Our official last meeting of the American Fulbrighters was held in Stratford-upon-Avon. The British Council paid for a lovely weekend that included a tour of Shakespeare’s birthplace and a musical performance of Roald Dahl’s Matilda.
Not only was the weekend nice for catching up with my fellow English and Northern Irish exchange teachers, but it also made for a nice catch-up time with my Scottish sisters. There are five of us here in Scotland, and in order for us to make our way to S-u-A, we decided to rent a minivan and drive the 6 hours from Stirling (northeast of Glasgow) down to Shakespeare’s hometown. An American roadtrip down the M6.
Stratford-upon-Avon is a quintessential English village. It looked even more so this weekend with its garlands and lights strung throughout the streets in anticipation of Christmas. It is nestled on the river Avon, and its high street has lovely little shops in which I was able to do some of my Christmas shopping. The town is also the home of the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company). As they were out on tour, we saw Matilda in the Courtyard Theatre, and I have to say it beat the first RSC production I saw 10 years ago, a musical interpretation of As You Like It accompanied by 1930’s jazz and zoot suits.
All told, I and the other teaching couple from Aberdeen, Mike and Kim McCloud, spent over 18 hours in a vehicle. And thanks to Mike, us gals made it to and fro in one piece. The weekend was long, but it was nice getting to spend “family” time with Kristin, Maryam, Kim, Denika, and Mike.
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