Karlos and I had the most wonderful two weeks. Quite the English pilgrimage, really. First we went to Bournemouth to watch Ricky Gervais in his latest stand-up gig, 'Science;' then we went to Stonehenge and imagined what, or rather who, could have been there thousands of years before us; then we spent time in Devon, where I introduced Karlos to clotted cream (among other things); and finally we explored Shakespeare's town - Stratford-upon-Avon. Even drinking in a pub that Shakespeare himself is believed to have once drank in. It just was totally rock your socks awesome. We had lovely sunny weather, and lots of happy days travelling and exploring together.
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Ricky Gervais is a legend. Many people may not find him as funny, or as awesome, as I do - but, whether you are a fan or not, you simply cannot deny the incredible career he has had/is having. He is undoubtedly talented - the awards speak for themselves. From his early days in radio, to his self-created hit TV shows 'The Office,' and 'Extras' - the former being aired in 80 countries around the world, including 8 remakes such as the equally sucessful American version - through to his recent cinema success of late; he sure has been busy. Not forgetting he's also toured the world with four stand-up comedy shows, and has series' of "record-breaking" podcasts to also add to his credit. Ricky's style of comedy, and way of looking at the world is appreciated, by many.
We were lucky enough to have scored tickets in 'Row E,' aka - row number 5. That's right! We were just 5 rows away from Mr Gervais himself. I was so excited! I had actually purchased the tickets months earlier, back in NZ when I was still working at the University of Auckland. As soon as I heard news Ricky was touring England with his comedy show 'Science,' in July, whilst we would be there - I was online and had tickets in minutes.
Ricky didn't dissapoint. His honest, un-politically correct way of discribing the world, and knocking anyone on a high horse down, never ceases to make me laugh out loud. "Mong," he said. "You can't say 'mong' these days... but, oh wait - yes you can! 'Mong!' There I just said it. 'Mong, mong, mong, mong, mong.' Even mongs can say 'mong!' It's the easiest word you can say. 'Mooong.'" Hahahaha - even mongs can say mong! I love it!!! No one was safe from Ricky's jibes, not even himself. I laughed continuously for 2 hours, cringing in parts - but leaving feeling as though we had seen a great show. If only he had seen the two chavs in the row in front of us, who spent the entire time taking flash photos (even though you weren't supposed to) and snogging. They were repulsive, and I really wanted Ricky to do a chav bit. Maybe next time...
After a day spent in Bournemouth, where Ricky's gig was - a very typical English beachside full of the overdressed and underdressed; overpriced souvineer and icecream stalls; and tacky gaming arcades in dark rooms of artificial lighting (which always made me think it was an odd thing to do - to go to the beach yet want to spend your time there indoors... anyway!) - we travelled up from the south coast to visit Stonehenge. In Avebury.
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Stonehenge is something very difficult to describe. I could tell you the history and known facts about the place, but the magic can only be felt, and the importance of the place can only truly be understood - by simply going there, and feeling it for yourself. It is incredible. I grew up not far from Stonehenge, and yet again it is another place I was only truly appeciating by being back as a visitor...
You pay the ludicrous seven pound entrance fee, collect your audio guide (a handheld device that tells you certain information when you punch in certain numbers), and walk across the fields towards the mighty stonehenge standing up ahead of you. You can only stare and imagine, trying to take it in.
You wonder - what great powers laid these large stones in their current place? Was it man power, or something supernatural? No one can be sure - but to have brought the stones here from as far as Wales, and laid them in specially dug out holes in the earth, carefully placing some stones on top of others to forming a large stone circle - only something powerful could have possibly achieved this. And the overarching question is - is man powerful enough to have created this? In a time before machinery played a crucial role in man-made creations. The laws of physics dictate - not. It makes your spine tingle.
Thoughts also lead to the purpose of the stones. They are all laid in a carefully planned out positions - with stones marking sunrise and sunset, and the summer/winter solstice. It is as though the sun itself designed stonehenge.
Being there, and witnessing the age of the earth, through stonehenge, was humbling. It made me want to seek out a bookshop and read as much as I could about english history; you crave the knowledge. The insight.
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We continued travelling south west, and reached Devon. A pretty county, south of Somerset, north of Cornwall. The weather was typical english summer - warm, and bright, but not too hot. My friend Annie has a caravan that she keeps on a farm, in Devon - in a place called Nomansland (we thought she was joking, refering to the fact that it is so far out in the countryside - until we saw the street sign!) - and she offered it to us for as long as we liked. We decided to stay for 2 nights - so we called the farmer to make arrangements.
When we arrived, Farmer John set the caravan up in one of his fields, along with several other campers/campervaners and we spent the next few days living amongst cows and chickens! It was an actual working farm, and campers can help milk and collect eggs etc if they want to. Surrounded by green fields and open countryside - we immersed ourselves in nature (aka the smell of cow muck) and tranquility (aka no bars or internet) and were quite happy about it.
Karlos eating Devon's famous 'clotted cream':
We went to the local pub one night, a mile or so's walk away from our farm, and spent the evening drinking and chatting with some locals. Walking back to the farm was a little scary for me - pitch black, in the middle of open countryside - I was grateful to have a torch, but not grateful for a slightly intoxicated Karlos telling me that every strange light in the distance could be a ghost!
Our time in Devon culminated with a trip to Exeter city, to stay with another of my Icelandic friends, Hrefna (aka fluff!), and her lovely boyfriend Andy. Fluff cooked us a delicious dinner of lasagne and salad, and Andy shared some of his best wine. We could have spent all evening chatting about our travelling adventures, and their travelling adventures... but instead we hit the town! A very spontaneous and much fun evening. We met some of fluff and andy's friends and ended the evening true english styles - with fish and chips at 2am.
We could easily have stayed in Devon longer... but time to explore more of the UK, with only a month to go, was running away with us. So we travelled northbound once again - and reached Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's town, where we stopped for a few days.
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Karlos and I are both thespians - and have both performed in a number of shakespearian productions - so I knew Karlos would appeciate a tour of the bard's home town.
Our first night we went for a meal and a drink in a little pub, that "looked nice," only to discover it was a few metres away from Shakespeare's house, and a pub he was more than likely to have once drank in himself - seeing as it had been operating for 400 or so years. It was incredible. I spent some time just thinking about it, taking it all in, imagining what it would have looked like in Shakespeare's day and picture him sitting in the corner, drinking, chatting with his mates about "the latest play" he was writing!
And our time in Stratford was much like that - a walking tour of a city - seeing the school Shakespeare once went to (still a school to this day - imagine that! My classroom used to be Shakespeare's!!!!), the house he was born in, his daughter's house, his grave in the local church, and so on.
We were also fortunate to see an outdoor performance of 'Macbeth,' down by the river avon, in a park "quite close to the RSC!" It was performed (and produced) by a young group of 5 actors, who had shortened the play to just 1.5 hours, inserted their own creative licence with a narrator who strummed a small guitar and sang songs to fill us in and keep us up to speed, and a greek chorus style adressing of the audience. The witches were ugly face puppets on long sticks, that 3 of the actors controlled and gave voices to - which was a very artistic, and clever way of doing it. The actors shared roles, with one man playing Macbeth throughout - using their physical movements and voice to clearly define characters. They also made full use of the space, performing from all sides of the audience - mostly in front, with an extremely minimalistic set - and carefully selected props for specific moments - e.g. a large, free-standing wooden frame being used for both a doorway and a mirror. It was a well-performed piece, due to the talent of the group; it was modern; inventive; funny; and completely engaging. The name of the company is the "Pantaloons" and I believe they tour the UK with a different play every year - if ever you see their name advertsied - get tickets to see their show! They are amazing. Actually - the show was free - but you can give a donation at the end. Karlos gave 10 pounds, he loved it that much.
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And so, after a couple of weeks of pure english pilgrimage... we returned to the north of England, to the Peak District, for another couple of days with family.
With love from merry 'ol England,
~ Comet xo
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