That was just Day 1. Now for Day 2 – we got up, had a sort of bath-shower, and then double-looped until we were downstairs past all of those signs I shouldn’t list again. Mummy complained about the mucky bathroom, and the lady gave us a full refund, so we stayed in a hotel for free! We sort of ‘forgot’ about breakfast, but we went to Waitrose and got brunch, so we were better. We got to Mary Arden’s house and farm where we met Katie and Chris.
Mary Arden was William Shakespeare’s mother, and this was where she grew up until she married John Shakespeare and moved into the Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. When William and his siblings were little, they would visit their grandparents at the farm. It was a proper working farm with a blacksmith and loads of pigs and vegetables and horses and all sorts. They did traditional Tudor dancing, and had a Tudor feast, and a musician playing Tudor music.
There was a beautiful but gigantic cart-horse, pretty amazing, called Ellie. She was my friend by the time we left; very calm, generous and seemed to have overlarge eyes that made her look sad and adorable.
There was a Tudor farmhouse, too, where I played a game that I was the Tudor lady, and it inspired me for a story.
In the farmhouse, they had a big feast. I saw the cooks in my game, and they played along with me whilst they cooked the fish and chard, and the savoury porridge and the oh, so delicious pottage in that huge wooden bowl! They spooned out the pottage into their individual pots and used their spoons they carried in their bags (called pockets) to eat it with.
They talked about the old Tudor manners, like no elbows on the table in case it flipped up (for it was a board laid gently on four wooden posts) and the other people got your dinner! They said how you couldn’t – just couldn’t – eat before the master did, or sit before the master did, or stand before the master did, or say Grace before the master did. Master was very important.
I also think manners are very important! It would have been considered very, very rude in those times to prop your elbows up, or eat before the master bade you. He can keep you as long as he likes! He can even joke about a bit and hold his spoon armslength away from him and carry it slowly, slowly through the air to tease. We, at our house, have to wait before Andy and Mummy are seated and ready, and we cannot cheekily ask for pudding until everyone has finished! 😉
We looked around the farm again, and saw the pigs and the cows (Charlotte and her calf who I named Cutie) and the donkeys.
Then we went into Mary Arden’s house, a grand thing in those times, with extra rooms added in over the centuries. They had barely any furniture, because all the bowls and chairs and tables and bookshelves, especially, were very expensive, so Miss Arden must have been very posh and rich.
We also saw lots of bird shows. On one of them, the owl, Millie, seemed rather preferable seated up on the roof instead of on the Tudor man’s arm (I shall call ‘the Tudor man’ Henry, to shorten it slightly). “Millie has very good hearing,” Henry would say, tapping his glove. Millie would stay silently seated on the roof. He’d try again, louder this time. “Millie! Millie has very good hearing!” and he would indicate again to his glove. “Look, Millie, I’m here! Come on, Millie to the glove! MILLIE! Oh, for goodness’ sake, Millie, I’m here! To the glove! Yes, I am still looking for you – oh, Millie, off the roof! Millie to the glove! Come on, look double treats!” and after about half an hour, with many a volunteer picked out of the audience, Millie decided to fly to the glove…and then back again once she had the treat. It was hilarious!
So that was Stratford. We drove home again and now – [yawn] – oh, a lovely nice bed!