July 17-Stratford-Upon-Avon

Dedicated and hard-knocking Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Bruner went to each of the seven chorister's doors  as the Premier Hotel here in Stratford-Upon-Avon does not have phones in the rooms.  After firm wake-up knocks, choristers soon magically appeared and enjoyed the many offerings at the hotel's breakfast buffet.  Choirman had a window for eating breakfast thirty minutes prior to the boys.

A short walk led us to the Shakespeare House, where Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564. Boys were interested to learn that Shakespeare also died on his birthday in 1616. We broke into two groups as the smaller rooms in the residence could not accommodate our group of 42 (41from our group in addition to our tour guide) so choirman toured before the choristers.  Chaperones gathered our little flocks of four or five choristers and we enjoyed our informative tour of the  home situated right in the village of Stratford-Upon Avon. We learned that Avon is not pronounced  like the toiletry company, but as "Aven"). Highlights of the tour included the low ceilings designed to hold heat in the home, a small number of mullioned windows of glass, and samples of leather as Shakespeare's father was a glove maker who sold his wares from a downstairs window of the home.  From there we walked to Hall's Croft, the home that Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her physician husband lived in. This home was both larger and more ornate with many mullioned glass windows, large wooden beams and finely carved furniture. Apparently homeowners would frequently bring window with them when they moved because glass was both precious and a sign of affluence. Furnishings for this home included  a variety of finely carved  wooden furniture including a high chair for a very young child, a variety of Flemish paintings, silk canopied beds, some with rope trundles "beds" underneath  and large stone fireplaces, "restored" later on by the Victorians, who, according to our guide, removed much period beauty.  As  we were nearing three hours without eating, Carter (our tour guide) and I purchased long conical ice pops, perfect for the humid day and our garden setting.   We wandered into another part of the garden where an actor in period garb and an electric wheelchair recited Shakespeare brilliantly when requested. It was a delight and the boys were impressed with both the language and the delivery. The bus then took us for a short ride to the Mary Arden house, home and farm where Shakespeare's mother lived.  This might have been the highlight of the day because of the abundant farm animals (pigs, turkeys, chickens, cows and owls) and workers in period costume milked cows, cooked dinner and talked about traditions of the day such as covering one's mouth when yawning to save one's soul from the devil.  We watched a blacksmith and learned about his skills then wandered to a large field where we watched a demonstration with an owl.  Elliot was chosen from the audience to put on a leather glove and have the owl fly away from and then land on his hand.  It was a thrill for all of our boys, but perhaps not so much for the owl, who preferred his handler.  We walked a short distance to an upper floor of a restaurant with some windows that opened and waited for our pre-ordered meals, all of which were traditional English roasts with Yorkshire pudding. We walked back to the hotel to gather music and took another short walk to St. Gregory's Church where there was a two hour rehearsal.  This was a highlight for me, as it is always a joy to see boys transform into professional musicians before my very ears.  Back to the hotel to wander the town and find a restaurant for dinner in chaperone groups.  We went to a local restaurant where boys ordered food they mostly enjoyed and I had an inedible cheese and Branson pickle sandwich. Don't ask. Back to the hotel where boys readied for the evening and our early departure tomorrow for Salisbury.