Is it -- To be or not to be? Oh I don't know. It's the question, right? . OK, maybe you can tell that Roger, Helen, their kids and I went to Stratford upon Avon today. Yep, you're right, it's the birthplace of William "the Bard" Shakespeare. We visited his birthplace, a sturdy and beautiful house built in the the 16th Century or so. A nice attraction was attending the "Shakesperience", for a flavor of 3 or 4 of William's plays.

It was very nicely done, although not with live actors. It was a video presentation that took about an hour. We drove around this part of the country for a few hours, visiting little towns here and there. I invested 1-pound in a "duck race". The prize was 10-pounds. But, alas, a 7-year-old kid won the 10-pounds. Oh well, I'm not much of a gambler anyway, just ask Jennifer about that. My grandkids, Zoe and Oliver, would have loved it, though. But let me just explain that the ducks were yellow "rubber", carried down the river by the current. Most enjoyable.This evening, we all went to a traditional English pub near Roger and Helen's home. We had a great dinner, even greater beer and lots of laughs and talk.

Tomorrow, I'm off to London for 2 days of sightseeing and adventure. I'll be stay at a youth hostel in Westminister, not far from the city center. My plan is to take a "day tour" on a double-decker bus to get acquainted with the city, then I'll go off on my own. One important venue I intend visiting is the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It is the site of some historical astronomical instruments and there the "zero meridian" is located. I'll have a picture taken of me with one foot in the western hemisphere and one foot in the eastern hemisphere!! Sounds cool, yes??