Everywhere you turn in this city you are reminded of some connection with Shakespeare.

There are numerous statues carved with his most famous quotes.

His burial ground is in Stratford, along with the theatre dedicated where the "Royal Shakespeare Company" perform.

Even the "westernisation" has been limited...you'll see a modern MacDonalds inside a Tudor building. Entertaining!

Many of the shops still have Tudor facades in keeping with the times.

Here is a lovely cafe were we had an exquisitely delicious lunch!

This is Ann Hathaways Cottage, his wife.

The gardens are so amazingly landscaped and tended.

This is Shakespeare's Mothers House, Mary Arden.

We walked around the area and we heard many things that we did not know before.

At the river you see the canal barges. By the waters edge you can enjoy traditional English Pub Fayre at the "Pen & Parchment" Pub!! A comfortable place.

Our tour guide had studied the area and times well and she had some amazing facts to share.

The saying: "It's raining cats and dogs" can from there and this era.

The thatched roofs of the cottages used to provide a great shelter and quiet place for the resident animals..including cats and dogs.

HOWEVER whenever it rained, the shelter was compromised and the animals leapt out for more adequate cover elsewhere.

Therefore it looked like it was "Raining Cats and Dogs!"

The saying: "Don't go throwing the baby out with the bath water", is also from this area.

In Queen Victoria's reign, she declared that once a year ALL subjects must take a bath. She, was a great lover of a luxurious soak!

However her subjects were not so lucky and they all had to share the one bath...not all at the same time.

THE WASHING ORDER:
The MASTER of the house would wash first...
SECONDLY his WIFE and then their CHILDREN, ranging from the eldest to the youngest...
NEXT the SERVANTS would bathe; men first...
Then their wives...
and then the SERVANTS CHILDREN, ranging from the eldest to the youngest...

SO...unfortunatley...the last person to be bathed was...
the smallest infant servant baby.

By then the water was so black and dirty that they were worried about losing a baby when they emptied the tub. So the saying was formed: "Don't throw out the baby with the bath water".

An education eh?.

First Rate ~ A Classical English Place with the Unique Touch of Shakespeare.

This is Shakespeare's Birthplace.

Find out more about Shakespeare's Early Life in Stratford here.