A Midsummer Night's Dream

Earlier in the year when they first announced that there was to be a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream amongst the ruins of the old house in Bradgate Park we optimistically bought tickets. I say optimistically because as everyone knows you can’t rely on the sun to shine through an English summer and we’d probably end up watching from under brollies.

But how wrong we were. Sunday 14th July, (not quite midsummer night) proved to be an idyllic summer evening. Perfect for a picnic and a play. It’s a beautiful place and made a fantastic backdrop. Even the resident peacock entered into the spirit of the evening and joined in as though on cue.

The performers were from the Chapterhouse Theatre Company and were excellent despite some competition from a light aircraft which decided to circle overhead for a while.

Theatre goers armed with hampers and cool boxes picnic in the sun.

A keen Shakespeare fan eagerly awaits the first act.

The house is famous as the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey and the performance was dedicated to her, as 460 years ago she would have been half way through her ill-feted nine day reign.

A grassy knoll and minimal scenery turn Bradgate Park into a stage set.
Below are some scenes from the play.

For other postings on my blog about Bradgate Park see:
http://breaking-cover.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/thinking-time.html or http://breaking-cover.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/old-john.html

A quiet corner

I thought it was about time I got my camera out again so I took it to the area around Leicester Castle. Despite being adjacent to the busy De Montfort University Campus, it forms a quiet little corner away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The normans built a motte and bailey castle in about 1068. Later the defences were rebuilt in stone and a Great Hall was added. Little remains of the original castle which fell into decline by the end of the fifteenth century. The gateway and walls shown below can still be seen and it is possible to climb up to the top of the castle mound. The Great Hall remained and was later used as a court house, though the present frontage was added in the seventeenth century. The nearby church of St Mary de Castro, was founded in the twelfth century as a collegiate chapel attached to the castle.

On a more personal note, the writing has been going well and I have now asked the members of my writing group if they will give my novel a read through and a few have agreed which is great as everyone is so busy. They always give a fair and honest critique so I await their comments with nervous trepidation.