My buddy Mike recently got back from a trip to many spots in England. I think the trip lasted a week. He saw plenty of sights in London and Leicester (mentioned here) and Stratford-upon-Avon, and so many other places. It all sounds a bit tiring and whirlwind-y, but Mike had a great time. He was with his wife and in-laws, and since he's a huge history buff, he served as a kind of informal tour guide for the family as they went from place to place. I was reminded of my time in France in 2018, when my French Papa took me on a tour of local cathedrals in the Le Vanneau-Irleau region. That happened over a few days as I figured out my digestive rhythm (there were a few almost-disasters as I recall), finally settling on eating just lunch with the family. I wish I had taken notes while Papa had been talking, but if I go back to France next year, maybe we'll end up doing some touring again.
Mike's got some kind of hangup about displaying images of his own family; his wife professes not to care, but I'll respect Mike's neurosis sense of privacy and show only the pics that include him or nobody. These are images that he sent me via messenger a few days ago.
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| Mike in front of a statue of the famous William Chill. |
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Mike scoffs at the Bard's failed attempt to imitate Renoir's Le Penseur. This is the famous Shakespeare statue at Stratford-upon-Avon, the 1888 Gower Monument, by Lord Ronald Gower. It was constructed in Paris (1876-1888; Gower moved to France in 1875), then displayed at the Memorial Theatre before being moved to Bancroft Gardens (where it now sits) in 1933. |
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| I see ol' Uncle Will in the background. |
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| And then some clueless five-year-old runs up and heedlessly kicks the rope. |
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| Mike's an anglophile. He looks right at home. |
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| at the tomb of William Marshal (I think this guy) |
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| Too bad Nelson didn't survive the battle of Trafalgar. I did a write-up of that once. |
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A nicely cooked Wellington once defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (1815). The real Duke of Wellington died of a stroke in 1852, so Wellington and I share a wee bit of karma. |
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| at the grave of Churchill and his wife Clementine |
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| a better look at their names: "Juliet and her Romeo" |
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| Mike has piles of books on Churchill. They dominate his Amazon wishlist. |
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| I like how Churchill's birth room has a picture of the adult Churchill in it. Prescient artist! |
I envy Mike his fine trip, which was mostly restricted to the more famous sights. It would've been nice to see some closeups of fish and chips and other pub grub (Mike's monied brother-in-law would have insisted on finer dining, though, from what I hear), but I'm thankful for what I did see and am glad Mike and his wife had had a good trip across the pond.
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| Relax, relax... I've got plenty of selfies of my own like that. |
I see they've updated Shakespeare's grave. It didn't have those signs or that rope when I was last there a little over a decade ago.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I definitely fit that final meme you posted. I absolutely hate taking selfies of me standing in front of things. In fact, I'm not a big fan of having my picture taken in general--I have been cursed with the inability to smile naturally for a photograph (or, possibly, at all). The only selfies you will ever see of me are ones taken with other people.
FWIW, the docent there at Holy Trinity said that they had done restoration in the nave of the church in the past decade. He showed a picture of the structure they build over Shakespeare's grave to prevent any damage to it. So it may look different from your visit. I had never been before, and was very glad to be there. Stratford-upon-Avon is a place I would visit again if given the chance. Leicester and Nottingham, not as much.
DeleteInterestingly, if you wanted more of the "object" only photos, I've got you covered. Interestingly, it was suggested to me that I send you the selfie + object photos. At first I objected, mainly on the grounds that you know what I look like and are likely more interested in the object. But eventually, I was convinced otherwise by my family. The trip was a good one. I enjoyed it very much. I would have liked more time, but isn't that always the case.
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