Then and Now

On Friday, we left Jan and Steve's house to visit my old neighbour on our way to Birmingham. 

Our first house was in Alvechurch, about thirty minutes from the city of Birmingham. It was a semi-detached house, meaning that two houses share a common wall but everything else is separate. 

This is me, over fifty years ago.

Here is the house today, barely changed. 

Two doors away lived my favourite non-related Aunty Enid and Uncle Ray. As Enid tells it, I loved to spend time at their house and I particularly loved my Uncle Ray.

Ray passed away ten years ago, but Enid still lives in her house, fighting the good fight. She told me that the shed Dad built is still in the back garden of the old house, so I leaned out of her upstairs bathroom window and stole a photo.

We took Enid to lunch at the Red Lion in the village. 

While she was getting ready to go, Jeff and I took a stroll up to the top of the road to look at the old canal.

For some reason, canals loom large in my memories of England. 

Perhaps it is because of this painting that my Uncle Eddy gave me. It is loosely based on the canal that runs at the top of the road. You can't see it, but he put our names on the barges.

I love this painting.

This is the same canal, looking in the opposite direction.

The canal system in the UK dates back to Roman times, when the waterways were used for irrigation. During the Industrial Revolution they were used for transportation, but were abandoned until recently when they became popular for recreation. Old canals are being reopened and new routes are under construction. Today, there are thousands of miles in the canal network of the UK and you can travel the whole country without ever leaving the water.

This map illustrates the network.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canals_of_the_United_Kingdom

Pardon my digression.

Back to lunch.

Enid told us stories about my Mum and Dad. She is as lovely as ever, if a little slower on her feet.

After lunch, we went for a little ride around the town and stopped at the old church.

Of course we did! Although I have a personal connection to this one, as I used to attend Sunday School here and also cut through the churchyard on the way to and from school.

As the story goes, Anne and I went to church for a while, but as our parents didn't attend, Anne used to cry for Mum. They eventually told Dad that I could attend but Anne would have to stay home.

This made my Dad really mad and he said neither of us would go.

I can just imagine his ire.

Papa Grizzly.

Locked up tight for the week, like most of the smaller churches.

We said our goodbye to Enid and drove to Birmingham to meet with my cousin, Lynne.

It was, at most, a 35-minute drive.

It took us about two hours.

Can we say Sue hates roundabouts?

When Anne and I were children, we adored our cousin Lynne and couldn't get enough of her. This was cut short by our emigration, of course, and I have only seen her once, just briefly, in the intervening years. So I was very excited to be able to spend some quality time with her.

This is a famous photo in our extended family. We call it "Hear all, see all, and say nowt".

Lynne is the one that isn't blonde!

We finally found her house and I was happy to relinquish all the driving to Lynne.

We went into the city and met up with Richard, her long-time partner.

They both work for a very well-known bank that is close to this old part of the city. 

The city of Birmingham has undergone a revival of late and is very hip and up-to-date.

This is the ground level of a big parking structure. How much fun is that?

One of the new buildings.

Lynne knows of my fascination with canals, so everyone indulged me and we walked along the canal before dinner.

It was Friday night and the pace was hopping. 

People everywhere, imbibing of relaxing beverages.

The unseasonably warm weather had brought them out in droves.

I can't figure out why more people don't end up in the canal before the end of the night.

This is The Mailbox, which used to be the Royal Mail sorting office for Birmingham City Centre. It was redeveloped and opened as a luxury mixed-use building in 1998. It houses hotels, businesses, retail, and residential facilities. And lots of restaurants that serve relaxing beverages!

Look closely and you will see that the geese are leading the barge.

Richard treated us to a very delicious dinner. 

We talked a lot.

And then we went home.

We talked some more.

And then we went to bed.

The Forest of Dean

Steve managed to get the day off work on Thursday so we went to the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.

I am unreasonably in love with that name. It sounds like something out of Monty Python, don't you think?

Forest of Dean.

Forest of Dean.

Anyway, we drove around the Cotswolds first, because the area is just a few minutes away from Jan and Steve's house and they thought it was worth a visit. 

It wasn't too long before I discovered that my camera hadn't charged up overnight. Something to do with husband unplugging the laptop in which it was charging.

Harrumph!

Steve kindly let me use his camera.

Thatched roofs have been enjoying a resurgence in the UK and there are around 1,000 full-time thatchers at work in the country. A good quality thatched roof will last for 45 to 50 years.

Jan had been telling us about the signature figures left on the rooftop by some thatchers and, sure enough, here is a shining example.

Ducks in a row, made of thatch.

And an owl.

It's interesting to drive around the countryside in England and see how the building stone differs from one area to another. The stone in the Littletons has a lot of grey tones in it.

Here is the famous Cotswold stone. This was a very grand house.

Here's something I'll bet you've never seen before.

Staddle stones.

The stone mushroom-y things that the barn is sitting on.

They were used as early as the 1700's as a supporting base for granaries, hayricks, game larders, etc. The shape of the stones protected the structures from vermin and water seepage. I think I need some of these stone beauties for my shed, which suffers sorely from both in our wet winters.

The Forest of Dean is the second largest Crown forest, meaning that it was designated a hunting area for monarchs. The practice was instigated in the 11th Century by the Normans. Remember William the Conqueror?

I don't think that royalty dare hunt here any more. 

Wild boar reside here, but we didn't see any. 

Lucky for the boar.

The first order of business was a picnic lunch.

You know it was!

I got a kick out of this couple  making themselves comfortable in the sunny clearing.

I love trees, so indulge me for a moment.

Ah, wasn't that nice?

Did I mention that it was a perfectly sunny day?

Here are Jan and Steve, consulting the map for the Sculpture Trail, on which we were about to embark.

Aren't they cute? I love their matching boots.

Jeff and I have never had matching boots. 

Never ever.

But we do have a couple of matching fleece jackets.

The sculpture Trail is four miles long. We took our time, scrutinizing the sculptures and offering our constructive criticism when necessary.

As in, That's stupid, it doesn't even mean anything.

Here are some of the sculptures that warranted a photo.

This giant chair is at the beginning of the trail. It is carved out of local logs.

This puts it in perspective.

The forest has a history of coal mining and many remnants of the industry remain. This sculpture is called The Iron Road and is carved from eucalyptus railway sleepers. Each log is carved with a unique theme, something essentially typical of the Forest of Dean, such as mining motifs. 

Many of the sculptures are hidden away and we would have missed them without a map and some sharp-eyed husbands. This was one of my favourites. A giant acorn cup and a pine cone. As they have aged, they have become covered in moss and lichens and blend into the woods.

This is The Observatory. 

It looks like it goes nowhere...

...but it overlooks this placid pond.

This. 

Is cool.

It is named Raw.

It was made from an oak tree that was almost 200 years old. The sculptor transformed the cut tree into a cube that used all of the pieces, from the largest to the smallest. The construction of the cube was a mathematical feat of gigantic proportion, much like the cube itself.

This was made from a mold of the dirt bank behind it. The reverse side is the negative image. We puzzled for some time over how such a feat was possible, because of all the angles and intricacies of the surface. It remains a mystery, because I have been unable to find any information on the sculpture.

Even though it was only four miles, we spent three hours at the Forest of Dean. We were tired as we wended our way back to the house. We made a couple of stops. First, I stocked up on chocolates to take home for presents. Then we picked up fish and chips for dinner.

And I felt sad because it was our last night with our friends.

I ♥ Shakespeare

On Wednesday, we got a not-very-early start on Stratford-upon-Avon, home of the Bard. 

Yes, the same Avon that flows gently through Evesham.

And, just for the reveal-all record, I don't think we got an early start the whole two weeks.

We each bought a pass to the Shakespeare attractions. They are good for a year, so we didn't resent the money as much as usual because Jan can use them for her family and friends. I have a feeling she's going to get mighty tired of Shakespeare and his dwelling places.

First up was Anne Hathaway's cottage, which is out of town a little bit. 

We still had to pay for parking.

Anne was William Shakespeare's wife. Historians get a little obsessed with the circumstances of their marriage, which were slightly mysterious. Anne was 26, William only 18, and their first child was born only six months later. This has led to all kinds of speculation, but no one really knows much about their marriage. Or if they were even married.

Here it is, a real thatched cottage. This was Anne Hathaway's childhood home. The oldest part of this house was built prior to the 15th century and some of the furniture inside belonged to her family. There were guides at the beginning and end of the tour and they were full of fascinating tidbits about life in the 15th century.

This is an authentic bed of the time period. Notice the rope woven through the bottom board of the bed frame. This is what supported the mattress, leading to the saying Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. Tight meaning tightened ropes so that the mattress didn't sag.

The house is surrounded by several acres of picturesque gardens. Picnic facilities are available and you know we made good use of them!

This is a willow arbour.

You can tell, because it says so on the sign.

It was made nine years ago of living willow saplings, following the design of Shakepeare's time. The new growth that you see sticking up in the air gets woven into the structure or trimmed off, according to need.

It is supposed to be a good place for a romantic tryst, so we pressed a button on the wooden post and listened to a Shakespearean sonnet recited by a famous actor and tried to be romantic.

There were a couple of gardeners busily attending to the nearby sweet peas, so we asked them about the arbour. I was intensely curious to know how one would go about creating such a thing, having visions of a smaller version in my garden. As luck would have it, this man from Portugal built this arbour. We were treated to a fascinating description of the process of creating a living arbour. He was happy to share his expertise and to have his photo taken. 

Now there is a dream job! It seems he is quite famous in certain circles for his arbour-building abilities.

On we went into the town.

This is the Bard's birthplace.

Let me tell you, nothing is true and square in a 15th century house. Floors slope and walls meet at odd angles. It's best to watch one's footing at all times.

This is a copy of Shakepeare's First Folio. It contains 36 of his plays and was published in 1623, seven years after his death. About 750 copies of the folio were printed and 228 copies are still in existence, although most are incomplete. Eighty-two of those are at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. The First Folio is one of the most valuable printed books in the world; in the last ten years, copies sold at auctions for around $6 million.

Whereupon, my camera ran out of battery.

Genius!

So we visited Nash's House, which is where William's sister, Susanna, lived with her doctor husband.

Next door to this can be found the foundations of New Place, where the Shakespeares lived when they left London and moved back to Stratford. The house was demolished and rebuilt in 1702 by the new owner, only to be demolished again by another owner in 1759 because of a quarrel with the town authorities over taxation. 

Beware of juicy stories told by tour guides. They told us that the new owner didn't like Shakespeare or the tourists that were constantly bothering him and that is why he demolished the house. We found that many stories are embellished by tour guides!

The excavations were interesting, especially after we nabbed an official-looking lady who spent a good half-hour telling us all about their findings. I tell you, all you have to do is ask the question and people are only too willing to share all their knowledge. It happened almost every day (and twice on this day) and I loved it!

In the absence of photos, how about some well-used phrases that were either coined by or popularized by Shakespeare? The list might surprise you.

All that glitters is not gold.

As luck would have it.

Bated breath.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

Brave new world.

Refuse to budge an inch.

Crack of doom.

Brevity is the soul of wit..

Dead as a doornail.

Eaten me out of house and home.

Fancy free.

Foregone conclusion.

For goodness' sake.

The game is afoot. 

Give the Devil his due.

And there are so many more. An extensive list of phrases and words is here.

It's not really known which he invented and which already existed, but the first record of all of these phrases is in Shakepeare's writings.

I think I need to re-read Hamlet. Consider a few quotes.

There's a divinity that shapes our ends,

Rough-hew them how we will.

Alas, poor Yorick.

When sorrows come, they come not single pieces,

But in battalions.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.

The whole play is quotable.

If you haven't ever read it, you should.

Or, at least watch the movie.

Kenneth Branagh or Mel Gibson.

It's a tough choice.