ROCKING YOUR WORLD - 32ND OF 2024

 Morning all tis Friday time for

Well last Thursday we headed off to Stratford as we had booked two nights, and were staying three days to see four plays (I kid you not). 

We travelled down, up hill and down dale (not a fan of motorways) on the Thursday, we arrived early, parked up safely and headed to Cox's bar for a drink, hubby enjoying a pint or two of cider and me enjoying non-alcoholic beer.  Then we headed down towards the RSC theatre through a market enjoying the wares on offer and chatting to some of the stallholders. 

We had a wander around the RSC shop and then wandered back to the car, collected bags and headed to the Premier Inn and were soon in our room (we had a few issues but we will skip those as this is my silver linings post). 

First play was The School for Scandal, a play written back in the 1700s and we had no idea what to expect. 

The set and costumes were in a very vibrant pink, so the theatre was lit inside as a way to set the play if that makes sense. 

like I said pink

we even grabbed a selfie before other people arrived

The play was fabulous and we really enjoyed it, we headed outside in the interval to enjoy some fresh air, although the theatre was fairly cool anyway. 

and another selfie

it was a beautiful summer's evening

a new art installation inside caught out eye

We headed back to the hotel afterwards and we were soon asleep.

Friday we had breakfast and then given the very hot weather forecast we decided to head out, I definitely needed a hat, we needed some suntan cream and some water as the next play was being played outdoors. 

We also enjoyed finding some items in a local charity shop and also wandering an art gallery so definitely a good start to the day. 

We headed over to watch an abridged version (1 hour 20 minutes long no interval) at the back of the RSC, the Holloway outdoor theatre, to an amazing play which we thoroughly enjoyed. 

Back to the hotel we had a brief time to shower and changed and headed out for tea 

at Zizzi's restaurant which was lovely, this was the naughty desserts which we both really enjoyed

hubby had me giggling away again, love this man so much, as we headed into the weekend and marked 34 years since we first met. 

The third play of the weekend was The Merry Wives of Windsor back in the RSC (yes same theatre as last night's play - School for Scandal).  The turn around from last night to tonight was huge as you can see a completely different set. 

Another selfie before this epic play, it was the one hubby really wanted to see and they really did a fantastic job, Falstaff was incredibly funny and we loved every moment of the play, the characters, the actors and set. 

The close of the play and as you can see the houses have disappeared and a huge tree had appeared, honestly an amazing set. 

The final day, we had breakfast, packed up and took the things back to the car.  We then had an hour or so to have a wander, we found the Falstaff statue near the canal and had to take a photo. 

Then the final play was Pericles at the Swan theatre, this was the one I really wanted to see and it really didn't disappoint.  

Final selfie at the theatres

and then the play, which was as awesome as I hoped and genuinely brought a tear to my eye.  Absolutely fantastic. 

We then had a jaunt home which took a while but we had plenty to chat about. 

Saturday evening we enjoyed chilling out on the sofa, eating cheese and biscuits and hubby enjoyed another bottle of wine. 

Sunday and our anniversary and we had slow day as we had had a busy few days.  Our son and d-i-law visited which was lovely and we had a few hours catching up with them.

Monday dawned and I had a few busy days at work as is normal.  Hubby is volunteering on the boats again, not sure if this is a long term volunteering opportunity for him as things have moved on a fair amount but for now it will do. 

Wednesday saw him very busy with a woodstore order we ordered a half tipper load

which filled this and some of the other old woodstore, so we should all be set for winter. 

And that my lovely people is my week, I hope yours has been grand, I'm late on catching up with being away last weekend so promise to have a catch up in the next few days. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 47TH OF 2023

 Good morning lovely people tis Friday time for 

Well last Friday me and hubby travelled down to Stratford Upon Avon we went our scenic route and after parking up headed to Cox's Yard for a pint, hubby enjoyed Aspall's cider whilst I opted for the pretty standard for me these days Beck's Blue

We had an evening meal booked at Zizzi's hubby looks like he's ordered a giant pasty but it is in fact a calzone. 

I opted for sea bass and it came with some vegetables in a light dressing and way very tasty. 

Then we headed over to the RSC to what The Box of Delights, I've read the book recently and even though it was only written in 1935 it feels much older than that.  

We had another drink in the bar area, this would have been the originally entry into the theatre, but after the revamp where the made the theatre not only more accessible but also smaller this has become a bar area. 

The stage set was awesome, set out initially like a dusty attic

We grabbed at selfie in front of the pretty tree during the interval

and this is the aforementioned tree, it was so pretty

The second half and the stage set had changed somewhat, the wardrobes moved in and out of the set and at one point one was tipped onto its side and became a boat - genius set design for an amazing play. 

We travelled back up on Saturday and the journey was fairly stress free, once home I tucked into typical weekend jobs, washing etc as well as putting our case away, then we spent some time in the craft room.  Unfortunately I found that I'd not made nearly enough Christmas cards this year so had an afternoon of painting.

Before converting them with a little bit of scrapbook paper into cards. 

Hubby in the meantime was building little houses for a Christmas project we have going on at the moment. 

Sunday and hubby headed out to see said 23 year old and then they both popped back and we had a cuppa which was much needed. 

Soon into the working week, which is proving as exhausting as ever.  Said daughter-in-law graduated for the second time yesterday receiving her teacher training award, it looks like she had a wonderful day. 

And that my lovely people is your lot this week. 

I hope you've had a good week. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY 39TH OF 2023

 Morning all tis Friday time for 

Well after what seems to have been a very long run of no holidays we ventured off last Friday for Warwickshire, staying just outside of Stratford upon Avon in a village called Barton. We'd booked predominantly because we had theatre tickets mid-week, but the area has a wealth of things still to offer even though we've technically been here quite a lot in recent years.

The journey down was OK, we never do the motorway and the worst part of the journey is hacking our way around the edge of Leicester but hubby appears to have got his head around it so we managed fine on the junction with what feels like a million lanes. 

We stayed in a lovely romantic retreat just the two of us and were met by the owner and some of her chickens when we arrived. Thankfully we'd been sensible enough to do the food shop before we got to our venue, so we didn't need to head out again which was great. 

Our first full day being Saturday and the sun was shining so we headed off to our first 'must do' place of Cotswold Sculpture Park. It is privately owned and only open from April through to the end of September, so missed out last year. It was about an hour's drive from where we are, but it was definitely worth it. 

Me and hubby spent a number of hours browsing the sculptures, the trail much longer than we had expected. All of the sculptures are for sale so people do come and buy them, but we are simply just browsers of art rather than buyers.

Here are a few of our favourites. 

Blogger is misbehaving so it has them in the wrong order, but these metal dragonflies were created by the owner and are dotted around the park, made of parts of engine, it did make us wonder if he owned a scrapyard at some point. 

I loved this piece, the brightness isn't really visible on this photo, but it really was beautiful 

an Ed Elliott piece

Hubby photographing the trembling vole (note the flying owl behind him)

I loved the level of detail on these bearing in mind they were only about 10 inches tall, this one called 'putting the world to rights' and made of frost proof earthenware

This goat with his traffic cone on his back was known as 'party animal' 

and we met Myrtle the Turtle originally created to raise awareness of plastics in the ocean, made from old tyres. 

another stunning piece and as you can see we had some sunshine

this one raised a smile

and this one has to be one of my favourites 'hareoplane' - zoom for a closer look

and this iconic piece at the entrance to the trail

we enjoyed a cuppa and a rock bun before heading back to enjoy an hour in the hot tub, this is definitely the life. 

Sunday and we ventured to Upton Hall and Gardens, a freebie with our National Trust membership. Only 30 minutes from our abode, we grabbed a timed ticket in readiness and headed for the cafe for a cuppa before our venture around.

The house itself similar to many other country houses but filled to the brim with some amazing artwork. Initially we weren't sure if we'd engage in the artwork, but there were a few that drew us in and got us talking.  

We particularly liked the oil painting on copper sheet, weirdly I didn't know that was such a thing, apparently it allows for more detailed painting which we could see from the finished article. 

Afterwards we walked the terraced gardens which with the word terraced meant walking down which meant a hike back up. We went down to the mirror pond but with the over abundance of vegetation it had a more swamp like feel if truth be told. Overall though a lovely jaunt to a lovely home.

Monday and we were treated to a blue skies day and some white cloud, we decided to head to Batsford Aboretum, not top of my list if I'm honest, but many places close on Mondays at this time of year and I didn't really fancy walking around another National Trust home. 

Strangely enough though we had a lovely day, whilst it too was fairly steep in places, the oversized map leant us to finding all the items on the same. Ranging from the hermits cave at the top of the Arboretum, technically out of fashion when it was created I genuinely can't imagine someone paying somebody to be a hermit

We grabbed a selfie on our travels

and admired the buddha statue

We had a lovely lunch in the restaurant before heading back and completing the trail. 

As we were only a few mile away we decided to head over to Rollright Stones. A stone circle near a burial ground and other ancient monument it isn't our first jaunt there but it is some years since our last visit. 

Legend has it if you can count the stones accurately 3 times your wish will be granted, I counted them 3 times, the first time there were 61, then 59 and then 60 - no wishes for me today. 

The burial chamber is a little way off but a stable path down to the site makes it easy to reach. There appeared to be a lot of items left on this which we didn't see last time ranging from crystals to coins. 

Then we headed back along the path and over the road to see the King's stone

Tuesday and we fancied something different (again) and this time headed to Compton Verney now deemed an art gallery it is still based inside a stunning home.

We admired the ceilings in the play room for the kids

The Sphinx like creatures on the bridge designed by Capability Brown or as we always refer to him Bloody Stupid Johnson which only Terry Pratchett fans will appreciate.

I believe it to be the first thatched ice house that we have found on our travels

and the adornment on the front of the pillars reminding us of home and Wentworth Woodhouse, this being part of an intriguing National Lottery Heritage funded project

We headed inside and wandered the art gallery on the ground floor, full of Italian paintings, artefacts and sculptures

I found these sculptures somewhat strange, they said they represented the 4 continents, Europe, Asia, Africa and America.

This is Africa

and this is a very angry looking America, I'm confused why so angry other than the fact they've depicted her with her boobs showing - I mean the mind boggles.

We also found this very strange picture, which from a distance I thought reminded me of a Dali but wrong nationality apart from wrong century, it was only on closer inspection we saw elements of what is technically pergatory although it was described as the edges of hell, where some were redeemed according to the story it was depicting. 

We then went and grabbed a cuppa before continuing on, the primary reason for visiting Compton Verney was the promise of an exhibition by Quentin Blake, it did not disappoint and we were actively encouraged to take photos which was an absolute joy here are a select few

This one from a book about a family attempting to teach birds how to fly as they were taking over their home

This one done as a series for a hospital for children when the Doctors and nurses are shown as dragons

This one raising the plight of migrants crossing dangerous seas

and a magical beast

Another hospital painting showing the kids what they will be able to do when they get better 

Back to the birds again learning to fly

and another nurse shot

It really was a joy to behold 

We then headed to the American birds exhibition which didn't really float our boat and the illustrator and artist has been identified recently as a slave owner so there is a degree of distancing people are doing from his work. 

The final two floors were around British folk art, the design of the display had been assisted by Mark Hearld one of my favourite artists unfortunately there was little in the way of his work to be seen but we enjoyed the display nonetheless

This was the main artwork created by him

and I enjoyed the room that had been covered in a wallpaper designed by him

We then headed back to the cafe for more tea in fabulous little tea pots and cake to share, one a sticky ginger cake and the other an orange jaffa cake, both were light as a feather and very rich and went down a treat.

We headed to the gift shop on our way out and hubby found a book on soldering which pleased him no end and he bought me the gift books so I can find out a little more about the place.

We then managed to get to the chapel although the sky was looking somewhat threatening.

We managed a quick dash across the lawn and over the bridge back to the car in the nick of time 

Wednesday and a decidedly slow start for us book reading, catching up on our tablets and a chill in the hot tub before heading into Stratford-upon-Avon. We had a mooch for a bit before heading to the RSC in time for a tour of the theatre at 3.30pm. We had a brilliant hour with Bob the tour guide, showing us inside both the RSC theatre as well as the Swan theatre next door. It is crazy to think that the stage is 19 metres in height when you consider that the furthest seat from the stage is only 15 metres. It is also crazy to think that under the stage there is a 7 metre space which technically goes below river level (and has been known to flood). 

The Swan theatre is lovely and even more intimate to the main theatre. Then we headed over to the costuming department, looking at all the crafts created there from weaponry to hats to shoe/s and boots to clothes and jewellery absolutely stunning! 

Then we had a naughty tea at Zizzis before heading to the Swan theatre to watch Merchant of Venice 1936 set in London at the height of the fascist movement it was a mesmerising watch. 

Thursday and our final full day, we had booked for Sezincote one of those 'must sees' if I'm honest but the tour time was tight and we needed to be back in good time. Thankfully it all went swimmingly. 

The house itself has a distinct Indiant feel to it, being influenced by a prior owner who had spent a huge amount of time in India. They simply put a 'skin' on the outside of an existing home

The tent room was very pretty

The bronze elephants adding to the overall feel

We ventured in the garden and enjoyed walking down the stream and along the stepping stones under the bridge

We then headed back to where we were staying, enjoyed the hot tub for the last time before getting showered and ready for an evening out at the RSC to see Macbeth

It was nice getting dressed up

and this is the stage set at the RSC

it was an unusual take on the play, it was difficult to place the time it had been set if truth be told and they played to the fractured personalities and mental health issues far more than normal and whilst hubby still remains sceptical on this version I can see the merits of this different version. 

Overall a brilliant week away, just need another one now to get over the week away.

Hope you've had a grand week.