The Mop fair has gone and good old S-on-A has returned to some sort of ‘normality’ (I forgot to mention in my previous post that the fair is erected over Friday and er…dis-erected on the stroke of midnight Saturday. All gone by Sunday morning. Amazing). However it will be back in two weeks, thankfully a smaller version with less hot-dog stands and fewer goldfish in plastic bags. And this time known as the Runaway Mop.
History Lesson. Apparently, the main Mop fair was traditionally a time when farmers hired workers and the Runaway Mop a chance for those hired to legally ‘runaway’ from their employers. (I’m sorry if the above appears a bit sketchy but history was never my strong point, which will be proved by my next sentence concerning dates). All this happened…a long time ago.
I promise I shall do some more research (who said blogging was the new journalism?) and report with the facts at a later date, if you can stay awake that long.
Anyway…on the political front…Stratford never seems to have much luck with its Tory ( *Conservative) Members of Parliament (see Profumo & Keeler). Stratford’s present representative John Maples is in deep doo-doo for allegedly plotting his leader’s downfall (Ian Duncan Smith) and has been summoned by the powers that be to explain himself. Things could turn out nasty for The Stratford Herald’s ( I wish no other Herald-we know…we know) diarist. Already the Town’s buzzing with talk of a public execution opposite Tory Headquarters followed by the displaying of Mr Maples head on a spike outside Shakespeare’s Birthplace. All good fun but you can bet they’ll (The Shakespeare Trust) charge a hefty fee to watch the exciting spectacle.
Apart from that bit of political nonsense nothing much else seems to be happening. Stratford is slowly starting to doze in preparation for the long winter months and hibernation, although I did hear that the thespians down at the Jam Factory are holding their breath and stamping their feet, distressed, annoyed and near to fainting at the news that apparently none of the plays this season will be going up to the Smoke (London). This is bad news. Apart from the fact that there's nothing worse than an actor who can't get his/her own way, it means that the poor darlings won't be able to show off in front of their friends. I have no pity. The RSC only has itself to blame. It should never have given up its underground bunker at the Barbican.

* Stratford is and always will be a Tory town. The devil/Adolf Hitler/Jack the Ripper etc could stand for election, no matter, as long as they were Conservative they’d be voted in.