Monday 7th August 2006
Stratford-upon-Avon (0 miles, 0 locks)
Another lazy day, reading in the sunshine and cooling our feet in the river. The youngsters went and hired a rowing boat but there was mutiny on board, and Rosemary was ceremonially dumped on the shore, with Jen taking her place for the last ten minutes.
It was quite interesting being moored near the water-point, with plenty of boats coming and going. Most of the boats didn't bother tying-up properly and in one case, there was a splash as the boat drifted away from the bank. This was followed by several people frantically reaching down into the gap. I assumed that they were trying to save someone's overpriced mobile phone, but instead they pulled out a small child who then bawled loudly. He wasn't hurt, it was just the shock and indignity.
I was chatting with a couple who were sitting on the park bench by Hawksmoor when we heard the scream of an engine as a plastic cabin cruiser tried to stop. The elderly helmsman must have been half asleep as he was heading diagonally across the river, aiming straight for Hawksmoor's stern. He couldn't stop in time and I watched in fascination as he crashed into us, his bow fender being six inches above our stern deck so the full force of the impact was taken by his bows. There was a loud bang. If life were like a Tom & Jerry cartoon, there would have been a pause, and then a crack would have appeared which suddenly spread throughout the boat, and the pieces would have dropped into the water leaving the occupants suspended briefly in mid-air. I was almost disappointed when nothing actually happened. In fact, the elderly woman on the cruiser seemed oblivious to it all - maybe collisions like this were a regular occurrence....
Shortly afterwards, a Stratford Court Cruisers boat arrived from upstream, heading for the water-point. They had trouble fitting their 60ft boat into the 90ft space and nudged into our bows. Knowing that things come in threes, I wasn't surprised by the next collision, as a rowing boat rammed us amidships.
We had booked to see Henry VI Part I at the new Courtyard Theatre. This is a temporary building which is being used as an additional venue during the complete works of Shakespeare season, but will become the RSC's home while the main theatre is being redeveloped next year. Despite its temporary status, the Courtyard Theatre is truly wonderful inside and we thought the play was a wonderful production. Even the youngsters were transfixed, especially during the battle scenes and eeriness of the music and chanting.