Love's Labour's Lost
Oct. 14th, 2008 04:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slemslempikeI had an absolutely lovely weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
terriem and felinitykat. We had accidentally, but fortuitously, timed our visit to coincide with an annual fair. So after we had visited Shakespeare's grave, walked along the picturesque river (carrying out experiments on ducks and candy floss, and learning that locals refer to the recreation ground as "the rec"), paid 50p to cross a very small stretch of river on the chain ferry (in the middle of the very small stretch of river Terrie announced that it was a very good business plan, which it probably is), and looked at posh frocks, we went on the waltzers.
This was BRILLIANT. We were the oldest by a good ten years, I'd say, and we screamed because we wanted to go faster, waved our hands in the air, were spun violently by a bored-looking man smoking a cigarette and giggled incessantly through the whole thing. We also went to the Falstaff Experience, where we peered cautiously through curtains, failed to summon the devil, learnt interesting facts and were scared by an unexpected man. At the end there was somewhere where you could buy old pennies and use them to play old slot machines. There was a scary wobbling face, various ping-type things, a fortune teller and one I loved where you used a hammer to fling the penny through the air to a wishing well. I won lots on that.
The play was very good. We were sitting entirely separately because of the popularity thing, and I was in the front row of the circle at the side. I saw a lot of the backs of people's heads, but it wasn't too annoying. The set was a tree growing out of a crack in the stage, and large jagged pieces of plastic strung on hanging wires, looking like vines. The costumes were absolutely gorgeous. We had seen in the programme that there was an owl puppeteer, and so we were waiting on tenterhooks to find out when he would appear. There was a bird on a hat that we wondered if it would turn out to be The Owl, but eventually, right at the very end, a man came out with a bird hanging off some sort of fishing rod arrangement and circled the stage while actors stared in wonder. It was very odd indeed.
Our guest house was lovely, and no-one snored.
All my ebay items finished, and I am just waiting for one cheque to come in. I made £90 (though 20% of that goes to charities). The only things that didn't sell were the t-post shirts, and I was fairly sure that they wouldn't anyway. Woo! I am feeling quite bereft at no longer having anything to check on my ebay. I'm leaving the £90 in my paypal account because I just use it for ebaying anyway. Now I need to spend a few hours sorting out my Scottish Government expenses, and my departmental claims. And teaching contracts. We still don't have them yet (two weeks in...) and we don't know what the level of pay will be. And I keep forgetting that I'll be paid for the lecturing I'm doing too, though I have absolutely no idea what the going rate is for that.th
terriem and felinitykat. We had accidentally, but fortuitously, timed our visit to coincide with an annual fair. So after we had visited Shakespeare's grave, walked along the picturesque river (carrying out experiments on ducks and candy floss, and learning that locals refer to the recreation ground as "the rec"), paid 50p to cross a very small stretch of river on the chain ferry (in the middle of the very small stretch of river Terrie announced that it was a very good business plan, which it probably is), and looked at posh frocks, we went on the waltzers. This was BRILLIANT. We were the oldest by a good ten years, I'd say, and we screamed because we wanted to go faster, waved our hands in the air, were spun violently by a bored-looking man smoking a cigarette and giggled incessantly through the whole thing. We also went to the Falstaff Experience, where we peered cautiously through curtains, failed to summon the devil, learnt interesting facts and were scared by an unexpected man. At the end there was somewhere where you could buy old pennies and use them to play old slot machines. There was a scary wobbling face, various ping-type things, a fortune teller and one I loved where you used a hammer to fling the penny through the air to a wishing well. I won lots on that.
The play was very good. We were sitting entirely separately because of the popularity thing, and I was in the front row of the circle at the side. I saw a lot of the backs of people's heads, but it wasn't too annoying. The set was a tree growing out of a crack in the stage, and large jagged pieces of plastic strung on hanging wires, looking like vines. The costumes were absolutely gorgeous. We had seen in the programme that there was an owl puppeteer, and so we were waiting on tenterhooks to find out when he would appear. There was a bird on a hat that we wondered if it would turn out to be The Owl, but eventually, right at the very end, a man came out with a bird hanging off some sort of fishing rod arrangement and circled the stage while actors stared in wonder. It was very odd indeed.
Our guest house was lovely, and no-one snored.
All my ebay items finished, and I am just waiting for one cheque to come in. I made £90 (though 20% of that goes to charities). The only things that didn't sell were the t-post shirts, and I was fairly sure that they wouldn't anyway. Woo! I am feeling quite bereft at no longer having anything to check on my ebay. I'm leaving the £90 in my paypal account because I just use it for ebaying anyway. Now I need to spend a few hours sorting out my Scottish Government expenses, and my departmental claims. And teaching contracts. We still don't have them yet (two weeks in...) and we don't know what the level of pay will be. And I keep forgetting that I'll be paid for the lecturing I'm doing too, though I have absolutely no idea what the going rate is for that.th
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 03:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 04:04 pm (UTC)Thank you again for organising it all, it was brilliant. I found my Old Penny last night when I was putting my jeans in the wash, and have given it a special place on a shelf.
Apart from my issue with the CRACK, which is entirely my own phobia and problem and nobody else's, I really loved the play. Ahh, Shakespeare. So, this time next year?
no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 04:10 pm (UTC)Poor Owl Puppeteer. I bet he had a whole routine worked out, and they scaled it down because it overshadowed David Tennant.
Definitely!