Morning all. Rather unusually for me, I thought I'd do a photo free post today. Did anyone else see the RSC Live to celebrate Shakespeare 400 on Saturday? R had booked tickets to see it at our local Corn Exchange before realizing on the day that it was actually being televised on BBC2! Ah well, we keep telling ourselves that it was an evening out and it did look good on the big screen, but even so! I really enjoyed it, it was an all star cast and, for me, David Tennant and Ian McKellan shone; they make it all look so easy. One of my favourite bits was 'A Line of Hamlets', see here.
I do love a nice Shakespeare production and we always try to visit Stratford upon Avon in the summer for a bit of rowing and a play. This year we may try Regent's Park Open Air Theatre again, although it tends to be a bit hit and miss with our English weather!
On Saturday, L went to Oxford to stay with her boyfriend, J. I dropped her off and popped in for a quick cup of tea and a play on his new toy - a Virtual Reality headset. You have to clear quite a bit of floor space, don a visor and headphones, then 2 remotes allow you to control the action. I had a little go flying aircraft on an island (although my landings left a lot to be desired!) and then tried an art game which allowed you to draw 3D pictures. It was such fun! It did feel a little strange when you removed the equipment and were back in the real room and I imagine it would be very easy to become hooked - Saturday was lovely and sunny (if a little chilly) but I suspect that when I left them they probably spent most of the day inside playing with it!
One last thing (and you may not want to read the next bit if you're particularly squeamish!), yesterday I was happily filling up the bird feeders, when I noticed what I thought was a bit of fluff blocking one of the holes in the sunflower hearts feeder. It was already hanging from the tree at the time and, without thinking too much about it, I gave the fluff a tug. It seemed quite hard, so I tugged a bit more and then had a closer look. Well YUCK, it was actually the remains of a mouse which had become trapped in the feeder (don't ask me how) and died. Presumably the magpies or jackdaws had been pecking away at it, so what I was actually tugging on was the remains of its abdomen. Never have hands been scrubbed so much! R came to my rescue as I was trying not to chunder and, tipping out the seeds, managed to extract what was left of the poor wee beastie with a stick. Filling the feeders will never be the same carefree experience it once was and I can't even look at the feeders at the moment without wanting to run for the tap!
Enjoy your week, everyone and, if you'll excuse me, I've just got to go and wash my hands!
Toodle Pip for now. x
Sounds you had a wonderful week...
ReplyDeletepoor mouse..... and poor you too, what a fright x
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, rather you than me dealing with the remains of the mouse. We did have to rescue a bluetit once that had got stuck head first down into the feeder when the lid of the feeder blew off. The poor thing really struggled as DH was attempting to remove it from the feeder, in the end he more or less had to pull it out by its tail. It did live to fly another day thank goodness. xx
ReplyDeleteYuk... the mouse! What a sad way to go...
ReplyDeleteI will gloss over the mouse, quite a nasty shock for you! Glad you enjoyed the play, I meant to record it and forgot, but I will look and see if it is on iplayer to watch following your recommendation!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Shakespeare too, especially outdoor shows....as for Ian Mckellan, he is one talented chappie! Trying to organise anything outdoors with our climate is hit and miss, even the simplest BBQ. Oh dear me....a dreadful mouse story, funnily enough a similar thing happened to me this week. I tugged what I thought was dead leaves blocking the spout of the watering can, an old one I hadn't used in ages, I pulled a half decomposed mouse out...I too ran for the tap! xxx
ReplyDeleteArgh that poor mouse, I don't confess to liking them as they eat all my hard work in the garden but that is no way to die. It would have given me a shock too!
ReplyDeleteWe used to have a theatre company up here that did outdoor productions in the summer but they had to stop beacuse they were cancelling more often than not.
I enjoyed Shakespeare Live, a brilliant tour de force. We saw "Love's Labours Lost" at the RSC in January last year. We stayed in one of the Banqueting Houses at Chipping Campden, now owned by the Landmark Trust, and had a great day in Stratford including attending Evening Prayers in Holy Trinity Church, where as the only participants along with the vicar and curate we played a full role. We had dinner in the rooftop restaurant before settling down to watch the play which was a complete delight. We saw the live feed of Much Ado About Nothing or Love's Labours Won which was equally brilliant. (Beatrix is probably my favourite heroine, not least because my daughter played her in a school production.) These two productions played side by side and are transferring to Chichester later this year and I would see both again. In a previous Iife I used to go to Warwick for the annual university swimming competition and we always stayed in Stratford and went to the theatre so I have some lovely memories. I am very fond of Shakespeare indeed and still read his plays and never miss an opportunity to see a performance. Do you think the mouse climbed into the bird feeder and got stuck? What a horrid way to die for the little fellow.
ReplyDeleteYou do make me laugh :-). I recorded the Shakespeare am planning to watch it this weekend. I love listening to Ian m's voice. The headset sounds both fun and slightly disturbing. I can imagine it would be all too easy to disappear into it :-) xx
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it's not just me with mice tales! I would be the same with the hand washing. I love it when you can go to a big screening, it's so much more fun. We often have showings from the South Bank at our local theatre. Have a good weekend, mouse free hopefully! B x
ReplyDeleteThe mouse episode sounded rather unpleasant! We enjoyed watching the Shakespeare and have booked to go to the RSC in Stratford in November to see The Tempest. Having not especially enjoyed Shakespeare at school, I am liking it far more as an adult. xx
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