Avon Calling

T'was not so much me and Dudley (who woed Elizabeth I) as t'was me and the bard.  The buses don't run as often on Sundays and the trip to Kenilworth requires a bus, so I decided upon Stratford-Upon-Avon as it offers a ho ho bus. 

It also happened to be a rainy day, so t'was just as well I was riding the tourist bus and touring indoor things rather than a castle with a 15 min walk to and from.  Since it was raining, I decided to take the bus one entire circuit and then get off at one of the stops.  Turns out that the stops in the town are pretty close together.  There is also the matter of admission to the stops, and the one house I was going to visit did not have a single admission-you have to buy a three house ticket.  I had arrived at 2 and by now it was 4 and the last bus runs at 5:30, so best to punt.  I decided to do the church which was basically low price and Anne Hathaway's cottage which could be done on a single admission of 9 pounds.  Both were good choices, and I ended up getting the penultimate bus and the last bus which dropped me at the rail station. 

The recorded guide on the ho ho bus and the guides in Anne Hathaway's house were quite good.  They specialize in etimology which I always find quite fun.  It was particularly effective in the house as the scene was set for explaining the literal meaning of some words and phrases that have outlived their obvious meanings.  I'll share a few with you.

Threshold.  We were standing in the kitchen of Anne Hathaway's house.  It has a stone floor.  Back in the day that floor would have been covered with threshes which would have absorbed spills and cushioned a bit.  The threshes would have been tossed out from time to time, though I cannot imagine that people who bathed once a year would have bothered much with cleaning out their kitchen floor threshes, but eventually they got around to it-perhaps when the smell of the floor overpowered their own smells.  Anyway, The door would have been hung over a thresh hold, a raised part that kept the thrushes in.  There are actually still thresholds in the houses we have stayed in here so that we have to be conscious to step up when going out of doors or even in the garage.

Board.  It's the table top, but it can be removed as it sits on a 4 legged stand.  Generally speaking it is the table to dine upon, but if company comes it can be placed on the floor-over the thrushes for the guest to sleep upon- in front of the fire in the kitchen which was probably the warmest room of the house.  Hence the guest was offered room and board.  Often there would be games drawn upon it-board games.  In order to discourage cheating players were required to keep their hands above board.  Since there was usually only one chair and benches for the rest of the family, the head of the family or important guests were offered the chair.  Hence, chairman, and chairman of the board. 

Bread.  Bread was baked in hand shaped round loaves.  It was sliced laterally as opposed to top down as we do today.  The head of the house or important guest was given the "upper crust".  They were "a slice above" or "a cut above". The bottom would have been quite hard, and of course it went to the servants.  It was also the first plate before wooden plates or trenchers-the French word for this loaf of bread.  One might hope for some soupy porriage or gravy to soften it up.  I cannot imagine people had very strong and healthy teeth for chewing up tough bread.

Speaking of porriage, it would slow cook in an iron pot suspended over or near the fire.  It consisted of grain and vegetables and if available, meat.  Once started it was simply added to with whatever was available that day and went on day after day.  If one was lucky they got what was cooked but fairly fresh.  Pot luck.

Salt was a valuable commodity, and people were paid all or part of their wages in salt.  Hence the word-from the Latin-salary.  If you were known for good work you were "worth your salt". 

Beds were quite expensive.  They were the status item of their day and as such they were housed in the parlor.  No one in the family slept on them.  Only honored guests.  The wooden bed frame was laced with rope which held the straw or feather mattress.  The quality of sleep depended upon a tight rope-hence, "sleep tight". 

The parents and children under about 5 or 6 slept on mattresses on the floor in one room.  Girls often slept on a raised loft covered with such mattresses until they were married.  Hence an unmarried girl or woman would be "left on the shelf". 

So, I had so much fun with word play at Stratford-Upon-Avon that I decided to go back on Monday.  I got up fairly early and what with knowing the lay of the land I paid my admission and visited the 3 houses-Shakespeare's birthplace, Shakespeare's death house, and the house of Shakespeare's daughter and successful son in law the doctor.  The other son in law was a wastrell.  I had already seen Anne Hathaway's cottage.  Anne was Will's wife and the mother of his three children.  My ancestor, Emelia Bassano was one of Shakespeare's mistresses.  She wasn't mentioned in any of the tours.  I did find a book about her on amazon.com.  Mr. Shakespeare's Whore.  Cannot wait to read it.  (but I digress yet again).  The house that I passed on seeing was Will's mother's house.  Mary Arden's house has a lovely barnyard full of animals and seems just right for taking children.  This adult had little interest in going to see farm animals on a rainy day or the day after. 

I also took a boat ride on Avon and several walks by the river admiring the swans.  I hoped to catch a matinee at the Royal Shakespeare Company, but not a chance on Monday.  I certainly saw people who had just come out of a matinee on Sunday.  I do have a schedule in case I get inspired. 

So, all's well that ends well.

KG