My Ancestors!

Tuesday. 8.05 a.m. Yet another bright and sunny morning. The digital thermometer is reading a far more comfortable 25ºc.

I have mentioned that I was doing family research on Ancestry. Well, it continues, with over 35,000 people on my tree! I have to admit that it's somewhat addictive. Once you start, you have to keep going. I can get back to well before the Norman Conquest of 1066, which is quite amazing.

My late mother kept on saying that 'we have Dick Whittington as an ancestor.' That is, obviously, on my maternal side. As Whittington had no children, I can't get a direct connection with him. The connection comes through his wife, Alice Witzwaryn. A connection nevertheless. I'm glad I've found it.

My mother also said that we were also supposed to be connected to Lord Nuffield. William Morris, set up and ran the Morris motor car business in Cowley in Oxford. I have done a lot of research and I cannot see any sort of connection, although I will keep on trying. I am glad that I might not be associated with him because I found out he had fascist leanings and helped to support Oswald Mosley in the 1930s.

I have also discovered the Gilkes family, who lived in and around the village of Deddington in Oxfordshire. Thomas Gilkes was a Quaker, as were many others of my ancestors. They weren't allowed, as Quakers, to go to university, or join any of the professions, such as law (and other professions.) As a result, they turned to clock-making. This was during the 18th Century. Some of these clocks are now valuable antiques, and, at auction, can sell for several thousand pounds.

Next on my list of discovered ancestors is  Thomas Early. (1734-1809). His family lived in Witney and were involved in blanket-weaving. Thomas Early was the first person to use the flying shuttle in the weaving process.

As we have just had the Olympic Games in Paris, I'm quite excited to discover that I have an Olympic medal winner in my family tree. His name was Charles Moss (1882-1963) and he won a Silver medal for cycling (Team Trial Race, Men) at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.

Now, for my most exciting discovery. I have had to check thoroughly that this is correct, and as far as I can find out, it is. I have a connection to William Shakespeare, not actually to him, because his family line died out, several generations after he died. My connection is to his wife, Anne Hathaway. (c1582-1623) Although I'm not DIRECTLY related to Shakespeare, the connection to Anne Hathaway is enough for me!

Now for my paternal side. I have found Mungo Park (1771-1806) who was an explorer, who discovered the source of the River Niger in West Africa and died there. I had heard of him, but never imagined he could be an ancestor.

Oh, What Fun!

 Monday. 6.15 a.m. A new week! But does the week start on Sunday or Monday?

It appears to be quite mild and pleasant. 

10.45 a.m. How wrong can you be! It's been several hours since I wrote the above. I've taken Alfie out. It wasn't pouring rain, but there was a light drizzle if I can use that word.

I have never mentioned here that I do online surveys and earn cash and vouchers. It's not likely that I will earn a great deal, but certainly, I can make perhaps a few hundred pounds a year as well as quite a good amount in vouchers for such companies as Argos, Amazon, Curry's and other businesses. I have been signed up to two of these survey companies, one called Valued Opinions and another called Lifepoints, for several years. You register to join and fill in your demographic details, such as age, employment status, area of the country you live in and various other details, which are then the basis for the type of surveys you are likely to qualify for. You are then emailed and there is a link in the email which you click on to start the survey. At the beginning, the survey will then be on basic details to find out if you are eligible to complete the survey. Quite a lot of the time you won't be eligible, but you need to be patient because eventually, you will be able to continue with the survey get to the end and then receive your reward. Don't expect to receive a great deal, probably in pence, or if you are lucky, a pound or two. There are survey sites which do reward with higher amounts, such as YLive, YouGov and Newvista (this one pays out with a variety of vouchers.) but you have to reach a payout point of around £50 before you get paid, either by cheque or directly into your bank account, although some sites pay using PayPal, so you will need to set up an account first before you receive cash into your account and then set things up so you can transfer cash into your bank account. I am also a member of something called Consumer Pulse, which I've been with for around 10 years. You have to be invited to join this. The idea is that you log in to the site and report items you have purchased, such as clothing, books, CDs, DVDs etc. Each item has a value in points and when you reach a certain amount of points, you can redeem them for vouchers, for companies such as Argos, Curry's and so on. 

There are other market research sites which pay in both cash and vouchers, but many rarely offer you surveys, so it will take you a long time to reach a payout, nonetheless, they are worth signing up to. A couple of the better ones are Opinium, which has a payout of £25 and another called SurveyBods, which has a payout at £15, paid in Amazon vouchers or cash.

I mention all this because I recently had two survey sites payouts, one being Lifepoints, where I received £85 and Valued Opinions, with Amazon vouchers to the value of £100. Mind you, I had to work hard to receive these payments. I think it took me probably six months to achieve these payments. Not without a certain amount of patience and endurance, with quite a few times being rejected, for whatever reason, probably age, gender etc etc.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I purchased a new electric toothbrush, from Argos, and paid with around £40 of vouchers from Consumer Pulse. The Amazon vouchers (not technically vouchers. You get a code which you put into your account on the Amazon website. The cash from the Lifepoints surveys has gone into my savings account. 

I have put the Amazon codes (I should say codes rather than vouchers, which are usually printed.) and then ordered some books which I had already seen on the Amazon website. I was excited to find one book which is about my ancestors, which I think I've mentioned elsewhere in blog posts here. It's called 'The Ascott Martyrs', and edited by Keith Laybourn, and the subtitle is 'Why did the rural establishment imprison sixteen women and two babies in 1873?' This historic event was discovered when doing research on my family history, and this was on my maternal side. Then, two books about William Shakespeare, both written by Shakespeare authorities, David and Ben Crystal, 'The Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary' and the other, 'Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion.' This one will be useful, as it details the words that are obscure and difficult to understand which are used in Shakespeare's work. This book in particular will be invaluable when I read or see performances of the plays and want to find out what certain words mean and where they originate. 

Fun and Frolics at Dexter House (But Probably Not)

 Thursday. 3.00 p.m. I can't believe I have got this far into the day, but written nothing on this blog. I must be slipping. Never mind.

I've been to the Oaktree Centre and got there just before 9 o'clock. Another delightful motorist insisted on tailgating me as I turned left out of Strudwick Drive and onto Chaffron Way. You just can't move out of the way quickly enough for some people. The Acorns playgroup now has two sessions on a Thursday and everything was already set up when I arrived. The gridlocked traffic early on most days of the week is really heavy and it would be virtually impossible to get there any quicker.

I took out Alfie after I'd had some lunch and I was surprised to find that Strudwick Drive, from the Dexter Avenue Roundabout, had been coned off and on Oldbrook Boulevard there was a large truck with its rear section tipped up, and I could see workmen in day-glow uniforms shovelling what looked like tarmac onto the road surface, so I assumed they were repairing potholes. It really is about time such work was done around Milton Keynes. Much of the grid work network has resurfaced (I believe it is continuing as I write this.) but many of the roads within the various grids that make up the city need attention.

Friday. 6.25 a.m. Alfie was asleep when I wanted to take him out at around 5.45. I picked him up as usual and carried him out through the door onto Strudwick Drive. We walked around Oldbrook Green and were back in the flat just as it turned 6 o'clock.

10.25 a.m. I have just heard, from a lady who is covering Dexter House since our S.H.0. (Sheltered Housing Officer), Barbara left, and someone has been appointed for the position. She is currently working for the N.H.S., but it will take around six weeks before she can start, because of having to have D.B.S. checks done and work out her notice.

Sunday. 6.35 a.m. Where did Saturday go? I can't believe I didn't report any of my activities. As I write this, I've been out with Alfie. We did our, by now, an obligatory circuit of Oldbrook Green. It is relatively mild and quite pleasant.

It's St George's Day, and it's supposed to be William Shakespeare's birthday. Happy birthday, William. He would have been 459 years old. Quite a few candles on his birthday cake.

Yesterday I went to Homesense at Kingston. I was looking for a mirror for the bathroom, as the one I have isn't very big. It's okay for shaving, well, more or less. They didn't have what I was looking for, although they had a selection of larger mirrors. I also searched for another duvet cover. King-size. A really great selection, and it took some time to decide on the one I eventually bought. I got two others from Homesense and which I alternate whenever I was my bedding, which is why I thought a third would be a good idea. I needed to get a bottom sheet, flat and also for a king-size bed, but they didn't have any. I don't like fitted sheets, as they never stay fitted, so I will probably go back and have another search.

From Homesense I went to Tesco and bought something for my evening meal and then drove home.

Later, when I was out with Alfie, walking around Oldbrook Green, I saw what I thought at first was a hot air balloon, but then I heard an engine and it was what I think is what is called a microlite. It had a sort of parachute above it and I presume someone sitting in a sort of sling underneath. At first, I thought it was going to land in Oldbrook Green, but it veered off towards the centre of Milton Keynes. I don't know whether it landed within the city. I just wonder how far something like that would travel on a full tank of fuel.

We have just got back from a further stroll around Oldbrook Green and Alfie made friends with two very lively labradoodles (if that is the correct spelling.) The lady who had them on leads then let them off. Alfie, as usual, always wants to be friends and at one point got wound up in their leads!

4.15 p.m.  When I got back from church, I had lunch and then I took Alfie out again. I am determined to do the 10,000 steps and then went out again and did around three circuits, which meant I exceeded the 10,000 steps. Oldbrook Green was heaving, with children playing in the skate park and the playground and older children kicking footballs and throwing some at the netball net. Lots of people walking dogs. One particular dog, which I think might be a shitsu, like Poppy (our old dog). When we approached, it started barking at Alfie. I think the dog is called Mable. Alfie didn't take a blind bit of notice and I'm proud of him. That dog has not been trained the same way as Alfie. Obviously not socialized.

Milder Weather

Tuesday. 7.55 a.m. It's foggy at the moment. It was something of a surprise when we went out at around 7.10. I hope it clears as the day progresses. It's not too thick, and visibility is about 20-30 feet or so.

6.05 p.m. The fog lifted gradually, as the day progressed, and the rest of the day was bright and sunny and really pleasant. The drive to Camphill was stress-free, with no queuing onto any of the roundabouts.  I think this was because it was half-term, with parents not driving their children to school.

The day at Camphill, in the theatre workshop, was spent reviewing the feedback from the two performances of '12 Nite.' (That was how it was spelt on the programmes and in the media. It was done to show that it wasn't actually as William Shakespeare wrote it, but an adaptation to be performed by a group who have a range of disabilities and for their capabilities.) Ticket sales were amazing and as a result, some £1,200 was made from the total sales. There has been a great number of positive reactions on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

During the lunch break, there was an incident, when one of the young men in the theatre workshop had a 'moment.' He got somewhat annoyed and swore at one of the girls, who got really upset, which was totally understandable. There was nothing violent, he didn't hit anyone, but it caused a situation which had to be resolved. As a result, Terrie, the workshop leader, had to get to the bottom of the incident and went off to deal with the young man. Generally, the group are very supportive of each other and there are never any raised voices, they all get on remarkably well together. Terrie had to interview all those people who witnessed the incident, including me, and write a report. 

During the time Terrie was out of the theatre, the rest of the team played a series of drama exercises and games. One, 'Grandmother's Basket' was played, with the team sitting in a circle and one person being given an empty basket and putting in an imaginary item, such as a boo, a dragon, a gold watch or whatever, and then the basket is passed to the next person who has to say the last item added and puts their own item in and the basket passes on round the circle with each person saying the last items and then their own, until it gets to the end of the circle, in this case, myself, who had to remember all the items, which was quite a feat of memory and add my own! I did manage. So glad to be part of all this! 

Then Paul, who is Terrie's assistant, suggested playing a game which might be useful in the development of a silent film which the group might make. The group was split into two and was given a theme for a sort of 'silent' or 'mime' piece. Then each group had to decide how to present the 'them' to the other group, who had to guess what the 'theme' was. My group had to first show a doctor's surgery, so we had the doctor mime, with patients arriving and him checking the patient. The other group theme was a school, with a teacher being the head of the class and some pupils arriving late, but in both exercises, no one could speak. It was a great success and even more than ever showed how well the teams work together. One of the definite positives of Camphill and showing the success of the community.

The afternoon was then spent watching a video on YouTube of a silent film, starring Buster Keaton, which was shown to give the team inspiration for making their own silent film. 

The day ended at 3.30 instead of 4 o'clock because Terrie and other members of staff had a meeting with the lady who is in charge of things at Camphill, to discuss the various things involved with the production of 'Twelfth Night.'

Wednesday. 7.50 a.m. A bright and relatively mild morning, but I did notice that there was a light frost on the grass when I took Alfie out at around 7.10 a.m.

9.00 a.m. The sun is shining, and I'm about to go to Aldi to do a bit of shopping.

11.00 a.m. I'm back from my trip to Aldi. In and out relatively quickly. I made a mess up with a one-pound coin in the trolley. I put one of the two I had with me in the wrong trolley and then found I couldn't release it, unfortunately. It might seem a triviality, but I never have a pocketful of pound coins, probably because I pay for most things with my debit card and usually not with cash. You need a coin for car parking or for these supermarket trolleys, Sainsbury's doesn't have trolleys which unlock with a pound coin, but Aldi does.

Camphill Theatre Workshop

Tuesday.6.00 p.m. It's been a very wet day. I've been to Camphill (back in the routine, more or less as it was before lockdown.) The journey to Camphill takes about twice as long during 'Rush Hour', because of the amount of traffic on the road.

As with each session in the drama workshop at Camphill, things begin with check-in, which is when every participant tells the group how they feel and what they have been doing up until that point. There are around 25 people in the group, give or take perhaps three, some are on holiday or at least, elsewhere, and somebody may come to get a taster of the group (rather like I did when I started with the group in around April 2019. I can't believe it's getting on for three years ago.) The check-in took longer than usual, probably just an hour. Some people have quite a lot to talk about. Then, a 'warm-up session is led by Terrie, the new leader of the group. I'm quite used to seeing actors going through something similar before they start a performance when I worked in stage management. It's rather like an athlete warming up before some form of activity, such as running a race. Then, a game called 'Grandmother's Basket', which entails everyone sitting in a circle. The first person has a basket and has to say the name of an object which they have in the basket and mime it (I don't think everyone did this, but never mind.) Then the basket is passed to the next person in the circle, who adds another of their own, as outrageous or imaginative as possible and also adds the previous person's item, and the basket continues around, with each person having to add another item and say the other items that have been added. It gets more and more difficult as the baskets further round. So, you can imagine, with around 25 people, the last person has to remember all the items that came before them. I think the group were quite brilliant at remembering all the items!

Terrie is developing a new show with the group (this had begun well before I returned to the theatre workshop.) which is a pantomime version of the William Shakespeare play 'Twelfth Night.' The group have been each been given their characters and has been working on the way they behave and move. At this stage, there is no written script. Some of the actual speeches will be incorporated into the piece, for example, the famous opening speech 'If music be the food of love, play on!' but Terrie is writing the dialogue so that it fits the capabilities of each actor in the piece.

After the tea break, there was an intriguing game set up on the stage and hidden behind the curtains. When they were opened, we saw the stage scattered with all manner of items, hats, pieces of costume, pots, saucepans, and goodness knows what else. The game we were instructed in was to walk around the stage and pick up an item and, in the manner of clowns, to use the item in a way which was not what it was intended for. You couldn't speak, having to communicate using mime.

After lunch Terrie launched into rehearsing some of the scenes from 'Twelfth Night, breaking down what story elements in each scene and then getting the guys to act out what they had been shown and extracting as much comedy out of the material as possible. 

I have to say since I've been involved with the theatre workshop at Camphill, I have noticed how the group has increased their confidence. In fact, a great deal of confidence is required to stand up on a stage and perform, remember lines and put your heart and soul into what you're doing, and for people who have some form of learning disability, together with communication issues, speech, hearing or whatever, it must be very difficult. That is the benefit of working in some form of theatre, which is what the workshop is all about. 

The World On Hold

 (Friday) It does seem like the whole world is on hold, a bit like when you attempt to telephone someone or something like a business, a broadband provider, delivery company or whatever, and you can't get through immediately, and you get that dreaded music which plays continually, and the voice says, ' Please be patient. your call is important to us. All our agents are busy. You are number 210 in the queue. . . ' All, lockdown does feel somewhat like that, kept eternally 'on hold.' (But without that awful music they play, while you wait . . . and wait . . . and wait, bu then eventually, someone speaks! But in the case of the confounded pandemic lockdown, we are hoping on hope that we might be released from this situation. I have been out, like being released on parole, for good behaviour! I went for a walk with my friend Mike from church. Hopefully it wasn't going to rain, but we went to where we usually go, in Willen, to have a tea and something to eat. Not sure now what the shop is called, but their prices are very reasonable. You have to wear a face covering, as we are supposed to do in all shops and other premises, but you can't sit down to eat your newly purchased food. Even outside they have taken away the tables and chair, so we had to sit on benches in the children's play area. It just seems crazy to me, that you can't sit together, even if it's socially distanced, because surely the virus is more likely to be dispersed in the open air and particularly when there's a fairly strong wind, as there was on this occasion, and it blew away the tops of our cardboard cups we had our tea in, as well as other paper. Understandable if you're inside as the virus would be more likely to be able to spread as the air will be still and such things as ventilation would help it's spread. I just think it's petty bureaucracy in some cases. But we have to just live with all this, unfortunately.

The government has seen fit to vote on a further six months extension of the lockdown legislation. Which takes us up until around August before they are likely to abandon the lockdown altogether. But we are now being told there is a THIRD WAVE of the virus on the continent of Europe. 

Coming back home afterwards from the walk I was amazed by the blossom coming out all around Milton Keynes, especially along Brickhill Street and Chaffron Way. The May, or hawthorn, mostly white, but some pink, and a variation of pink and white, in-between, looking something like clouds. Quite spectacular. No doubt the warmer weather has bought it out. The may referred to William Shakespeare as 'the darling buds of may', in sonnet 18.

I've been out will Alfie It's blowing a gale and it almost blows you off your feet. I thought it a good idea to go out as it had gone very dark and the clouds were gathering . . . sounds ominous and a bit like the opening of some story, probably set in 1939 and 'the storm clouds were gathering over Europe. Poland had been invaded and the chance of war was likely . . . etc etc.' There was even a film called 'The Gathering Storm,' which was about that very piece of history. I have an idea that it was a BBC film, but I can't be sure of that.

The Rain It Raineth Every Day!

I start off with a Shakesperean quote! And why not? I think The Bard got it right. It's from one of Feste's songs from one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, 'Twelfth Night.' The quote is now a bit out of date because as I write this. . . . it's bright and sunny!

(Saturday) Well, typical British weather! Today it's foggy when I took Alfie out around 7.15 this morning. No sign of it dispersing. And to cap it all, on BBC Breakfast they're saying there's snow coming in over the next couple of days and an Amber Warning.  Being referred to as 'The Beast From The East.' Seems the trend nowadays, to give storms a name of some sort. So, we're likely to be skating all over the place and snowed under-literally! Just shows how quickly our weather can change from day to day.

10.20a.m. As I write this, the sun is out! Not very strong, but it's dispersing the fog. 

Alfie happy to go out and walk around Oldbrook Green. Stopping every couple of yards to have a good sniff, which to him is happiness. One contented little dog.

The trees and bushes around Oldbrook Green and along the edge of Evans Gate, the road which runs alongside the Green and going up towards Sainsbury's in Witan Gate, has been trimmed by council workmen. They have been using a chipping machine to dispose of the branches of the trees and the chipping are distributed over the ground. Also, the other day they were using a powered cutter on a pole to cut off over-hanging branches on some of the trees alongside the path Alfie and I walk along. It all looks neat and tidy.

(Sunday) Well, after all the expectation of snow, no sign of the white stuff when we went out at 7.30a.m. Apparently Kent is under snow, so there's a chance we'll soon be under six feet of the stuff. But there's a chill wind blowing, so that may bring it in later. Watch this space! The 'Beat From The East' is also called Storm Darcey. I'm not sure whether it's male or female. Is it named after the character from Pride and Prejudice or even Darcey Bussell, the former ballet dancer and Strictly Come Dancing judge? 

(Monday) A fall of snow in the night, but only what I'd term a smattering. We went out as usual, around 7.15, as it's getting lighter earlier and earlier, thank goodness, and there was some snow, but not what you'd call a heavy snow or even much of a covering. But, for all that, it's chilly!

12.25p.m. It's still snowing, but it's a rather thin and pathetic sort of snow. Not the big and bold sort with huge fluffy flakes. Just doesn't cut the mustard and hardly worth getting excited about.

There's a large puddle in the middle of the grass on the opposite side of Oldbrook Green to Oldbrook Green. It seems to appear every winter and was frozen the other day and there have been ducks on it and the other day a large retriever dog was splashing about in it. Typical of this sort of dog, no doubt a Spaniel of some sort. My brother used to have a Springer Spaniel and she loved water. Not sure that the owner was bothered with his dog having a paddle, but I don't think he would have been too pleased with a soaking wet dog and having to get it dried when he got home and the mess the dog would have caused, soaking furniture etc etc. Also, there is a puddle in the middle of the path, near the bench where we've sat on several occasions. The grass on either side is soaking as is most of the grass and it's like walking on wet carpet. There are wheel marks where someone has driven a fairly large vehicle over the grass. No doubt a Council worker, but it has really churned things up and as far as I am concerned, it was irresponsible to damage the grass and mess up the environment. They could surely driven the vehicle around the Green without churning up the ground.

(Tuesday) Out with Alfie at 7.15 this morning. I got ready to go out, all togged out as usual, walked through to the lounge. No sign of Alfie anywhere. Under other circumstances he would have been barking and jumping on the sofa ready to be taken out, but I find him sleeping in his bed! Then he sees me and starts his barking and excitement. So we go out and find that most of the snow has gone, although it's still chilly. I think we're bound to get more snow. Just seen Carol Kirkwood on BBC Breakfast, giving the weather forecast and saying it's likely to get worse.

Free Shakespeare Course on Futurelearn

Anyone who know me well will know I have a real passion for theatre and that I worked in stage management for several years. Also, that I love Shakespeare. I did a course on the free Futurelearn platform a couple of years which I really enjoyed. It is being run again, for those who might be interested. It's very easy to register and if you decide to join you can begin at the beginning very easily and catch up quickly. It began on Monday of this week so you're only a few days behind if you want to join in. It is a joint project run by Warwick University, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Warwick Business School. The lead educator is Jonathan Bate. It's something of a coincidence that I recently bought his book " Soul of The Age: The Life and Mind of William Shakespeare, so I'm reading in in parallel with the course. You get a series of short videos, running for up to 10 minutes, and Jonathan Bate uses objects from the archives of the Birthplace Trust that are relevant to the life of Shakespeare, for example, a  signet ring which was discovered in a field near Stratford-Upon-Avon which may or may not have belonged to Shakespeare, as it has the initials 'W.S.' engraved on it. Also, copies of manuscripts, folios etc etc. As you progress through the course, and you can go at your own pace, there is no need to rush through the course, you can leave comments and discuss with other students on the course, by writing in the spaces provided and so learn as you go along. At the end of each week (the whole course runs for 10 weeks.) there are quizzes so you can see how you are progressing.

'The rain, it raineth every day'

What a change in the weather! From almost spring-like to howling winds and pouring rain. Typically British I suppose. It's what makes this country the way it is, green, rolling hills and dales. Lushness. Verdant. There is a warning from the Met Office that we're in for severe storms. They've named the storm Doris. So, it's a Doris Day. Nothing to do with the sweet and sugary American actress and songstress of the 1950's and 60's. Snow in Scotland and whirling winds across the rest of England and Wales. Batten down the hatches and settle in for the worst of it.

I've entitled this post using a quote from William Shakespeare. That's from one of Feste's songs from "Twelfth Night" which is one of my favourite plays. There are many more references to weather throughout the Canon. Look at 'King Lear.' 'Blow winds and crack your cheeks.'  At the beginning of 'Macbeth' we meet the Three Weird Sisters. The mood and tone of the play is suggested by their mention of the weather in the opening lines 'When shall we three meet again/ In thunder, lightning or in rain?' In Lear the weather suggests Lear's state of mind. When he's on the heath with the Clown, he's wandering about in a state of madness and the raging wind suggests his state of mind. We are obsessed by weather in this country, probably because the weather is so central to our lives. My father was a farmer and was always going on about the weather, because it was so important to how the farm was run. No good trying to get in the grain harvest if it was pouring with rain. There was one of those old fashioned barometer in the passageway at the rear of the house where we lived. He would go out and tap it and then you'd hear him mumble something on the lines of 'ruddy weather!' or 'Better weather.' Or whatever. I never understood what that was about as a child, but he could be extremely moody and I think now that this was down to the weather. I think I'm similar in some ways. I'm better when it's sunny and bright but become somewhat more moody when it's rainy and wet. Well, if it means you can't get out and about when it's grey, wet and gloomy, it's bound to effect your mood. Also, I think I'm effected by seasonal variations, particularly when the clocks change in October (usually around the time of my birthday) when the clocks go back an hour. It's generally darker and colder which has something to do with it.

As I write this the sun has come out. It's bright and streaming in through the window. I've had to draw the curtains to stop it shining in my eyes. It's shining through the trees along the Redway behind the house and as the branches move it's making the light flicker somewhat annoyingly. Which is why I drew the curtains. It was pouring with rain as I took Carol to work at Milton Keynes Academy earlier but, as I say, it's bright sunshine now. I think the wind has dropped. It just shows how quickly the weather changes.

This 'n' That

Well, for a start-off I can't think of a title for this post. I usually attempt to find something alliterative. Well, if you don't know what it means (and shame on you.) it's words with the same initial letter that sound similar. 

The Police have packed up and left the 'crime scene' in Osprey Close. Although they left the peculiar blue box, shades of Doctor Who's 'Tardis' time machine. It's obvious what it is. A portable toilet. They had to make sure the Boys In Blue had somewhere to go, didn't they? Every possible 'convenience' at hand. We'll know sooner or later the outcome of this incident, although someone has been charged and was before the Magistrate's Court last week. I forget the person's name but it's bound to be in the local media.

The grass at the rear of the house has been growing steadily over the past couple of weeks. It's had plenty of sun and more recently rain, which might explain why it's got so long. I have been putting off mowing it, and this morning I got the mower out and attempted around half. The rest can be done tomorrow. It's mild weather-wise and I was hot when I finished. 

We have a good crop of blackberries on the brambles that overhang the fence at the end of the garden and there are quite a few along the Redway. I will get out tomorrow and pick some. 

I have been watching the film of "The Lady In The Van." This is a film based on Alan Bennet's stage play of the same name and starring the brilliant actress Maggie Smith. She who was the Dowager Duchess in "Downton Abbey." A very different character to the character she portrays in "The Lady In The Van." I have been an admirer of hers since I was around 16. I think I must have first seen her in the film "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." I studied "Othello" by William Shakespeare as part of my 'A' Level English course and saw her opposite Laurence Olivier in the film of "Othello" when she played Desdemona. And then in a very amusing film with another actor, I always liked, Peter Ustinov, called "Hot Millions." He plays her boss in an office and she is the cleaning lady who comes in to clean his office and they set up a scam to trick money out of the company when she bangs down her mop bucket near the company computer. She couldn't have been much more than in her late twenties or early thirties when she made that. As for Peter Ustinov. What a talented man he was. Not only a great actor but also a playwright of some renown. He wrote "Romanov and Juliet" and I saw him in  a wonderful play called "Beethoven's Tenth" where he plays Ludwig Van Beethoven, who is made to appear as (possibly) a ghost by a music critic played by Robin  Bailey. (best known probably for playing Uncle Mort in the Peter Tinniswood sit-com called "I Didn't Know You Cared.") I might be right in thinking that Beethoven is given a hearing aid and is able to hear recordings of his symphonies for the first time. Ustinov stole the show, and it was extremely clever and funny.

I saw Maggie Smith in the Noel Coward play "Private Lives" when she played Amanda to her then-husband Robert Stephens, who played Eliot (originally played by Noel Coward himself and Gertrude Lawrence in the 1930's original production.)  This production was at the Phoenix Theatre in London, and, I believe, was directed by Sir John Gielgud. When I was an A.S.M. in Colchester in the early 1970's we did our own production of this play and I have been a Coward fan ever since. His plays never seem to be out of fashion, unlike a lot of other playwrights of that period. Just as amusing as when they were written and in some cases more relevant today than when  they were first produced. Such plays of his, as "Hay Fever" and "Blithe Spirit" are constantly being revived.

As for Alan Bennet, I have also enjoyed his work. He did a lot of plays for the BBC and a number with Dame Thora Hurd. He wrote a series of monologues for the likes of Thora Hird, Maggie Smith, and Patricia Routledge and called "Talking Heads." The first play of his I remember was a black-and-white television film about a gang of Edwardian cyclists. Very little plot and, being set in that idyllic realm immediately before the First World War, had a very poignant ending. A definite 'must see' if you get a chance. He's since done most of his writing work for the National Theatre, such as 'The History Boys' which was made into a film in the early 2000's.

Cough and Cold

Not feeling too well today. Have had a sore throat for the past couple of days, which has developed into a cold. Just unpleasant. Constantly blowing my nose and coughing, which is made worse when I lay down in bed. I suppose I really shouldn't complain as I haven't had a cold for at least five years. It seems to drain all the energy out of me.

I have begun a course from Futurelearn this morning, the subject being "Hamlet", the play by William Shakespeare. I have done several courses from Futurelearn. They are free which is amazing. All done on-line. I did one on Shakespeare's world last year and another on Hadrian's Wall, as well as one on creative writing. 

Creative Writing

I didn't continue with the writing course at Milton Keynes Academy. It was really far too basic. I have rung and I'm getting part of the fee refunded. I am now doing an on-line course through something called Futurelearn. I've done a couple of these free courses, one on Shakespeare and another on Hadrian's Wall. I can recommend them highly. I have signed up to do another of their courses, starting in January, on William Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet.' Should be interesting as I have a particular fascination with the play and have seen a couple of stage versions as well as the Kenneth Branagh film version which is uncut as well at the B.B.C. Shakespeare television production which has Derek Jacobi in it. I was involved in a production of the play when I was an A.S.M. at Liverpool in 1971. Hamlet was played by John Castle and Ophelia by Joanna David.

Kenilworth Castle Outing

On Wednesday, as it was such a fine and sunny day, we decided to go to Kenilworth Castle. It has been somewhat undecided as regards the weather over the past couple of days and it has been quite over-cast and threatened rain. We wanted to get the most out of our membership of English Heritage. We've been once before, around six years ago. That time I seem to remember it was quite cold and we had soup in the restaurant. They had begun work on building the Elizabethan Garden, so it would be great to visit again and see it completed. Or that was the hope this time. The first time we joined was when we came back from a few days away we had for our first wedding anniversary in 2008 when we'd been to Chesil Beach and on he way back we went to Stonehenge. I find that a really intriguing place and would like to visit again since they've made some major changes there as well as opening a new visitor centre. We passed the site when we went down to Devon last August for Chloe and Steve's wedding.

The Elizabethan Garden at Kenilworth Castle

We drove out of Milton Keynes and went up the A5 and crossed over to Leamington Spa and got to Kenilworth that way. They have made quite a number of changes at the castle since we last visited, notably the Elizabethan garden, which, as I mentioned earlier, was being constructed the last time we visited. Having an interest in history (we  English Heritage joined this time with a discount from BBC History Magazine which I have a subscription to.) and it's amazing to see the place which is quite central to quite a few 'bits' of English history, notably Elizabeth I and her relationship with Robert Dudley. Also, as I'm something of a William Shakespeare fan and the fact that Stratford-Upon-Avon is so near. I did a course earlier this year on Shakespeare's World and part of it mentioned the fact that possibly Shakespeare visited Kenilworth when Elizabeth was there (although there is no definite documentary evidence for this.) as he mentions something in A Midsummer Night's Dream which could possibly allude to the masque that was performed there. The 'play within a play', the 'Pyramus and Thysbe' story is almost a parody of such a masque.

We wandered about the castle and took plenty of photographs, as we almost always do when we visit such places. They have now put walk-ways up along some of the ruined sections of the castle and you can see how the castle was built.

We wanted something to eat and went into the restaurant which is built inside the stable block. It was very busy as there were children's activities going on within the castle so a great many families with children, one in particular was very noisy and screaming. Carol had to queue up and I went outside to find a vacant table to sit. It became quite over-cast and there were a few drops of rain unfortunately, so after around 3 hours we decided to return home, but this time we went home via the Motorway, getting on the M6 near Birmingham which joins the M1 further south and gradually home to Milton Keynes.

Old Wives' Tales and More

Let's start off by asking, who were the old wives who made up so many tales? What I'm referring to here will be sayings of my mother and possibly grandmother which as a child I took for granted. When you're a certain age, say 10 or less, you tended to take what adults told you as being totally accurate and 100% true. My mother had one saying which always made me think, usually when she didn't want to do something, usually at the point where she was probably resting. It was 'I've got a bone in my leg.' Now, what a totally stupid response. If she didn't have a 'bone in her leg' surely she wouldn't have been able to stand up. Her leg would no doubt have been no more than jelly, flesh and muscle and without said bone, no use at all as a limb on which to walk, let alone stand. Where did this saying come from? No doubt passed down from her mother and her grandmother, back through the generations.

Another thing which intrigued me was when you asked her for her age. I had a great aunt, very elderly, Aunt Liz, who must have been somewhere in the region of 95 when she eventually died in 1965. She had an imperious nature, never married, with a huge beak of a nose (fortunately I never inherited this nose.) She used to come for tea most Saturday afternoons. We had to go and collect her from her house in Phillpot's Avenue in Bedford as she couldn't drive. Anyway, as I have already mentioned, it intrigued me when I asked my mother and she would respond '99' years old and my great aunt was 21. It never made sense to me but I believed every word. 

My grandfather Ferriman had another expression he used when asked whether it was going to rain. A constant question which is asked by farmers; what is the weather going to do for the day ahead, week, month etc etc. He would stare at the sky and look into the distance and say 'it's dark over Will's mothers.' I never could understand who Will's mother was, let alone whether it was going to rain 'over there'  wherever that was. I didn't know a Will, William or whoever or even if he had a mother. It is only fairly recently that I discovered this was a Warwickshire expression and more than likely referred to William Shakespeare's mother, but I don't know whether this is true or not.

One of the ladies who came in to clean the house, Mrs Freemantle, had a superstition about not changing a mattress on a Friday. I think it was not turning a mattress on a Friday or something. I can't think why. Has it got something to do with Good Friday? Why is it supposed to be unlucky to open an umbrella indoors? Can't possibly think why. Why, on second thoughts, would you want to open an umbrella indoors? Makes no sort of sense.

Foggy and Dull

Today started really foggy and dull. I think you best describe it as a 'dead day.' Typical November day. I seem to remember a very appropriate poem when I was at school called 'November.'

It's by Thomas Hood and here it is:

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November! 

Quite brillant and descriptive of the sort of day today was.

It must have had a profound effect on me if I remember it from school, so I'm grateful to the English teacher who must have introduced me to this poem. Also whichever teacher first introduced me to William Shakespeare at some stage of my literary education as I have been a real lover of his work ever since. Hamlet in particular is a play which intrigues me and still has a very strange power which is with me to this very day. Not much I don't know about it as a piece of theatre or literature.

A Few Days Away- Part 1

Carol has been on Half Term for the past week. We haven't had a full week's holiday away, but  instead we went away on Wednesday and came back on Friday. We stayed in a hotel in Salford, near Manchester. We had a really good drive up on Wednesday morning, and visited  Rufford Old Hall, a National Trust property a good deal further north near Ormskirk. There is a link with William Shakespeare, which interested me as I have an interest in both his plays and his life. He was alleged to have performed in the Great Hall there. It was fairly bright and sunny when we arrived, but when we were inside it had begun to rain and the weather generally deteriated into low mist, rain and gloom. As it was Half Term they were doing Hallow'een things for children, which rather spoilt things for us. We had gone for the historic connections, not some over-blown superstitious nonsense which seems to have taken over in this country at this time of year, unfortunately. It's mainly, if not entirely, to do with shops making money out of the rubbish they sell connected with this so-called festival. When I was a child, November 5th was the thing, or Guy Fawkes Night, but it seems to have been overtaken by the other event, unfortunately.

Rufford Old Hall, National Trust property near Ormskirk, Lancs

Carol wanted to see the Anthony Gormley statues at Crosby Beach. It's something we've both seen photographs of, those mysterious statues staring out to sea, some partially submerged in the sand and others in the sea. As the weather was so awful, we decided to leave it for another day, although it wasn't too far from Rufford Old Hall. Another reason for  not going there immediatley was that the light was going. So we drove back to Sallford to find the hotel.

After driving down the MK motorway and leaving at the exit for Salford, we discovered that the place has a really nightmarish road system. It's one mass of duel carriageways, and the hotel itself is in the centre of a sort of knot of roundabouts. This is within walking distance of Manchester United Football Club's stadium. Sorry, I'm not that interested, but we did go and have a look. Having found the hotel and parked the car, making sure we had a parking permit on display inside the windscreen when we left it (otherwise we we likely to get clamped and would have to pay to have the car released.) we unloaded our luggage and then decided to go out and find something to eat, as there was no food available at the hotel.

We wanted a restaurant, not too expensive. Coming out at the roundabout we saw a  branch of Harry Ramsden's  (one of the famous fish restaurants.) the opposite side, but it then took us around 15 minutes to actually get to it as the traffic was so heavy. We decided that this was where we wanted to eat and so went in and found the place virtually empty except for an older man and a little boy. We had our meal and left and went back to the hotel for the night.

We were up early and out around 8.30, as we wouldn't get breakfast and decided that we could get something to eat as we drove up the M6 away from Salford and Mancester on the way towards Crosby where the Anthony Gormley statues were installed (for want of a better term.) We had found them on Google Maps, so had a vague idea what to expect. We were guided by the Crosby Leisure Centre, which we could see on Google Maps as a quite striking building which looked for all the world like something out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a sort of U.F.O. crash-landed on the beach. We found a car park, as we had followed the signs from the main road, but it would mean a long walk along the beach towards the statues. It was by now beginning to look as if there was a rain storm brewing, with very dark clouds drifting in from the land. Also, there was a bitter wind blowing making it very cold, and we hadn't brought coats with us, unfortunately. We drove a little bit further, as we could see the leisure centre in the distance. We got a lot closer and eventually managed to park outside and saw bus-loads of schoolchildren arriving as there is a swimming pool within the leisure centre.

Working In Theatre- Part 2

I've decided it will be best to break these autobiographical musings into 'parts', as it will be easier to read if it's in installments. I'm saving them before they 'go live' as a lot of what I'm writing was around 40 years ago and I'm really stretching the powers of memory to put in all the little details I want to.

I mentioned in the first installments the basics of putting on a play, from the first read-through to First Night. Those technical rehearsals I remember could sometimes go on into the wee small hours of the following day, and the efforts we went to to get the lighting, sound cues and scene changes right were all part of stage management's job description. You had to be able to merely merge with the scenery in some instances, and be very efficient with the scene changes, moving around back-stage as if you weren't there. It was no good being clumsy and noisy as you moved around back-stage, so as not to distract the actors on stage, or to spoil the show for the audience.

In those days we were expected to not only fulfill our stage management duties, but to also do the occasional small part. Generally, in some productions, we would be merely used as 'extras' or 'walk-on's', somewhat in the same way as 'Walk-Ons' or 'Supporting Artistes' are used in television and film productions.  In theatre this is usually referred to as "Spear-Carrying" as you might be on stage in, say, a Shakespeare production literally carrying a spear in the background. I hadn't been at Cheltenham long before I had to appear on stage in the production which followed on from "Jane Eyre", a production of "A Winter's Tale" by William Shakespeare. We had to fill up various scenes in the background as shepherds or something similar, and you soon learned to stand absolutely still in the background so as not to 'up-stage' the actors by fidgeting or scratching your nose at an inappropriate moment! 

Towards the end of the season, just before Christmas that year, they staged another Shakespere production, this time "Romeo and Juliet" and we were called upon to appear on stage during the opening scene, a street in Verona or somewhere or other, and had to fight with staves during the feuding between the Montagues and the Capulets. We were rehearsed with a fight arranger and assimilated into the action, but it was quite a feat not to get your hands hit by the guy I was supposed to be fighting with using the staves! There was another production I was in, called "They Don't Grow On Trees." Myself and the other A.S.M. were cast as 'men from the lunatic asylum'  (to perhaps be a little more politically correct these days 'mental health unit.') The concept of the play was that this couple was advertising for a nanny or au pair to look after their children, and the actress at the centre of the action (played by Vivienne Ross) played about a dozen different characters, including this character who had escaped from a mental health institution. We were supposed to rush in and 'arrest' her and cart her off in an ambulance to the hospital. I actually had lines, but unfortunately the audience laughed so much I wasn't ever heard! The character jumps out of the window to make her entrance, and I think we had to follow! At one point during the action she had to go off stage to make a costume change, so another member of stage management was dressed in identical costume and hid behind the sofa so as to make the exit. I don't know whether the audience guessed that there was a double involved in all this!

I'm really trying to remember exactly what plays were in the season when I was at the Everyman. I have mentioned four plays, "Jane Eyre", "A Winter's Tale", "Romeo and Juliet" and "They Don't Grow On Trees." Others included "Spring and Port Wine", "Hedda Gabler", "A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg," "The Circle",   "Salad Days" (which replaced "The Country Wife" as it was going to cost to much to stage, due to wigs and costumes.) and "The Lady Of The Camellias." There was a World Premiere, of a play by a playwright called John Peacock, "The Children Of The Wolf."

I left Cheltenham when my contract ran out just before the pantomime went into production