Rick Davis - he's a writer

According to this bloke Rick Davis (who is a writer don’t you know), there’s a possibility that Shakespeare quit writing because of poor eyesight. In an article in the Birmingham Post Mr Davis who believe it or not has a play to sell, says...

“I started off thinking about how Shakespeare would spend his working day. He would have been rehearsing in the morning, he would have been performing in the afternoon. So if he was going to write at all it would have been in the evening. So for six months of the year that would have been in candlelight. If you think about it in those terms it would have been virtually impossible for him to get to the age of 48 and still have 20-20 vision.”

Interesting stuff. The article goes on to tell us that Mr Davis (who has a play to sell – sorry did I already mention that?) actually drew on his own experience as a writer to conclude that poor lighting would have affected Shakespeare’s eyesight. Eh?

Anyway read the article for yourself as I’ve suddenly lost the will to live...HERE

Beyond Ridickulous. John Barrowman exposes himself on Radio????

The Fallout (ha ha geddit?) from Ross and Brand continues...CLICK HERE

Robert Plant?

There's this picture see...on the front page of my favourite newspaper, this week's Stratford upon Avon Herald. It's a picture taken at my favourite art gallery the 'Where I fell in Love' Gallery in Shipston just down the road from good old Stratford upon Avon. It's a picture of the owner of the gallery, Bruno (nice bloke), Mo Jupp (famous ceramicist - met him - another nice bloke) and guest who just happened to drop in, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, except...I have my doubts. I don't think that is Robert Plant. Looks like him but...if that's Robert Plant he's borrowing another person's nose for the day.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is it...?
Compare the pictures above and below...

This is the latest image I could find of 'the real one' (below)


WELL?

Click images to study closer.

Mumbai massacre - Test unaffected says BBC.

Really thoughtful of the BBC to slip in to the TV news that although there's been a bloodbath in Mumbai, the Test against India should still go ahead. Hurrah

Sophisticated Pie Shops

I was quite surprised to read on the internet today of Stratford upon Avon’s ‘famous restaurants’. It’s strange but after a good half an hour of racking my brains, I couldn’t think of one. Now don’t get me wrong, we do have some nice places to eat, in fact we have a street of a thousand restaurants (Sheep Street) , but famous?
What we do have and in no way do I want to appear rude, are some what I would call, ‘sophisticated pie shops’. Basically upper class pub food. Nice but not exactly adventurous. Certainly nothing ‘famous’. Correct me if I’m mistaken but do we have a restaurant with a Michelin star? The fact is, we should have, but we don’t. We have a restaurant that carries a famous chef’s name but let’s be honest here, it more like a franchise than anything else. A supermarket of slightly better food. But ‘Famous’? No way.
I have to say that I think the big boys are missing out big-time. In fact, that famous f***** who swears a lot actually used to live here in his younger more polite days. Doesn’t say much for his much trumpeted business sense does it?

TUESDAY - The New Sunday.

WARNING:

What follows is probably the most boring post I have ever written (under the influence).

I’ve just had a very nice Tuesday which, as everyone knows, is very unusual. Tuesday is one of those days when nothing usually happens, Tuesday is, I think you will agree, a non-day. Tuesday is the new Sunday. But. Amazingly, for me my attentive friends, this usually dead Tuesday turned into, yes you’ve guessed it, a Saturday, which is obviously the Best Day of the week. (Unless of course it’s the Sabbath for you. In which case I’m sorry. You don’t know what you’re missing. Is there anyway you can get out of it?).

Anyway, as regular readers of this column (ooo hark at him, it’s a Column now is it?) will know, Saturday is the day when I take a walk down to The Vintner in Sheep Street and indulge myself in a large glass of wine and a coffee while admiring the black-clad waitresses. All very sad you may say and only one step away from reading the newspapers in the library on a regular basis. Say what you like, that’s what I say. I make no apologies for my Saturday lifestyle because I enjoy it. I don’t care if you scoff. Scoff away until your heart’s content. It’s what I do. And not only that, my ‘sophisticated’ scoffing friends, sometimes...sometimes if I’m feeling a little more daring than usual, I may even have the cheese. So there. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Anyway where was I.

Oh yes. So, to cut a very exciting story short, I just happened to be passing The Vintner when who should I see but two of my Saturday friends. My goodness me what a surprise. Needless to say, I joined them for an hour or two and left the establishment with a warm internal glow. Beat that.

Chuckle Brothers for RSC?

God knows what Stratford’s going to do now that this year’s Stars of Stage and Screen have (almost) left town. Here we all are just starting to enjoy an LA experience when Jon Luc and Dr Who up-sticks and head for London to strut their stuff. Shame. I don’t think we’ve had this much attention from the newspapers and the like since the ‘60s when all the great Drinkers were in town. Happy days. The likes of O’Booze O’Toole and Burton will never be seen again, especially down the Dirty Duck where O’Toole held the Yard of Ale record I believe. Nowadays our showbiz heroes seem almost too sensible and squeaky clean. What’s happened to the old theatrical urge to self-destruct that’s what I want to know? Ah well, who knows what the new year will bring? I just hope that the reported sightings of the Chuckle Brothers and Michael Boyd locked in deep conversation were untrue.

Is this a Chuckle Brother I see before me?

aaargh.....

As you can see I'm trying to rearrange my blog. If I've left any of my regular favourites off please let me know.

Ted de Stratford.

Yes we can

Took a walk down to the Royal Shakespeare to see how the work was progressing and must say I was duly impressed. Here you can see the latest additions. Any ideas what this is...?

A plinth being readied for a statue of Micky Boyd (Head Honcho)?

A tower for distraught lovies to fling themselves off after a bad performance ?

A viewing tower for folks to gaze over the Dickensian rooftops of Stratford ?

Anyway, all in all and any road up, I have to agree with the person who said that the old place was beginning to look more like a Fire Station than a theatre, but we'll see.

Mars Lander kicks the bucket

It was with great sadness yesterday I learnt that the Mars Lander has finally died. Owing to lack of sunlight and no shops in the near vicinity, its batteries have gone flat.

So let's take a moment or two to recognise this most wonderful of human achievements and applaud all the Boffins involved. Hurrah.