After our musical journey through the USA we headed to the land of Shakespeare. His Grumpiness felt that we should take in a show at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. King Lear was on offer so we hired some cushions and ventured along. We went to a matinee and were glad of our shaded seats as those sitting and standing in the sun must have found it pretty uncomfortable. King Lear is not one of my favourite Shakespearean plays, I would sooner see Taming of the Shrew or Romeo and Juliet, however, King Lear has the best insults.
"A knave; a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking knave, a whoreson, glass-gazing, super-serviceable finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd, in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pandar, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch: one whom I will beat into clamorous whining, if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition."
King Lear and Edgar were well played but there was some suspect acting from some of the other players. Even though I didn't love this play the experience of sitting in a replica of The Globe and seeing any Shakespeare was fantastic and I would heartily recommend to all.
Later in the evening His Grumpiness and I were fortunate enough to be sitting in a bar outside our hotel in Leicester Square drinking Gin and Tonics when a busker started up. He played many of the old British classics John Lennon, Led Zepplin and as the night drew in and the lights of the square came on it occurred to me that I've had worse days.
What typical arts experience could we embark on next? A less English affair maybe. Someplace away from the hustle and bustle of London. We decided to head off to Scotland to have a day or two of relaxation and discover what cultural experiences await us there. We headed to the southern highland town of Crieff. It just so happened that the annual Crieff Highland Gathering was on. A cultural affair fit for a Patron of the Arts if ever I have seen one.
As we arrived we could hear a band playing. Not in your normal Brit rock band but "Pipepop". The band, "The Rollin' Drones", (I'm not kidding) featured banjo and piano alongside bagpipes and Scottish drumming. I don't think I have heard George Michael's "Faith" Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" or Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"done it quite the same way before. But possibly Mark Ronson's "Uptwon Funk" was the highlight. You would think that this would be very bad but it was quite groovy and inclined one to dance.
The next band up was "Tide Lines". A band in the "Bagrock" genre (again, not kidding). Their music is influence by West Highland traditional music with driving guitars and drums thrown in for good measure. His Grumpiness declared that the music was too Scots for him. I think that they would be pleased with that well considered critique!
There were lots of pipe and drum band competing for the Crieff Highland title of best band and I don't think I ever heard so many versions of "Scotland the Brave" and "Amazing Grace" with the occasional "Scottish Soldier" thrown in. The band highlight was the Japanese Ground Self Defence Band complete with Samurai warrior, singer in traditional dress and drums.
Along side the athletics and cycling events, tug o' war, caber tossing and hammer throwing it made for quite a day of cultural experience. Just fabulous. Maybe traditional music of the folk is the way to go. Where to next? Maybe the far North Atlantic to find people untouched by our modern society. Greenland here we come.
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