Earlier this week was William Shakespeare’s birthday.  As part of ‘The Birthday Weekend’ celebrations in Stratford-upon-Avon I visited the Parish Church, where flowers are laid on Shakespeare’s grave by members of the local community.

The graves of the complete Shakespeare family are clearly marked for the occasion and the masses of flowers carefully arranged for maximum impact. What the video cannot convey is the glorious scent of Spring flowers that hung in the air.

I wonder what William Shakespeare would think of this – 408 years after his death his birthday is still being celebrated in the town of his birth. I like to think that the celebration is not just for the man, but for his work, the actors he has inspired and the countless other playwrights, poets, actors and performers who light up our lives.

If you know me, you know I love Shakespeare’s plays and I’ve been an ardent theatre-goer since I was a teenager – the result of a faculty of English teachers who organised theatre trips often enough that my Mum got sick of me pestering her for money to go and see another play.  I wasn’t even studying English for A-level!

I could easily fill your inbox with quotes from Shakespeare’s plays, but instead, I decided to share this RSC video…

Enjoy!

 

 

…and if you have never seen one of Shakespeare’s plays performed, I encourage you to do so.  If nothing else, The Royal Shakespeare Company has some wonderful clips on YouTube.

Yes, that is me.  Yes, that is Wembley.  Yes, there are 80,000 people there for an England international match.

What?

If you know me, you know that football isn’t my thing.  (Cricket, that’s another matter!)

You may also know that crowds are not my thing either.  So when my friend Caroline asked me to go to Wembley with her for an international football match, I wasn’t really sure how much I was going to enjoy it.

So why did I agree to go?  Because she asked me and because it’s an experience I was probably never going to have for any other reason.

 

…and you know what?  I loved it!

Wembley is VERY impressive.  It’s the first time I’ve been into a purpose-built stadium.  It’s huge.  It’s loud.  It’s bright.  It’s also fantastically well run, we hardly had to queue to get in, we found our seats easily, we got out easily at the end of the match.  It’s very slick operation – another reason why I was impressed.

But the best bit?  Sharing an evening with a friend and sharing something she enjoys.  Being included in a special event and doing something completely new.

In return, I’m taking Caroline to a cricket match this summer and I want to encourage you to think about this…

What do you love, and who can you introduce to it?