Posh Piddles!

Thursday 24th July, 2014 in Stratford-upon-Avon.
We now have a small problem! Because the boatyard yesterday was not able to offer us a "pump-out", our waste tank is on "red alert" so we can use it only for emergencies. Therefore we are now availing ourselves of the offices (and facilities) in Costa, M&S and, best of all, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre! M says that we have reverted to "posh piddles!" Last night, we walked across to the Theatre for a final call of nature before bed, but timed it rather badly as we arrived during the interval so had to wait until the play resumed as it was standing room only in the loos!
After breakfast, we walked up to the station to buy M's ticket for tomorrow. She wants to go home for the night tomorrow as Adrian is coming to stay and going out to dinner locally with some of his old school mates.
A quick visit to M&S to use their facilities and then on to a very Elizabethan Costa.

It was jolly hot, so we both had iced lattes and cakes - very refreshing.

Then the highlight of the day - the Theatre for Henry IV, part 1. Despite its rather unpreposessing exterior, the Theatre has a very stylish and atmospheric auditorium, dark wood panelling and old fashioned lamps. One feels that the Bard would have approved. We had excellent seats in the central stalls close to the stage. As we anticipated, the production was superb, fast moving, always gripping with brilliant costumes and magnificent acting. Anthony Sher as Falstaff was outstanding and the sword fight between Hotspur and Prince Hal at the end was astonishing - each wielding two proper steel "long" swords and going for each other for two or three minutes. The swords might not have been very sharp, but they could easily break an arm if they made contact.
Productions of Shakespeare's works don't come much better than here at the RSC and we knew that we were enjoying the very best that the world has to offer.
It was teatime when the performance ended, so after wandering around the gift shop, we walked across the park outside the Theatre admiring the floral displays.

We slowly made our way down to the river to reconnoitre the moorings there opposite the Theatre; we hope to move MM down there tomorrow. There was a great deal of activity on the river, which was full of canoes.

On the way back, we were treated to a beautiful sunset behind the Theatre.

No movement today, we stayed moored up on the canal just outside the basin.