7 June in Stratford-on-Avon

Shakespeare's Sonnet #59 thus begins:

     If there be nothing new, but that which is
     Hath been before, how are our brains beguil'd...

I agree with Shakespeare - our brains do know of new ideas and opinions, and humans can't help but wonder about the past, and try to innovate the future.  In the present, it's very interesting to think about Shakespeare as a baby, as a little and big brother, as the oldest son of a creative and prosperous merchant who married the beloved youngest daughter of a well-to-do farmer.

Now, what would Shakespeare think of a Hop on and off Bus Tour?  Or iPhones?  Or blogs?
Let's leave that one.

The bus was a great way to see all of the paths he loved, homes he lived in, as well as the beautiful Cotswold countryside's farms, hedgerows, and horse farms.  The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has done an outstanding job, even if their version of his life is slightly sugar-coated.  Here's a picture of the inside of his house, in a room they call the "birthing room." The actor playing a nursemaid explained that the ropes on the trundle bed needed to be tightened every week, using the wooden "key" in the shape of a cross.  The chamber pot was on this side of the parent's bed, which was about 50" wide, not much wider than a twin.  The toddler had to be careful when getting out of the trundle.

We also learned the origin of the four poster bed with a canopy top.  Thatched-roof houses tended to house rodents and bugs in what would be the bedroom ceiling.  One who slept with his mouth open might have a tasty "breakfast in bed" in the morning, so the newfangled canopy prevented these pests from landing on the sleepers.  Since those living in the 16th century never washed their sheets and simply bequeathed them as part of their wills, the fleas and other bedbugs weren't kept out by the canopy.  To the left (our right) of the bed, babies slept in rocking cradles.

Several sights in town were around during Shakespeare's time.  My favorite was this pub, which seemed to be right in the middle of town, but was actually just outside its limits.  Therefore, the owners were allowed to keep the thatched roof, even though they were outlawed in town due to their flammability.

Many of Shakespeare's rhymes fit every occasion, but these seem the best as I head toward Belgium and France and the Western Front:

When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword, nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.

Sonnet 55