Hello World! England 2011: Day 4

We've arrived at Stratford-Upon-Avon, camped right outside the birthplace of  W Shakespeare.

Our guide, Geoff, takes us everywhere to look at all things Shakespeare and his family-tree. Here, we've come to visit Shakespeare's chapel and burial place.

Officially, it's called Holy Trinity Church. Because today was sunnier than yesterday, the churchyard graves looked a lot cheerier than those in Haworth.

We have a lot of free time to wander around, but I spend most of my time strolling along the banks of the Avon, after which Stratford happens to be Upon. The views are breathtakingly scenic, peaceful and the atmosphere is ideal for chillin' out.

Back at Shakespeare's birthplace, the kids request a few scenes from the Bard's plays. The resident actors oblige with snippets from Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The actors made the scenes look like fun and really brought the text to life for the kids.

Here, Puck is planning some mischief in the Athenian forest.

Cornish pasties for lunch at Pasty Presto. Gigantic curry puffs they are, stuffed with generous quantities of different meat, cheese and vegetable combinations. Just one sufficed for a light lunch.

There were a few buskers about. The juggling acts always amuse me. They know how to work the crowd and offer good entertainment with their banter and the promise of a payoff at the end of their performance. This guy promised to put a burning torch down his trousers and pull it out -- still lit -- from the bottom of his pants leg. In case you're wondering, he did.

And here is 'Shakespeare's Ghost' attempting to startle the kids.

I love the way animals and human beings can coexist so easily together, unlike S'pore where any animal in an urban environment is treated with disdain at best, or rounded up and disposed of, never to be heard from again. But here we have ducks -- I was quite fascinated with this yellow duckling, so different from its fellows, yet still a member of the family.

Squirrel!!!

Dinner at the Garrick Inn: Scottish scampi, chips and peas. More shovel food! Yay!

Day 4 concludes with a slightly grouchy briefing at the Travelodge, Oxford Peartree. Sadly, my companions tend to see the worst in our charges and upbraided them for their 'bad behaviour' in the morning. I guess it is an integral part of a student's life to be scolded every now and then.