A Traditional English Day

9 May 2013

Warwick Castle, our adventure for the day.

Preparing to be executed outside Warwick Castle in England.

Waking up in an English B&B (Bed and Breakfast) is an experience all in itself! I could nearly see my breath because I guess they turn off the heat during the evening, but the bathroom floor was heated due to the hot water running through the pipes directly below it. Can you guess where I stayed most of the morning? The lady who owned the B&B was waiting for us in the guesthouse dining room with a cold breakfast buffet set-out and hot english breakfast’s ready to be made at our request. This was my first encounter a traditional English breakfast, and I quickly learned that it does not consist of English muffins and a variety of cheeses… A traditional English Breakfast consists of bacon, sausage, fried egg, black pudding, mushrooms, a grilled tomato, hashbrowns, and beans. English bacon is American ham, the sausage is softer and flavored very differently, the egg is runny, black pudding…(look it up if you can stomach what is really in it, but it is not anything like pudding in America), the mushrooms and grilled tomato are simply delicious, the hashbrowns are identical to ours, and the beans are much like baked beans in America. It was a lot of food, but I thoroughly enjoyed what my stomach could take in…minus the black pudding-I still don’t have the nerve to look up what is in it. I tried orange marmalade on my toast, and I snatched a few for my bag because I enjoyed it so much! Marmite or Vegemite, a molasses type sauce, not as good…

Warwick Castle.

We headed to Warwick Castle shortly after 10. The castle sat large and beautiful off of the river avon, and was filled with people dressed up acting the parts of the knights, peasants, and royalty that once filled its walls. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but decided that I am not a fan of the cold rainy weather that England is famous for… Not just cold and rainy, but windy too! Brrrrr it was freezing! I layered all the clothing I had in my backpack on my body and I was still shivering from head to toe. Luckily the castle and shows were absolutely fantastic, so much of the time I was distracted from how cold it was. We walked through an exhibit that displayed what living conditions were like in the midevil ages, as well as explored the actual portraits, furniture, and rooms of the people who lived there so many years ago.

Myself with King Henry VI and his 6 wives.

Fully furnished dining rooms in the Warwick castle.

We watched a trebuchet (a type of large catapult, much like the one on Monty Python) throw a 40 pound rock nearly hundreds of feet in the air. The contraption was an absolutely foreign idea to me, and only someone with a very creative mind would of been able to come up with something like that. 4 people took turns running in a wheel in the center of the structure to create tension and pull the arm backwards. One it was pulled back and set into place, they released a series of levers and the rock went flying through the air. Early devices such as this must of been hard to build because little people believed they would actually work.

Warwick Castle and the River Avon.

Warwick Castle.

Disruptive innovations are hard because many people are unbelieving and skeptical that they will turn into worthwhile solutions. With little support, innovators must forego proper reputations, and rely on their confidence that their idea will make an impactful solution to a problem. The Trebuchet was one of these innovations. Up to this point of time enemies attacked castle walls, attempting to tear them down to enter the city. Some creative genius who designed the trebuchet, discovered that it would be a better approach to attack the castle without breaking its walls-for if they overtook the city they would eventually need those walls to protect themselves. Launching fireballs and stones over the city walls would be a better approach, but who would be crazy enough to believe to try it? The first wheel, fire, homes, and eventually trebuchet were developed because someone used their creativity to find a new approach to solving their problems.

Trying on a helmet from the early 14th century.

A “midevil metal worker” tries to take me down with his knife…but my skills are too much for him.

We learned from a Bowman how midevil warriors attacked their enemies, watched a vulture and eagle soar high above the castle, and took a tour through the castle dungeon array with actors and actresses reenacting the terrifying scenes that took place there. We even had some spare moments to stop in a pub-like restaurant and try some fish and chips. In England chips are American French Fries and Crisps are American Chips. The fish and chips came with a side dish known as mushy peas, which is practically peas mushed up like mashed potatoes. It was fun to try the favorite dishes of the UK, but I still prefer my fruits and vegetables I can pick up from the markets.

Good Ole’ English fish and chips.

It has been so fun for me to watch the history I have learned in textbooks my entire life come to life. England, and Europe for that matter, is so old and has so much valuable history within its borders. Stratford Upon Avon is the English town where Shakespeare was born, grew up, met his wife, wrote his plays, and died. This charming place is filled with old-fashioned homes with thatched roofs, absolutely beautiful. We visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, which today is in the centre of Stratford amongst shops and markets bustling with people. We also were able to visit the Anne Hathaway’s cottage…not the Princess Diaries Anne but Shakespeare’s Anne. He married Anne in his home of Stratford and lived with her for many years in the gorgeous little cottage that still stands today about 1 mile from the centre of Stratford. Shakespeare was a brilliant dreamer, writer, and creator. His play writes reign as some of the best in the world, and when read expose his imaginative and creative nature in full detail. There is a reason we still honor him as one of the best writers of all time–he was brilliant and was able to relate his plays to thousands of people. I am anxious to visit his Globe theater in London and really feel what it may have been like to watch one of his plays during his time when theater was at its finest.

In front of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Stratford Upon Avon, where she and Shakespeare lived.

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage.

Shakespeare’s birthplace in the Centre of Stratford.