Shakespeare and RIAT 2024 Day One

Yesterday we drove all the way to Stratford-upon-Avon which took about six hours including an hour of stops. It didn’t feel too long at all. We arrived in Stratford in absolutely glorious weather; parked in our usual car park and went for a stroll through the town. James pointed out that it’s amazing how well we know our way around; I suppose we have been coming here for years. We had a drink in the beer garden of one of the many historic pubs which is called the Rose and Crown, it’s so English! We went for dinner in the Rooftop Restaurant above the Swan Theatre. It was just delightful. And thence downstairs to watch the Merry Wives of Windsor which was complete nonsense but still quite enjoyable thanks to the excellent cast, well executed slapstick humour, and very well designed set. The most well known actor was the fantastic Samantha Spiro, but they were all very good. We emerged into the warm evening very happy with our experience. An hour’s drive later we arrived at our little cottage in Poulton, where we will be spending the next week. 
We spent today at RIAT, the first day of our annual expedition to James’ favourite air show in the Cotswolds. It was very hot, and I spent quite a lot of time in the shade behind the grandstand. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t watch the aeroplanes though, I had quite a good view from my favourite shady spot and I could pop up to the grandstand when I felt like it. I took my kindle and there are plenty of stalls where I could get drinks and food. Back in Poulton we had a drink at the Falcon Inn across the road from the cottage before dinner. James has brought the fire stick so we logged on to Disney Plus and watched a couple more episodes of the Anne Frank dramatisation that we have been watching.