But we also continue to look back to the Bard and his works, many of which remain pertinent four centuries after they were written. In recent years plays which have captured a certain zeitgeist or have made a social comment – either overtly or obliquely – on the idea of Britishness and our relationship with the wider world include Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, David Edgar’s Testing the Echo and Mike Bartlett’s bittersweet Albion.

The 1950s for example gave us Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a stark metaphor for America’s Communist witch hunts, and, here in Britain, John Osborne’s post-Suez play The Entertainer in which the faded music hall star Archie Rice mirrored the decline of Britain as a world power. Often those times coincide with a turning point in society or a moment of national crisis or reflection. Will press on north, invigorated at the prospect of adventures to come.Art doesn’t only imitate life – at times it holds a mirror up to it and comments on it too.

(Strangely, the next overnight stop on their route is our own Nacogdoches!) We enjoyed excellent fried catfish along with a spirited conversation with Harvey himself.Īrkadelphia was hosting participants in the venerable Cannonball antique motorcycle rally that night, and we had an interesting visit with one of the participants. Afraid that we were too late to find a suitable dining establishment, we stumbled across Harvey’s fairy-light-festooned food trailer next to the freeway exit. It is always astonishing what you can see and experience in some of the most apparently unlikely places as you travel across the country. pressing into Arkansas and stopping for the night in Arkadelphia. Weary from the last few days’ preparations, we did not make it too far…. Henry also made a special platform for Raider so he can ride comfortably in the truck, with a fine view of the passing countryside. We headed north, stopping in Longview, TX, for lunch with Henry’s daughter Holly, who was lucky enough to receive a generous supply of okra and one of the outsized zucchini gourds, just in time for her autumn decor. We finally got everything together for a September 22 departure, a magnificent first day of fall……. Here he is enjoying his new sleeping compartment in the trailer, and aboard the wonderful side car that Henry built so he can join us on ATV rides. Travel bedding had to be aired out (when was the last time you used a clothesline?)Įquipment, including the canoe, ATV, trailer and powered parachute, had to be tuned up.Ĭustomized arrangements had to be made for Raider.

Our last road trip was in 2019, so many preparations were required. The ostensible purpose is to explore the lake’s north shore and do some rock-hounding – seeking out agates, a stone for which Henry has a great fondness. called Gitche Gumee in some native American languages, also known as the shining Big Sea Water in Longfellow’s poem “Song of Hiawatha”.

The round-the-world happy trip we were scheduled to take in October was cancelled, so we have decided to venture out for further exploration of our very own continent. here is a water moccasin (something we don’t see often) that Henry found near the woodshed after a rare heavy rainfall.Ī shimmering spider web – seeming to hang without support in mid-air – that Raider the dog and I found on a late night ramble. Wildlife in the piney woods is always with us…. We escaped the worst of our sticky summer heat with a trip to southern California for some spa time and a visit with dear friend Deborah….

Once more unto the breach