A busy day.

Last day of long service leave, spent it driving around the country side. I picked Dad up this morning and we drove to Serpentine Dam for a picnic. We sat down at one of the picanic tables near the lower carpark and were immediately set upon by magpies and Ring-necked Parrots. Bloody feral interlopers! I think Gus FeralCat has been teaching the parrots the fine art of stealing food as the cheekier birds land on one shoulder and then walking across you until they reach the hand with the food in it. Gus has also been known to do this.

After driving back to Gosnells through some very nice countryside, most of which had been clear felled, we went to Seaforth for Dad to complete the paperwork and take possession of his new unit. We met the Chaplain, a very nice man called Paul (appropriate). Then it was to the chemist to pick up Dad's shooting up paraphernalia (he's diabetic), to the bank to pay his first rent payment for the new unit and to the curtain shop where we picked up some very nice second hand curtains. Sea Green, thermal lined, $45. Bargain. I shall be spending the evening threading curtain rings onto them.

Stratford Upon Avon.

I love this place. There are some gorgeous villages nearby that I could happily call home, Shipton Upon Stour being of them.

The Nuffield Library at the Shakespeare Centre makes available video tapes of RSC performances. The quality isn't the best and I believe it's criminal that more isn't done to preserve the performances. I booked the 1995 Richard III with David Troughton, a role for which he won the London Critics' Award. It was performed at The Other Place, an interesting white box of a theatre. Four walls and a minstrels' gallery make for interesting set design. John Nettles played Buckingham. All the court, other than Richard Gloucester, wore dull colours. As Gloucester he was dressed as a jester in reds and blacks but completely in black as King Richard.

At the conclusion Richard repeated lines from the opening speech as well as lines from Henry VI, "Torment myself to find the English crown.", "Hew my way out with a bloody axe.". The final line was taken from the seduction of Anne speech earlier in the play, "All the world to nothing!"

On the 11th I took the car back to the still harried woman at Hertz Stratford. That morning I'd met a friend of the B and B owner who was very interesting to talk to. At S-u-A station I got talking to a lady from Edinburgh (rather, she got talking to and at me) - she bought me a cup of tea and it was a very pleasant way to wait a couple of hours for the train.

Below are photos of the very nice room I had at the Sheraton Skyline near Heathrow. For what I paid, the room should be damned nice!!


My room at the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow

My bed

And the very nice desk and drapes.