I recently found that it took Will Shakespeare four days of walking or two days by horse to get from Stratford-upon-Avon to London, a distance of about 87 miles. Commercial coaches were seldom used during Will’s lifetime as a form of public transportation so we know he either walked or rode horseback whenever he traveled between his hometown and London. For Will, the dangers of the road, the uncertainty of the weather and staying in questionable inns along the way must have taken its toll.
For Richard and me, to leave our hometown and travel to London takes only one night. We leave at 3:15 p.m. and arrive at 10:00 a.m. in London. After boarding Virgin Atlantic Airlines it takes us a mere six hours and 27 minutes to cross the pond, just enough time for me to take a nap, read a short book and do some writing. Although our travel time is not nearly as long as it took Will and our trip a lot less dangerous, Heathrow Airport, with its gauntlet of security checks and custom officials, makes what used to be a fairly simple airplane ride into a real adventure.
The first time Will traveled to London must have been very exciting. We have no idea if he ever went there as a child or if his first time was when he actually moved there as a young man sometime before 1592. Whenever he did go, all of his senses must have come alive the moment he passed through the gates of London and over the Thames River. Will must have been enthralled by the sight of crowds filling the streets, the sounds of merchants selling their wares at the market place, the stench of city life, and the excitement of street performers, royal processions and colored banners waving in the wind. London was one of the major cities in Europe during the 16th century. Will entered a world very different from the one he left behind. I have similar feelings on my first trip to London some 400 years later.
As we enter London the noise of traffic and the fast pace slaps me awake. (Remember, I have only taken a short nap on the plane.) The smells, a mixture of diesel fumes and oily fish and chips permeate the air. Coming from a small town in New Hampshire the sheer crowded-ness of London is most impressive. I find it exhilarating and confusing all at once.
Our Cast of Characters
Our travel companions are David, my younger brother, a true jester at heart, and his partner, Aysha, a merry wife as clever and mischievous as Mistress Page of Windsor. As soon as we arrive at our flat on Holland Road we walk up to Kensington High Street where buses, taxis and cars rush by on the “wrong side” of the street. Thank goodness at every intersection painted in bold white letters on the asphalt just beneath our feet are the words “LOOK RIGHT” to remind visitors to look in the opposite direction before crossing the street. The noise is so loud it defies thought, the cars speed by at 50 miles an hour and crossing the street poses significant danger to four weary travelers.
We feel shell shocked with jet lag as we wander down the street. Profoundly sleep deprived we stumbled upon a beautiful park with children happily running about. We stagger toward a large oak tree and fall asleep on the lawn. The day is warm and the grass soft. As soon as we awake we realize we are in Kensington Gardens and only a hundred feet away from the palace of Princess Diana. All along the black iron fence and woven into the gold plated gate are poems, photos, flowers and tributes to commemorate the tenth anniversary of her death. It quickly becomes clear how dearly loved Diana was and still is in her country. The poems are heart-felt and the tributes of photos and flowers quite moving.
I think Will would have loved her story. He might have even written a play about her. Will had such clear insights about life in the royal court. I think Will would have pondered the intrigues of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign as much as he did Queen Elizabeth I. Although the Queen today does not have the kind of power that Queen Elizabeth I had, the royal family is still very present in the life of the British people.
I take a deep breath in anticipation for what I will discover during my short stay in England.
Tomorrow Richard and I go to Stratford-upon-Avon by train. It takes only two hours and 30 minutes from Marylebone Station to Stratford-upon-Avon. Can you find them both on a map? We are staying on Holland Road (a very busy street) in a small flat. It is very loud at night. I have decided that no one sleeps in London…ever.
Further dialogue with Will:
Will: (With admonishment) “Oh that [thee] might sleep out this great gap of time.”
(He pauses a moment collecting his thoughts)
“Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth!”
Jan: (Sighs with happy exhaustion)
To awake, dear Will, implies that one was asleep. Now I to bed, “to sleep, perchance to dream!”
Homework for the Curious:
If Will were to write a play about Princess Diana, how many roles do you think he would have included in his script? Do you think he would have been more sympathetic to Princess Diana or more toward the royal family? Why? Did Will ever write a play about Queen Elizabeth I or her court? Why?
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