Note: this was originally posted to Fisch and Chips on November 9, 2013. Some photos and passages have been edited or omitted to preserve the privacy of friends I haven't seen in a while or for the sake of coherence.
There are some days when I get the creeping suspicion that the AHA program was specifically tailored for someone like me (that is, a socially awkward young man who wants to absorb cultural and occasionally macabre history in a leisurely fashion). This week consisted of at least three of those days: Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Monday featured a trip to Parliament and was awesome in its own right. Today’s entry is about the other two days, which contained a sweet two-day excursion to Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, complete with castles, churches, and Shakespeare!
In preparation for the excursion, I set multiple alarms on Wednesday night to make sure I would wake up at an appropriate time (I still remember King’s Cross) on Thursday morning. I got to the Marylebone station early and all went smoothly…at first. When approaching the ticket gate, ticket in hand, a strap on my duffel bag became caught in one of the zippers of my parka, prompting me to fiddle with it. In the process, I dropped my ticket…which I did not notice had gone missing until I was at the ticket barriers before the platforms. A frantic five-minute search found my ticket on the floor a noticeable distance away. After that tragicomic little incident (which could have ended a lot more tragically), I enjoyed a two-hour train ride into Stratford-upon-Avon, the hometown of one William Shakespeare!
After arriving at Stratford-upon-Avon (which I will be referring to primarily as Stratford, because I do not like typing long names over and over) and settling into a local bed and breakfast, we set out for the day’s events. First up on the docket was the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptized, married, and buried (and where his grave was located). This was followed by the house Shakespeare was born and raised in. It was quite the sizable, yet somewhat cozy, abode, complete with a giant fireplace.
After enjoying Shakespeare’s church and birth house (along with Hall’s Croft, where Shakespeare’s son-in-law lived), we passed through beautiful meadows to the cottage that belonged to Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife (he was not married to the Anne Hathaway that played Catwoman, as awesome as that would be). Like the Bard’s birthplace, it was a cute, quaint little place filled with an old-timey vibe. Unlike the Bard’s birthplace, it was isolated from the rest of Stratford and was surrounded by such natural beauty as an orchard filled with apple and pear trees, a calf-high lavender maze, and a nearby forest with nice little paths running through it. Given the hustle and bustle I had become accustomed to in London, Edinburgh, and Paris, this was a lovely bucolic break from my usual routine.
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| Shakespeare's supposed deathbed |
While the day was dedicated to sightseeing, the evening was dedicated to the theater. At the Royal Shakespeare Theater, we saw The Tragedy of Richard II, starring none other than David Tennant as the titular character! For those who haven’t seen Richard II, it’s one of Shakespeare’s historical plays, filled with political intrigue, backstory lost on American audiences, archaic cultural practices, creative language, and (in the case of this particular production) religious imagery. When I was initially reading it last month, I found it to be fairly dry and much less interesting than any of Shakespeare’s other works that I am familiar with. However, I was mesmerized by this performance and am now certain of this: of all of Shakespeare’s plays, Richard II is to be seen and heard, not read (technically, this applies to most, if not all, of Shakespeare’s plays, but I think Richard II is a special case in this regard). The acting, the dialogue delivery, the accompanying music, the stagework--everything was fantastic! I still enjoyed Macbeth at the Globe a tad more, but this was still Shakespeare at an amazing level. Along with being in awe of greatness, I found myself extraordinarily tired after the performance, and retired to the bed and breakfast immediately afterward.
After sleeping in a surprisingly comfortable bed, I awoke, had breakfast with most of the group, and then headed to the nearby town of Warwick via train with all of the group. There isn’t too much in Warwick, outside of the local castle (which I’ll get to in a little bit), but it was a pleasant town to walk around, and the local church was beautiful (and contained an old-timey ducking stool in its crypt).
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| Saint Mary's Parish Church |
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| the crypt of St. Mary's |
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| ducking stool |
After enjoying (yet another) lovely church, our next stop was Warwick Castle, one of the most iconic and well-preserved castles in all of England. I was struck by its amazing construction and imposing form, which were emphasized nicely in the rain. Approaching the castle, I suddenly became an unwilling participant in the Criminal Justice Pilgrimage, as I was branded (figuratively) a malefactor and mercilessly pilloried (literally)!
After serving my sentence (one grueling minute, as people took photos), I explored with some fellow students what we could of the castle (it was rainy and as a result, there were few people and many exhibits were closed). Still, we were able to duck indoors and chill out with some wax figures, explore the castle grounds (peacocks included), and locate the castle gaol. Note that I’ve been using the word “gaol” every now and then. Given how archaic it is, I should clarify: it’s the original British spelling for the word “jail.” It’s outdated even here in the United Kingdom, but I think it gives British detention centers and dungeons a poetic touch.
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| I wasn't kidding about those peacocks. |
All finished with the castle (and beset by the rain), our group vacated the castle premises, had a wonderful lunch with tea at a cozy nearby restaurant, and then headed back to London via train (where, thankfully, there were no ticket issues this time). I’ve had an awesome event-packed week, so I think I’ll take it somewhat easy this weekend. Between my CJP progress so far this semester and the month I have left, there will be plenty of opportunities up ahead.
Besides, it’s wet and rainy outside and the great indoors are calling me.
Modern reflections:
Compared to other posts, my classmates were more involved in my adventures this time around (note that there are more pictures of me taken by others), helped me come up with the title for this post, and were originally featured in several additional pictures that have been excised due to my concerns about updated consent to publish. I think my friends had as much fun as I did on this excursion, as there were a lot of pretty landscapes and awesome siege engines to see.
I've noticed that I pretty much look the same in my pictures 10 years ago as I do now (maybe I was a little skinnier then). This means that I looked 30 when I was 20 or that I look 20 now as a 30-year-old. I'm not sure which is more flattering.
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