the 4 bed penthouse, while the girls were split.... Friday night's awkward tv conversation will go down in history as the time where more words were wasted saying absolutely nothing. While watching the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform, the four of us were able to put together the most uncomfortable, unfounded dissertation as to why they were so popular that i can only look back and laugh at how much we must have been trying to impress each other with our lack of knowledge..... you had to be there?

Sunday's trip to a small town just outside of Stratford was a chance to see one of the tens of small villages in the area who thrived on their wool industry, this one called Chipping Campden was home to awesome old stone buildings and a huge church. Typical English Village, take 24.....

All in all, an amazing trip--- drama semi-averted, entertainment as always a premium in the UK, Starbucks fix dissuaded, and postcards and christmas cards purchased and half-written....
All is good in the world.

As i write this, flatmates are cleaning candlewax up off of the table upstairs---- we arrived at 6pm to find that last night's huge windstorm had knocked out our power, and 50 candles later we realized that our food must have gone bad (all of this while I contemplated how i could write a blog by candlepower....).... 50 candles later, (10 minutes) the power returned. irony.

This week will find me inaccessable and altogether boring. Tuesday huge test for English History, Wednesday/Thursday 50% Term Paper over aniconism in Islam, and then next Mon/Tues a 30 minute presentation to Mark and Carol over what my BIG PAPER for paideia will be on.... not due until February?

Back to my cave of Islamic and English solitude.....

pics up later....internet be damned....

posted by Kevin @ 8:21 PM