Gobe Theatre, Bankside and Troilus and Cressida

It was months ago that I bought my ticket for a performance of Troilus and Cressida at the Globe Theatre. For me, a first time for that theatre and play. So when it came to the day, it seemed sensible to combine the trip into London with some sightseeing. I had seen a report in the Times that one good place to go was the Clonk Prison Museum, and as this was close to the Globe, it became my first port of call. But what a waste of time and £3.50. I have to say it was complete rubbish.
As I was out within twenty minutes, I was stuck as what to do next. However, I saw a sign for Southwark Cathedral and I was off. I passed the remains of the Palace of Winchester dating from the twelfth century.

Then past a replica of the Golden Hind in a dry dock, and onto Southwark Cathedral. Dating from the thirteenth century, it has only been a Cathedral since 1905. The Nave has been sympathetically restored and rebuilt for the fourth time in the 1890's to match the impressive choir at the back of the building dated 1215 to 1260. The trials of several protestant martyrs took place here during the reign of Mary in 1553 to 1558.

The last tour of the Globe was not until 5pm, so had time for a coffee and a muffin in Cafe Nero listening to their selection of modern jazz vocalists. The Globe tour starts with looking round their superb exhibition. Then a guide took us into the theatre and delivered an interesting history of the building. The sets were being changed from rehearsals of a new play to the evening performance of Troilus and Cressida.

I had an hour to kill before the play, so I wandered off away from the river and explored Bankside. I passed the Hop Exchange on Southwark Street, which is now a hospitality and party venue, and found myself in Borough. At the approach to London Bridge, there was the back of the Cathedral so I knew this would lead me back to the Thames Path. Through a deserted Borough Market and back to The Globe for a leisurely drink and a read of the programme before the play started.

I took my seat at the back of the middle tier, and knowing my seat would have a hard back, invested in a cushion and a slatted back, wisely as it turned out.

I'm not totally surprised that this play is rarely performed. It seems in the main a satire on war. The love story of the title characters seems somewhat peripheral and feels like it could have been inserted from another play. The satire has been translated in this production to produce some comical figures. Ajax is a brainless thug, Achilles a slimy peacock and Helen a mischievous tart. Mathew Kelly brings a refreshing modern day slant to his matchmaking Pandarus, as does the flighty Laura Pyper as Cressida. When they are on stage, the dialogue flows, unlike the ramblings of the greek generals.

After the play I headed for Euston and the train home, pausing to photograph a floodlit St Pauls from the Millenium Bridge.

The Shearwood Sisters

My great great great grandmother, Sarah Shearwood, had four sisters and one brother. An obituary of one of her sisters, Helen Shearwood (kindly sent to me by Chris Rathbone), details a most unusual story. Their father, John Shearwood, was a solicitor and acquired a large amount of property. With the exception of an estate in Dore bequeathed to his son, the remainder he left to his wife and after her death to his daughters, but with strict provisos.

On the death of John Shearwood in 1820, the daughters continued to live with their mother at Sharrow Mount, the family home. She died in 1836. Sarah had married in 1832 and her sister Mary was also now married to a Jonathon Hobson. Mary provided in her will that her fifth of the property would go to her husband if she died first, but that he should lose that interest if he remarried.

In the event, Mary died very early in 1837 aged 43 years old. And this is where the trouble started. Two of the three unmarried daughters (Elizabeth and Helen) stoutly maintained that it was their father's intention to leave the property to the unmarried daughters and therefore they would not permit Mr Hobson to take any share. He filed a bill in Chancery but Helen and Elizabeth held possession of the deeds and refused to bring them into Court. Despite warnings from the Court of Chancery, they maintained their refusal. The Court then instructed their Sargent-at-Arms, with the support of other offices, to go to Sharrow Mount in Sheffield and bring the two ladies to London. They still refused to to surrender the deeds and were confined to the Queen's Bench Prison. FOR THIRTEEN AND A HALF YEARS.

Their release eventually came with the influence of Mr George Hadfield, who became an MP for Sheffield. He had been articled to their father and gained the consent of Mr Hobson to have them let go without purging their contempt. It was not until 1870 that the matter was mainly resolved when Mr Hobson married again and under the terms of the will, he was dispossessed of his interest in the property.

Miss Helen Shearwood was afterwards declared a lunatic. Miss Elizabeth continued in her refusal to answer any legal proceedings and the Court again ordered she be detained and was conveyed to York Castle. There she met a solicitor who persuaded her to answer the proceedings and she was allowed to return home.

New Borders

My borders are OK for growing shrubs, but rubbish for perennial flowers. So I made the decision that the only way was to extend three of the borders. This meant having to dig out about nine inches of hard ground, remove it and replace it with topsoil. So last week, Mr Wells arrived with three lads, barrows and a lorry to take the spoil away, and a rotovator and pick axes to dig out the ground.

By the end of the first day, about two thirds of the digging and removal was complete. On the second day, the remainder of the digging and barrowing was done and the topsoil arrived, again barrowed in to fill the borders. It was heaped above the existing level to allow for settlement, and to add a couple of inches to the depth. So hopefully, by next summer, there should be lots of colour to enjoy. But that means a lot more plants to buy, although I did find three at less than half price in the sale in our local garden centre. I can transplant some that are struggling in their current positions and I might try growing some dahlias. They always have been one of my favourites.

Harry Potter 6, The Proposal and The Taking of Pelham 123

The first time I had been to the cinema with my daughter for I don't know how long. Posh seats in our own box in the High Wycombe multiplex was a novel experience. This sixth installment of the Harry Potter series was OK, but not as good as the previous film, also directed by David Yates and in my opinion the best of them all. It probably was a difficult book to adapt. The jumping backwards and forwards between the main plot, where Dumbledore and Harry need Professor Slughorn to divulge his memories of Tom Riddle, and the amorous adventures of the sixth form, do not make it easy. But my main criticism is why change the book and add bits when there was already so much that had to be left out. The two attacks by the Dementors or Death Eaters are not explained or appear in the book. Neither does the girl in the cafe, or Harry with Dumbledore on the London Underground. Harry did not fail Potions and Tonks saves Harry on the train, not Luna. Harry and Ron do not fight over the Potions book, it is lent to Harry by Slughorn. Maybe the film should have started with Snape's "unbreakable vow", that would have made an immediate impact. And too much was left without explanation, even for those who know the book. The editing seemed very poor, as if it had been changed too many times to reduce a four hour film to two hours thirty three. Having said all that, it was still quite enjoyable and definitely had it's moments. And to go to a restaurant after the film at 10.30 in the evening, well that was something different and very nice it was too.

I do enjoy a good romcom. But how long Sandra Bullock can pull off being the singleton at forty five is a matter of debate. However, she does do a great job in this movie, along with co-star Ryan Reynolds. In fact they hold together what is a predictable and unlikely story. There are two or three scenes which are uncomfortably embarrassing, but in the main a reasonable script, beautiful Massachusetts (supposed to be Alaskan) scenery, interesting minor characters and good direction make for a fun couple of hours.

The 1974 original of The Taking of Pelham 123 starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw is one of my favourite films. This remake is not in the same class, but nonetheless has pace and action. But the real success is the combination of a calm Denzel Washington and the hyper John Trovolta. They just did not need such a trivial ending.

The British Library, St Pancras and Regents Park

We had booked tickets for the Henry VIII exhibition at the British Library and on a beautiful Saturday morning, we took the train to Euston. The Library is almost next door and we had plenty of time for a coffee in their cafe before entering the exhibition called "Henry VIII Man and Monarch". The audio tour, narrated by David Starkey, was impressive, as was the display of numerous original documents. I particularly liked the scorecard from the Westminster Tournament challenge of 1511, some original sheet music, the actual Act of Supremacy 1534, the Bishop's Book of 1537 setting out the new religion and the more conservative King's Book of 1543 where Henry went back to his catholic roots, and his will, with which Edward Seymour creates controversy as he is appointed Protector of the new boy King Edward VI.

Next door to the British Library is St Pancras. This was the station that was the starting point of the journeys my brother John and I took to see our grandmother in Rotherham in the 1950's. As boys travelling on our own , we were put in the care of the guard until Nanan met us at Rotherham. Whether we had to change at Sheffield, I cannot remember. The station then was dark and dirty, completely different to the modern high-tech restoration of the building it is today.

The ironwork of the original train shed, designed by William Henry Barlow, has been retained. It was the largest enclosed space in the world when it opened in 1868. We really liked the ghostly image of the Midland Grand Hotel through the glass of the roof.

The original brickwork has also been refurbished. Here the old Booking Office now overlooks the Eurostar trains. Underneath are a variety of shops and cafes in what was the undercroft or basement. This was originally used for storage of barrels of beer from Burton-upon-Trent and the layout of the 800 cast iron columns (that support the platform above) was based upon the length of a barrel.

The weather was still very pleasant as we left St Pancras, so we made for Regent's Park. We found the lake and waterfall that we had never seen before. The end to an excellent day.

Edith Wynne Matthison

Edith Wynne Matthison was a famous actress in the first part of the twentieth century. She acted in a number of Shakespeare's plays, as well as other major productions, and was part of the company headed by Sir Henry Irving. She played Portia to his Shylock on his farewell tour.

She was the cousin of my great grandfather, Charles Haywood Hoyland. His mother's maiden name was Hannah Selina Wynne. Her father was Robert Wynne, a Clothier, and our common ancestor.

http://www.the-camerino-players.com/britishtheatre

Hannah Mayor

I have to correct a note on the website of http://www.fredmayor.com/. Their inbox is full, so the only other way is to post the note on my blog. Fred Mayor was married to Hannah who was a daughter of my great great grandfather, Charles Hoyland, a brush manufacturer in Sheffield.

The website notes that after Hannah married Fred her father was so furious, that he "cut her off without a penny". This is not entirely true. In the final Codicil to the will of Charles Hoyland, he states "With reference to the share which I have given by my said will to my daughter Hannah Hoyland I hereby direct that the same shall not be paid to her direct but that the same shall be invested by my trustees and the annual income arising from such investment shall be paid to my said daughter Hannah who is now the wife of Fred Mayor for and during her natural life into her own hands and free from anticipation and after her death such share shall be equally divided amongst the children of my said daughter etc etc".

So Fred could not get his hands on Hannah's inheritance, but she did benefit from the will herself. Fred died in 1916 but Hannah survived for another 30 years. Fed Mayor's website continues to explain that she continued to rent the big house in Earls Court Square "despite shortage of funds and much hardship". But she still had the income from the Hoyland estate and her son and daughter had private educations. Some hardship.

The day I met Princess Margaret

I remembered last night that not only had I shaken the hand of the Queen (see posting 9/6/08) but I had also shaken hands with her sister. Just after we moved to London in 1953, when I was eight years old, Princess Margaret was to visit the Royal Albert Hall to accept charitable donations from schools from all over the country. My old school in Alton in Staffordshire proposed that instead of sending one of their own pupils, I might like to go instead. So it was that I joined a long line of children in the underground corridors of the hall, waiting for our turn to climb the steps up and into the blinding light of the auditorium. There we handed to the Princess our envelopes, shook her hand and made our exit. All over in a flash.

Robinia Pseudoacacia and Aylesbury Prune

These are the tall trees at the end of our garden. The one on the left ,that is just outside our boundary , is the Robinia Pseudoacacia or False Acacacia. This is a beautiful ornamental tree originating from the USA and comes into leaf very late.

The other trees are the Aylesbury Prune. Our house was built on an old orchard and these are the only remains. The trees are now very rare. There is a fine specimen in the garden of the county museum in Aylesbury near the Titley Memorial Fountain. They bear a small damson like fruit, but my trees produce very small quantities. They probably need "pruning".

16th June 2015

Last week I noticed that the Robinia pseudoacacia was in flower. The bottom photo is as close as my camera will go to show the flower itself. There are close ups if you search the internet.

Tatton Park Flower Show

Alison had bought tickets for the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park as Christmas presents for myself, her sister and brother in law. It was the first time the four of us had been somewhere without their children.

The weather had been wet, so we took our boots. Luckily, we only encountered a couple of short heavy showers. We started off looking round the show gardens. They were all different and some were quite inspirational.

There were a number of formal presentations and the colours were all startling.

We were having lunch on the fringes of a marquee when the first downpour arrived. So we inched our way further inside and eat our sandwiches under umbrellas.

We spent some time in the floral marquee, there were so many exhibits of a very high standard.
Some of the stands sold identical plants to those on display. I bought a very healthy looking Astilbe "Red Dragon" and a mini salvia called "Hot Lips". Altogether, a highly enjoyable day.