Day 37 - A mop, a bard and a rapper walk into a Shakespearean town...

"Have more than thou showest,

Speak less than thou knowest,

Lend less than thou owest,

Ride more than thou goest,

Learn more than thou trowest,

Set less than thou throwest."

—The Fool in King Lear

Ah, Shakespeare! That guy sure did have a way with words. I wonder what his travel blog would have soundeth liketh?

Today, Becca and I left Phil behind in the flat awaiting the installation of our internet service (didn't happen), and we took the bus to Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace and lifetime home of the Bard himself. As our adventure thus far has included a few pilgrimages, it seemed fitting that our daughter, at the start of her theatre career, should trod in the steps of Shakespeare, pay homage and perhaps rub a few Tudor timbres for luck.

The journey by bus took just over an hour. It's only about 16 miles to Stratford, but this is England, and you have to account for single-lane roads, ancient bridges, detours to stop in tiny hamlets. I swear, for every 5 miles you travel, you actually pass the same spot again at least once as you come full circle while checking to see if someone in Little-Under-Bottom-Over-the-Hill is waiting for the bus. I'm not complaining, mind you. You see the most glorious scenery this way, not to mention how enthralling it is to watch the driver manipulate the bus through the narrowest of ways.

We passed through villages where almost all of the buildings had beautiful thatched roofs. In the middle of seemingly nowhere, we stopped to pick up a couple who had been hiking with their dog. And every so often, an elderly person would hope on the bus for free.

Source: rsc.org.uk

Upon arrival in Stratford, Becca and I made our way toward the River Avon, with our first goal of the day being the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, of course. It looks very modern in spots, but in fact is a Grade II-listed building. It was refurbished in 2010, and retains many of the art deco features of the 1932 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre that preceded it.

From here, we wondered into the old town. Stratford has an absolutely remarkable number of Tudor era buildings still standing AND in active use. When you see a modern shop inside one of these beautiful structures that often look like they are folding in on themselves, you can't help but wonder how many types of businesses have been run in them, or how many people have live inside. Amazing.

However, Stratford had a very strange vibe during our visit. A "Mop" fair was taking place in the centre of town. No matter which street you walked down, carnival rides and games of chance were set up. Becca and I truly began to wonder whether or not every carnival ride in existence in the UK was in town...seriously!

When we had first got on the bus in Moreton, the driver had apologized to me for being late as "there is a mop in the middle of town, and everyone had to drive around it." Now, if you are like me, you may have been left wondering how a mop would cause that much traffic disruption!

If you're also like me and don't know what a "mop fair" is, let me tell you. Almost seven hundred years ago, King Edward the III granted a legal charter to several towns in the Midlands of England to allow for a hiring fair for local labourers and employers to meet in a social setting. Labourers wore a symbol of their trade (it's thought the symbols were known as "mops). Employers could hire them for a one-week trial period, for which the worker would get paid a token wage. After the week, either party could back out of the arrangement, otherwise the deal was binding until the next year's mop event. An event called a Runaway Mop was held after the first week to provide the opportunity for backing out of the deal. It also gave the workers a chance to spend their token wage at stalls set up or at the local pubs. 

Stratford Mop Fair. Source: Facebook - Fun Fairs UK

With the industrial revolution, rides started to get added. Today, it is all rides, carnies, and food trucks. Imagine the CNE midway running down Yonge and every side street you can see, and you'll start to get a sense of the thing. Rap music from one ride is competing with heavy metal from another. Store fronts are blocked (we noted more than one that had closed for renovations during these few days). Apparently, some in Stratford wanted the Mop moved to a recreation ground or some other site. But a lawyer examined the original Charter granted by Edward VI on 28 June 1553, the Charter granted by James I on 23 July 1611, and the Charter from Charles II dated 31 August 1676.The latter provides that Mops or fairs should be held "within and through all places Streets, Lanes, Alleys and Fields in the said Borough (Stratford-upon-Avon)." The lawyer also discovered that if the District Council wanted it moved, it would need public approval. A survey of residents found most wanted to keep it where it was. 

And so, by royal decree, 700 years later, a massive fair takes up every street in the historical centre of Stratford...not once, but twice in the course of a couple of weeks. Strange but true.

Oh, and we also visited Shakespeare's birthplace (as planned), and the site of his New Place (his home with his wife and children). Both interesting and worth a visit if you are ever in town.