ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 34TH OF 2025

 Good Afternoon lovely people tis Friday time for

Well last Thursday we travelled down to Stratford upon Avon, we had early check in at the hotel, so unusually for us we travelled by motorway and got there for about 11.30am, checked into our hotel and then went for a wander. 

We had three plays to watch over the two days that we were there, the second of which was in the theatre known as 'The Other Place' which we'd never been to or seen so that was our first port of call. 

Apparently this reopened in 2016 although it was the first time we'd heard of it. 

We then had a wander through the park and the art installation to do with the Two Gentlemen of Verona

Inside the RST near the Swan theatre was this inflated art installation which I loved

Then we had a wander and picked up some snacks from Marks and Spencers (non UPF sausage rolls) as we try and avoid any ultra processed/formulated foods these days and some olive oil cooked crisps. 

We also had a wander to the Shakespeare statue and the characters around them, 

and the faces around the base, all with different plants that had a significant meaning according to their respective statues. 

We headed back to the hotel and had a shower and then headed to Zizzis for tea which always has the nicest of desserts, this is a blueberry and lemon baked cheesecake and yes it probably was UPF but genuinely I tried not to think about that as I ate it. 

Pre-show selfie. 

Our first play was 'A Winter's Tale' at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.  It is a play we have seen before on numerous occasions, however, the play of two halves was very different to previous versions that we've seen.  The first half sombre and angry the second sentimental and heartfelt. 

The leader actor is the guy from the TV series Dalgleish, Bertie Carvel which we've both really enjoyed who was amazing in the play. 

This was the view from our seats, with the hanging moon on the stage, it changed during the show, sometimes clouds drifting over it, sometimes taking on a feel of Mars the planet and sometimes looking like the globe.  There was also water around the stage and we had to giggle at the first row being given waterproofs before the play started. 

The play was utterly amazing and we headed back to the hotel to dissect the same. 

The following day we headed out, it was beautiful blue skies, we went to the birth place and took a photo of the statue outside. 

and a photo of the birthplace

We also found some art installations that were linked with sonnets. 

We enjoyed a wander into a few of the art galleries in Stratford, they have such an amazing mix, before we headed to play number 2 which was The Two Gentlemen of Verona at The Other Place.  They believe this was Shakespeare's first play and it has a difficult ending (which we didn't know until after we'd seen it), but their version was very good and omitted the part of the play which is so contentious. 

We sat and had a drink before the show (and yes there was a real dog in the play)

This was our view from our unallocated seats

Pre-show selfie

Stage at the end of the play

The play went straight through with no interval and we thoroughly enjoyed it, the actors, the set and the view from our seats. 

I captured this photo of the lighting in the foyer on the way out, so very pretty. 

and another part of the art installation

I also found these characters on the top of a lamp post near the Swan theatre. 

In the evening after a meal out, we went to the Swan theatre, we had a walk around the free exhibition upstairs, I got this photo of one of the costumes the RSC has made at some point

the level of work on it is quite sublime. 

The floating head outside is sensational

Then our final play, Fat Ham in the Swan theatre and the premier of the show.   

Pre-show selfie

This was the view from our seats

And this was the stage at the end. 

Genuinely the play was sensational.  Based on Hamlet, but now set in the deep south in America all the key characters were there, but rather than the vengeful death scene, this was when the youngsters decided not to follow the same path and push back.  It made us laugh, it made us jump, it was heartfelt and awesome and I loved every minute of it, the actors were superb. 

Afterwards we overheard someone chatting to two gentlemen at the back of the theatre, it turned out one was the chief choreographer of the show and the other the playwright James Ijames which really made us smile. 

As we bounced back out of the theatre on a theatre high, we spotted these costumes up on the landing and went to have a look, the pink one from The School for Scandal last year which we saw.  

We also photographed the head piece worn by Bottom in the Midsummer Night's Dream that we saw. 

We headed out into a warm summer's evening and stopped at the quarterdeck bar for a drink before heading back to the hotel. 

If I could see any of the plays again it would definitely be Fat Ham.

We drove home on the Saturday and riding the wave of Shakespeare sat and watched the DVD of Midsummer Night's Dream that we'd bought.

Sunday was a quiet day and then back into work on Monday through to Wednesday.  A busy week again but one where I got one of the long standing tasks sorted which was great. 

And that my lovely people was my week, I hope you've had a good week too. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 42ND OF 2105

Morning all, tis Friday so can only mean one thing

Apologies for this arriving a little late today, the week has been something of a blur.  So without further ado.  Well last weekend was relatively calm and quiet.  Said 15 year old was gearing up for his expedition to Lesotho so there were final purchases and checks to make, so we decided to take it easy for a change.  No dashing out anywhere, no venturing far and wide.

We did however have a lovely meal out on Saturday to say Bon Voyage to said 15 year old, we had a lovely couple of hours chatting and eating and talking about his trip.  Sunday we popped to visit my Mum who was trying to integrate two cats as her ex-next door neighbour needed to rehome a kitten that she was allergic to.  Said 15 year old was most intrigued by this ball of fun, who being a kitten was literally into everything.

You'll be pleased to know that the resident cat has tolerated the new kitten enough for him to become a new member of the family and he's been renamed from the mouse like name of Jerry to Murphy which is a lot more apt.

Then we were on countdown (literally) to the send off.  Tuesday arrived all too soon for me and we were soon swapping bags, loading them on the coach and waving them off.  Gulp.  Surreal doesn't come close.

I'd also like to thank the WW girls for their support this week and for my another friend who I used to work with, checking on me and making sure I'm OK - you've all been stars!

As parents we then spent an inordinate amount of time watching the flight through an app.  By the time we woke on Wednesday morning, they had landed in Dubai and reboarded and then by the end of the afternoon on Wednesday the flight had landed in Cape Town.  I hadn't realised just how stressed I was, so it was an utter delight to relax knowing that they had arrived safely, well their flight had.  We then got a text from school confirming the same - phew!

Last night we got a further text, saying they had a great day at the Cape of Good Hope paddling with the penguins, today they will start to make the trek up towards Lesotho.  There will be almost a further 26 hours of travelling done before they end up back at the airport in a few weeks, but thankfully the journey has been broken up into easily manageable chunks as it were!

And finally last night, we went to see Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch, streamed live by NTLive to the local cinema.  It was quite honest amazing, I would have loved to have seen it live just for the stage set alone if I'm honest.  The energy and the honesty in the play was impressive.  Mr Cumberbatch stood out and showed why we love him so dearly as an actor!  The actress who took on the part of Ophelia (who I've often thought from previous Hamlets we have seen, doesn't stand out in the play), was head and shoulders above all other versions of Hamlet that I've seen.  She literally made me cry.  If you get to see it live all I can say is - you lucky things.  If you got to see it streamed - wasn't it amazing and if you didn't get to see it then I can highly recommend an encore performance as it was breathtaking!

I apologise for the utter lack of photographs this week blame it on the travel nerves, I promise normal service shall resume soon.  As a result of the lack of photos I'll share a couple of crafting layouts - hope you don't mind

First up a layout documenting the different chairs in the 'Take a Seat' exhibition at Chatsworth this year.

Then another layout documenting the final planet cake picture we took on completion of the science homework.

And then me and hubby at the Charity ball earlier in the year.  You'll be pleased to know that the group managed to raise more than £50K in the last two years of fundraising for said 15 year old expedition!

And there we have it lovely people, my linky is here if you fancy joining in.