A Day of Discovery

We were up at our usual time, had breakfast and enjoyed our daily lesson in the history of British theatre. Shakespeare was discussed and though I knew most of the facts about his life and works, Giles explained that Shakespeare was, above all, a businessman and not revered, as some would like to have us believe. Giles likened him to Andrew Lloyd Weber, a popular performer . He played to the crowd rather than the elite .

Young Will learned about the Greeks and Romans at grammar school, but was a country boy, the son of a merchant, and didn’t continue his studies at university. He knocked up an older women, had three children and fled to London to earn a living. He started as an actor, then wrote plays under the tutelage of others and became a shareholder in his resident theatre company..He was paid as an actor, a playwright, and a producer of plays. He also got his cut as a shareholder with a percentage of the gross. He earned enough money to buy the second largest house in Stratford for his wife and three children, as well as neighboring farmland. He was very successful. He retired to Stratford after the Globe Theatre burned down.

Another interesting fact: his plays reflected the tenor of the times. When he began his writing, Elizabeth was on the throne, his plays were light (“ Romeo & Juliet,”) but when James came to the throne, they became quite dark (“Othello.”).

We have been running on empty and have been sleep deprived, so we decided to slow down and rest. Beatrice headed off for a nap and I retook some pictures with my iPad since I can’t synch between phone and iPad with the ship’s internet plan.

Our stateroom is on deck 4 staircase D — the back of the ship — and I want to go to the library, which is on deck 8, off staircase A. I walked the length of the ship and took the elevator to deck 8. Just walking inside the ship has given us exercise. We are averaging 2.5 miles per day.

I literally burst into song when I walked into this 10,000 volume edifice of knowledge the first time, late the first evening , singing “ Heaven, I’m in heaven..” I did not dance around the stacks, as Fred might have done with Ginger as they were dancing cheek to cheek. The library was empty except for another book lover who understood and laughed. Her name was also Karen, she was from England and she and her husband just spent three weeks driving around the United States. We had a lovely chat.

i have been looking for the inside pool since we arrived but hadn’t found it. I did today! It’s tucked away on deck 12, far from crowds. There were two people there. My sister will enjoy this.

Such exploration can be tiring, so I stopped at the buffet for a small salad and dessert, taking pictures of the decorations, which add so much to the ambiance of the ship.

i ran into a trivia game on the way back to the room. It was called MUGSHOTS and we had to identify the celebrity criminals. Some were obvious, like Al Capone, but one young girl was a mystery to most people. It was Cher. At 15, she was arrested for taking a friend’s car and going for a joy ride. Frank Sinatra was arrested for seduction. Who knew?

it was time to return to the room to change. We were to meet Giles and the group for a pre-dinner libation at the Champagne bar. Loved the pictures there. Very cool. Very art deco.

and then there was dinner, Beef Wellington with Yorkshire pudding. I started with leek soup andended with chocolate fondant with peppermint tea.

We watched the 8:15 PM show, a singer and pianist who sang Elvisand Elton John, among others, and played the piano on his back and upside down. Not easy to do. I felt myself nodding off..we returned to our stateroom at 9:00 and I am still at work. I hope to be asleep by midnight..maybe.

think we’ll have a dip in the pool tomorrow? We have a cocktail party at 6:00, courtesy of the Road Scholar community. We will see the people who are learning about Churchill and will no doubt exchange notes. People who love learning also love to share. Guess that’s why there are lots of teachers on this program.