Day 172 Wedding Anniversary

Tuesday 21st June


We had a rather hectic day today!  The hospital wanted us to drop off MiL's tablets so LB didn't wait for visiting but went in the morning, after the daily ward round would have finished.   We didn't think she would be discharged for a few days but we wanted it confirmed and he was lucky enough to speak to one of the doctors there.  Her brain scan showed evidence of a small recent stroke but of no previous  injury.  So this weekends episode was something new and her previous falls seem to be just that.  Good news. She's still awaiting transfer to the care of the elderly unit & won't be discharged for a while.  we've tee'd up the boys to visit her afternoon & evening today so at  12.00 I booked a guesthouse in Stratford and at about 1.00 we set off.  On entering Stratford we saw the sign to Anne Hathaway's cottage.  This is where she lived before marrying and becoming Mrs Shakespeare.  It's a quite substantial farmhous and amazingly dates back to the 15th century.  There are very pretty gardens too but we just had a look around the house then headed of to the guest house for a quick shower and change ready for the theatre.


We had a super meal in the Rooftop Restaurant and then took our seats in the auditorium.  Although modern outside the auditorium is quite Shakespearian with an apron stage, 3 tiers of seats all very close to the stage. We were in the second row of the stalls, so close we could see the sweat on the actors faces and it felt almost as if we were up there with them! It was a modern take on The Merchant of Venice and although the text obviously referred to Venice the setting was more Las Vegas, the main characters had American accents and Lancelot Gobbo was played by an Elvis lookalike who even sang snatches of his songs throughout the performance.  Bits of the modernity didn't really work for me but other aspects were great.  It related to modern problems over finance and ethnic prejudice & was quite thought provoking. We thoroughly enjoyed it & it was a great way to spend our 31st wedding anniversary.


Two photos today - Anne Hathaways cottage and a view through a stairwell window in the theatre

Anne Hathaways Cottage

Window view