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It was a sad, sad day today, leaving Simon and Lizzie's. 4 days was just not long enough :(
But we knew we'd be in good hands, off to David and Linda's (Lizzie's parents) via Stratford-upon-Avon. We were supposed to meet them at 10am but after a freeway like a carpark, needing a pit-stop for Mitch, abandoning Judith's directions (big mistake norm!) and hitting road works in Stratford, we got there at 11.20!
Linda played on the Aussie card (and our mammoth effort to get there) to the people running our tour at Shakespeare's theatre (which started at 11.15) and you wouldn't believe it, they were so kind that they gave the 5 of us our own private tour.
So we got to go backstage and see all the goings on of the RSC (2 theatres, dressing rooms, laundry, wig making, sound box...). It was fascinating! Chris and I also got to go up the tower and have a look out over the whole town. But it was too nice a day so we headed back down to make the most of it.
Lunch was an enormous picnic that the Coles brought on a row boat on the canal. That's right, David and Chris rowed whilst Linda and I gave directions to "turn back left... turn back right, i mean your right... duck under that willow tree... watch the boat coming up behind you". Not sure we would qualify for the Olympics, particularly when the skipper (Mitch) was too busy throwing his hat overboard, but it was a beautiful English summer's day and there was nowhere we would rather be.
All good things must come to an end though so we hopped out and went exploring (which by this late time meant up the main street only). Chris, Linda and I did a tour inside Shakespeare's birthplace (another excellent recreation) whilst David looked after a sleeping 1yr old.
By 5pm we were all Stratforded out so it was time to head back to Sutton Coldfield. Here the spoiling continued with a dinner party with Shirley and Derek and their hilarious friend Geoff.
Full to the brim, and after having declined a full English breakfast for the morning, we crashed after midnight.
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