reflections on Shakespeare's birthday by jantan

reflections on Shakespeare's birthday

Angus goes to William Shakespeare's old school. Every year there is a big parade through Stratford to mark the occasion of Shakespeare's birthday, which coincidentally is the same date as the anniversary of his death (some birthday eh?) The school plays a large part in the parade and all of the boys HAVE to attend. They walk at the head of the parade each carrying a bunch of yellow and blue (the school colours) flowers which they put on Shakespeare's tomb. As you can imagine, they absolutely hate it, (Angus calls it the gay pride march - not very PC I know) and consequently I dread it each year because of the fuss he makes about going.

It was quite interesting this year because normally I manage to scrape together a yellow and blue posy out of daffodils and bluebells from the garden. The daffs are usually OK but the bluebells have normally just about finished and I have to hunt for a few that don't look too dead to include. This year, with the spring being so delayed, the bluebells haven't even nearly started to flower. Thank goodness for grape hyacinths.

This photo is a reflection in the tuba (?) in one of the marching bands. As you can see, the weather was perfect. You can even see Stratford's two gold postboxes reflected.They got them in honour of being the home of one of the gold medal winners in the rowing in the paralympics last year. I know that I have seen a picture a bit like this in someone else's project but can't remember whose it was, so apologies for not crediting you for being my inspiration if you see this.

Graham has been on a beekeeping course today with three other men from the village. They are thinking of getting a couple of hives between them. I must admit I was kicking myself when I couldn't keep my big mouth shut and pointed out that we currently go through just under one jar of honey a year. Negative? Moi?
Great shot! fabulous reflection!!
April 20th, 2013  
Fantastic capture with beautiful reflections. Nicely framed. FAV.
April 20th, 2013  
Amazing shot!
April 20th, 2013  
Great shot and history.
April 20th, 2013  
Lee
Well spotted. Great reflection.
April 20th, 2013  
Great shot and interesting story.
April 20th, 2013  
that is an awesome reflection shot! the whole birthday thing sounds cool - but yeah, i can imagine schoolboys hating it ;p

might you eat more honey if it was home grown?
April 20th, 2013  
Great photo! You've got the reflection so very well placed. One day your son will probably look back with nostalgia at the parades and forget that he hated them. :-)
April 20th, 2013  
@dandolo haha - that's exactly what I tell him..... so far, he isn't convinced
April 20th, 2013  
Great reflections. It's amazing that I grew up just down the road in Alcester but I've never been to the Shakespeare birthday celebrations.
April 20th, 2013  
Brilliant!
April 20th, 2013  
Good sharp shot
April 21st, 2013  
Wonderful shot Jan...and not for the honey...for the crops! Though I am sure they would be able to sell the honey if they wanted.
April 21st, 2013  
Great shot & reflections of a wonderful celebration ( except for school boys !!)
April 21st, 2013  
Great capture love the reflections, very inventive
April 21st, 2013  
Fabulous shot - and I (we actually) really enjoyed your text.
April 21st, 2013  
Great reflection and a fantastic shot. Well done.
April 21st, 2013  
Really well done. Excellent composition, and wonderful lighting. Sharp focus and not too busy.
April 21st, 2013  
That's a great reflection of a beautiful day Jan.
April 21st, 2013  
Jan this is fantastic. Amazing reflections in his beautifully polished trombone. FAV
April 21st, 2013  
By the way Malcolm keeps bees! I dont eat honey and am allergic to bees but it keeps him relaxed and happy. If you need any advice FB me X
April 21st, 2013  
Awesome reflection
April 21st, 2013  
Wonderful reflections captured on the tuba!! Great shot!!
April 21st, 2013  
nice reflections Jan
April 21st, 2013  
Cool shot but I feel your pain on the getting boys to walk with flowers in public! Surely yr 7 could do the honours for all! I fancied getting bees (mostly because the hives look nice!) but we use less honey than you do....BUT very good for chicken drumsticks and I was given some on the honeycomb once and it was something else.
April 21st, 2013  
Love the reflections within this shot, well seen.
April 21st, 2013  
Great shot!
April 22nd, 2013  
Superb reflections....and very interesting narrative.... :)
April 22nd, 2013  
What a fab shot! Love the reflection
April 22nd, 2013  
Superb shot with clever reflections, really well done!!
April 22nd, 2013  
Great shot, the reflection is very cool.
April 22nd, 2013  
i saw this PP during the weekend. fabulous shot.

i'm your other half for the get pushed challenge this week. i went through your portfolio and marvelled at the many animals in your care. my challenge for you, however, does not involve any of your beloved creatures. i give you two choices:

low key portrait, either you or someone else

or

long exposure (at least 30 seconds) any subject.

have fun!
April 23rd, 2013  
Wow!! Where are you in this shot? Niiice. You got a new follower right here!
April 23rd, 2013  
JH
Great shot. J did a beekeeping course at Hackney City Farm last year, tho we've currently nowhere we could safely put a hive. I reckon you'd probably end up getting into it if they did it. They're incredible creatures, bees.
April 23rd, 2013  
Love the distorted reflections in the tuba, so Daliesque. BTW If you got Eric the half-a-bee, you could keep it on your knee ;)
April 26th, 2013  
Love seeing the reflection in the tuba. It's kind of like those little planet effects xx
April 26th, 2013  
Great eye for this awesome reflection!
April 28th, 2013  
Amazing shot, with the reflection!
April 29th, 2013  
Great reflection capture!

How marvelous that your son goes to a school steeped in so much history, but it's too bad he doesn't enjoy the Gay Pride Parade. LOL It does sound like something teenage boys would absolutely hate, so one can't really blame him. It's still a wonderful tradition and it's interesting to learn about it.
May 30th, 2013  
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.