April 14 - April 16
14 April 1999
Stratford, in the B&B. It’s been a beautiful day, turning all cold again. Felt awful when I got up – so hard to get up – so maybe jet lag is over. Peter and I took the train to Kings Cross, found the bus by St. Pancras. Roger and Dorothy and David as well as most of the students were there. Chris came, and went off to buy pastries and coffee for us. Then we waited half an hour for two students who’d got lost. They did find us, though, and as we drove off, we passed beautiful 18th-century buildings on our way out of London, then onto the motorway almost all the way there.
David and Peter, waiting to leave for Stratford
First stop was Mary Arden’s house and farm – with falconry now, too! A tour is a tour – there’s just not enough time to take things at your own pace! There were lots of interesting things I didn’t get a chance to see – they’ve purchased the next-door property and made it into a 19th-century farm, and I never made it over. And the falconry show was in progress when I got there. Fascinating, and beautiful birds – swooping down on the lure at enormous speed. Gorgeous!
At Mary Arden's House
Then we went off to Anne Hathaway’s cottage – again: zip/whisk/you’re done. The tour guide made many of the same points and jokes as the guide at Mary Arden’s house had done. I stopped in the gift shop and so was the last one to the bus. Beautiful gardens full of tulips – wallflowers all over – some hellebores. And there was a garden gift shop I had no time for, didn’t even notice till on my way out. And plants for sale, too, at both places, but of course I can’t take those back with me anyway, even if I could make them survive the next two weeks.
Off to a row of B&Bs on Evesham (was that where we stayed before?). Peter and Chris came to take me to lunch – didn’t really need to, but enjoyed the tea and savoury. But I was getting tired, and I ended up passing on the walking tour. Would have been nice – Peter is good at describing and teaching – but I came up to this charming room and actually fell asleep. The window had been open, and it’s cold. And getting colder – like yesterday. (Later the students reported that it had snowed during the walking tour, even though nothing stuck to the ground.) I have a t-shirt and turtleneck on, my jacket and gloves to wear – may wear them all to bed!
And – it’s almost time – an hour – to meet for dinner.
Watching a little tv (there’s tv in the rooms! that’s new!) and
here is Stephen Hawking superimposed over images of Saturn, Jupiter, etc.,
talking about “seeing this in my lifetime,” “physics is about seeing further”
– and at the very end it’s an ad for glasses/optometrists! Ohmigawd
– Stephen Hawking hawking 15 April 1999
Just after midnight – the room is not cold (whew!) and I doubt I’ll
need the extra blanket I found. Dinner at the Slug and Lettuce –
okay, but not quite the culinary treat It’s pretensions promised.
(Later I discovered the Slug and Lettuce is a chain – so is the Goose and
Granite where David and I had lunch that first day – whaddya know?
Chains of pubs!
The play (Oroonoko) was fascinating – the African part had been changed
some from the novel: Imoinda bites off the king’s cock!!! and that’s what
gets her sold into slavery. A little different than showing interest
in one’s erstwhile fiancée! Oroonoko goes to free her and
is overpowered . . . no genteel dinner with the treacherous captain – his
complicity in the slave trade is simply not dealt with.
The Surinam section seemed shortchanged, and – again – much less ambiguous.
The playwright is Nigerian – how much does that play? quite a bit,
one supposes.
The African bit was gorgeous – lots of singing, drumming, dancing –
amazing costumes – really impressive show qua show. I’d like to hear
discussion after, but the class wont’ meet again till week after next.
(And the first day back they’ll see Winter’s Tale, the second day go to
a back-stage presentation by the Winter’s Tale production company – I suspect
Oroonoko and Othello might end up getting short shrift just because of
scheduling.)
After the play, we stopped in at the Dirty Duck/Black Swan – I could
have stood to go back to the B&B (The Minola), but went along with
everyone. Still, we didn’t get back too late after all.
Warwick Castle tomorrow morning – Othello in the afternoon – then back
to London. Hopefully I can find some time to CALL AUNTIE HELEN and
shop! And maybe have a look at some of the places I missed by missing
Peter’s walking tour today.
But . . . tours!! Doesn’t matter who or what – I want to go at
my own pace, see what I want to see, thank you!
Oh yes—re. computer access. You buy a block of time at Dillons
(bookstore on Gower near Univ. of London, a few blocks from our classroom),
get access to a computer. You can, with Windows, hit “start” then
“run” then “telnet” (in the little box like a URL box) – “telnet_homer
[or dante].u.washington.ledu” and your login should be there just like
it is at home. There’s also a “telnet” icon you can double click
to bring up telnet, then press “connect” and then (I think) “homer.u.washington.edu”
as before. Pine seems to run very slowly – some folks write Word documents,
then cut and paste them into e-mail. Again – a good idea to unsubscribe
from any listervs that aren’t essential.
9:00 a.m., 15 April 1999
Slept well, woke before the alarm – the sun is out again, but it’s chilly.
Tried to organize my bag and purse – hmmm – doubt I can take just the green
bag to Norwich as I’d hoped. Pooh.
Breakfast was a real cooked breakfast – orange juice, cornflakes, toast,
tea, mixed grill – I (imagine!) was first down, then two of the students,
David, four other students – the French lady who runs it is very pleasant
– now I’m waiting for the bus to come collect us for Warwick Castle.
Sitting in the lounge, lace curtains by the window – and here they are
– better go!
16 April 1999
Long day at Stratford yesterday – began by leaving my jacket in the
living room of the B&B and having to run back from the bus to get it.
Good thing I noticed! Then we drove off to Warwick – huge and beautiful
and very castle-y. Sold off by the impoverished Duke of Warwick some
years ago (he’d been living, Peter said, in two rooms while the rest sat
neglected), it’s been bought by Mme. Tussaud for L2million, and refurbished
to the tune of L12 million. The furniture had been sold off too,
but most was traced and much was bought back and returned to the castle.
They had a Mme. Tussaud display of medieval “Kingmaker” rooms – solar,
garderobe, armory, etc., and another of Victorian (1898-ish) country weekend
life. There were dungeons, ramparts, etc., as well, which I did not
attempt.
A long-haired black and white kitty was cleaning herself on the grassy
lawns, and I took several pictures, trying to get cat and castle – she
came over for scritchies – very friendly but very self-controlled.
She politely accepted the scritichies and then went off to something else.
(Evidently Peter and Chris were watching from the ramparts – seemed quite
impressed that she “made a beeline” for me as soon as I took her picture.
The time at the castle was much easier than that at the Shakespeare
properties – essentially, we had about 3 hours to do whatever we wanted
and go wherever we wanted. While you couldn’t begin to see everything,
there was time to see a lot, and reflect, and shop, and just enjoy the
site.
We returned to Stratford but parked outside the big tourist center –
had less than an hour before the afternoon play. I managed to call
Helen in Wendling and settled on Tuesday, 11:30 train from London – did
some quick, thoughtless souvenir shopping, then off to the playhouse.
Our seats were in the balcony – very high (but the stairs up weren’t bad
because so many people were crowding up them that the going was slow enough,
even for me). And sight lines and acoustics were, as usual from such
altitudes, very good.
The Othello seemed to shout all during the second half of the play –
didn’t read the “It is the cause….” speech as well as Louis Owen (but then,
who ever has?)! The play was set in Edwardian military/empire.
That seemed to work quite well, and Othello’s more exotic garb showed forth
his separation and uniqueness well.
The play over, we just had time to get back to the bus – and home to
London. In and out of rain – you could see black clouds off in the
distance, go through them, and from such altitudes, very good.
The Othello seemed to shout all during the second half of the play –
didn’t read the “It is the cause….” speech as well as Louis Owen (but then,
who ever has?)! The play was set in Edwardian military/empire.
That seemed to work quite well, and Othello’s more exotic garb showed forth
his separation and uniqueness well.
The play over, we just had time to get back to the bus – and home to
London. In and out of rain. Roger talked about the countryside
– how a huge percentage of English villages today were mentioned in the
Doomsday Book – and we looked at hedgerows and verges – what struck me
over and over was the diversity of plant materials in the rows – there
were shrubs of various sorts, trees of various sorts – all planted together
in a harmonious grouping – should make sense – makes a more healthy, disease-resistant
planting, and offers more diversity for wildlife, etc.
But. Lordgawdalmitey! Tours are tours! Never enough time
– people you know disapprove of your shopping. Quick rushes through
features and gift shops – sheesh! If I’d never been to Stratford
I would have been frustrated no end. It must be said, however, that
I think we had a good time at Warwick. There would have been things
to do with more time, but I felt I saw enough, felt enough, to make it
worthwhile.
But tours – running to other people’s schedules, taking care to coordinate
and synchronize – and not being able to get out of synch, take your own
time – very frustrating, even with a University group.
UW students in front of Warwick Castle
The ramparts I did not attempt
Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford
