Stratford-upon-Avon

(Sun, 27th July)

On this day we made our way down south to the little town of Stratford-upon-Avon, famous for being the birthplace of Shakespeare. I nvr really was a lit person, but there were other reasons that made it worth visiting the quaint little place.

The agenda had been to attend a free play by a local youth performance group and have a picnic under the wonderful weather. We did that, and then wondered around the town some more to use up the parking time we paid for.

It's a small place with the river Avon running right through it, and so, since Sunday had every characteristic of a nice day (dry and sunny), it was pretty crowded when we were there. There were people sitting/sunbathing/picnicking on practically any patch of grass on the river banks. And I can't blame them, coz the scene was perfect for it. There were even boats for rent for anyone wanting to paddle across the river - not cheap though.

 It's kinda like having a personal river coz the town is so small.

Um, ignoring the most obvious part of the photo, this is where we sat to watch the play. The colourful characters in the middle are some of the actors from a local youth group staging Shakespeare's The Tempest. They used his English so I understood all of 10% of the performance, but I was rooted there nonetheless - convincing and funny acting from them.

We actually spent a large part of the trip sitting on grass like everyone else. First for the play then for lunch. But, unlike everyone else, we sat in the shade. Notice the mat, yes, the calendar hahaha. Very cute hor? It's a Singapore Day thing we inherited from a senior, along with a reusable grocery bag that looks like a giant bag of kopi.

The following are a few shots from around the town. It is truly a quaint and pretty place, just crowded during the season for visitors.

Overall, nice suburban views, including all things Shakespeare.