20 Jan 2007: Grantchester Meadows & Macbeth

Chilly (around 50) but partly-sunny day. Walked the mile or so through Grantchester Meadows to The Orchard Tea Garden at Grantchester--it's where Virginia Woolf, EM Forster, John Maynard Keynes, and, later, Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath idled away many a lovely Cambridge afternoon. Open since the late 1800s, one can have tea and a lite bite (including gluten-free cakes) amongst the fruit trees. We're not exactly sure what types (we think pear and apple) as nothing was in bloom on 20 Jan. We also stopped by the Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Mary—it dates back to the late 1300s, although some stones used in its construction date back to the 1100s.

In the evening, with M* home from studying, we had a lovely meal of leg of lamb, root vegetable mash (we needed to use a butternut squash, rutabaga and lots of potatoes) and brussel sprouts. The three of us then took in a performance of "Macbeth" at the ADC Theatre in town. We noticed how young all of the performers appeared, and our landlord confirmed that it's the main theatre for the University of Cambridge students. The show was enjoyable with only a few actors noticeably over-dramatic. We thought the sets and costumes were creative--employing geometric shapes to show movement and conflict. We'll be going back in February to see Chekhov's "The Seagull" and Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream."

Mom at The Orchard Tea Garden at Grantchester, Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Mary at Grantchester, Amy and M* on Jesus Lane, Cambridge after the theatre