Shakespeare Day, St George's Day, April 23rd, and Shakespeare places to visit

 This year, 2025, the United Nations put out a video of actors reciting Shakespeare's speeches from various plays advocating peace. Some of the actors read in languages other than English including Chinese.

I was going through papers and discovered my Shakespeare quotations slides which I had used for a speech.

My favourite quotations were

To be or not to be

Neither a borrow nor a lender be

Methinks the lady doth protest too much

Into the breach once more

All's well that ends well.

Stratford, England

In summer in England you can visit Stratford upon Avon and see houses associated with Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway.

London

In central London, England, you can see the theatre in the round where his plays are performed.

 Shakespeare's bust is in a church. 

You can also see for free a bust of Shakespeare outside the Guildhall Art Gallery in London which has an excellent art collection. A third sight to see in the art gallery, for many an unexpected bonus, is a Roman ecavation indoors under a glass floor. (For a cost you can go down and see that close-up.)

Shakespeare bust outside the Guildhall Art Gallery. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Canada

Over the ocean in Canada you will find places with English names, such as London - which is why I always specify London, England when referring to my home city.Canada has a Shskespeare festival. 

USA

A statue of Shakespeare is in Chicago. In Lincoln Park.

Useful Websites

You Tube Video of UN English Language Day Celebration

Useful Websites

https://www.google.com/search?q=youtube+united+nations+shakespeare+recital

I have other posts mentioning Shakespeare in this blog. See m posts on Shakespeare phrases, poetry day, and Guildhall Art Gallery.

Please share with your friends and family the links to your favourite posts.

Confusing station names and placenames and pleasant reminders of home

America has cities names after cities in Europe. New York after York in England. This can confuse visitors from the UK and Europe. When I hear somebody in Europe talking about Paris, I assume they mean in France. But in America Paris and Georgia usually are understood to mean places in the USA. On a bright note, cities were named after people who were fond of their ancestral homes.

Americans can also get confused when talking to people in Europe. I have read about people who got on the plane to the wrong country. I have been stopped in London by an American who wanted the route to Oxford. I nearly sent him on a bus ride to a nearby station to catch the train to the city of Oxford. He wanted Oxford street, which was yards away.  Here are some of the confusions you might come across.

In Singapore I was surprised to see stations named Dakota and Dover. It can be a pleasant and puzzling surprise to find many cities worldwide have streets named after famous places and people from other countries.



SINGAPORE
Bedok, Bedok North, and Bedok Reservoir.
Bedok is EW5 on the East-West line, the green line.
Bedok North is DT29 and Bedok reservoir is DT30, both on the blue Downtown line. In February 2020 I was given a lift to Bedok North. Thinking I was at Bedok MRT, I read my mobile phone, until I looked up and found myself on the wrong side of the island of Singapore.

Bukit
Bukit Gombak, Bukit Batok, Bukit Merah, Kaki Bukit,Bukit Panjang
Bukit means hill. Merah means red. Panjang means long.

Changi
Upper Changi
Changi Airport
When going to the airport, check you get off at Changi Airport.

Dakota
Dakota MRT station in Singapore
Dakota, the plane, was a plane stationed at the airport in Singapore, and gave its name to the raiwlay station built nearby.



Dakota, USA
Dakota, the US state. The plane was named after its birthplace.

Dover
Dover, Singapore MRT station, green East-West line.

Dover, England.

Farrer Park and Farrer Road.
Farrer Park is NE8 on the North East line.
Farrer Road is CC20 on the yellow Circle line.
Named after a British official when Singapore was part of Malaya.

Marina Bay
Marina Bay, Bayfront, Marina South Pier
Marina Bay Sands is the landmark triple tower complex joined at the top like giant cricket stumps.

Merah
Tanah Merah, Bukit Merah
.Bukit means hill in Malay.
Merah means red in Malay.

Punggol 
Punggol Point
Punggol

Tampines
Tampines, Tampines West, Tampines East.
The big bus exchange is at Tampines.

Telok
Telok Blangah, Telok Ayer.

Tuas
Tuas Link - end of the green line, EW33, short for East West 33.
Tuas West
Tuas Crescent

UK
Stratford upon Avon
Stratford in London.

Stratford upon Avon is on the Avon river, and the birthplace of William Shakespeare with several of his homes and museums associated with him and his family. A popular side trip from London. If you cannot make the journey to Stratford upon Avon, in London you can find The Globe Theatre, Shakespeare busts and memorials in religious buildings.

Stratford is a tube station in East London. London is on the Thames river.

Oxford
Oxford, Oxford Circus, Oxford Street
Oxford is the city, several miles from London. Oxford Circus is the junction of Regent Street and Oford street, and the underground 'tube' station. Oxford Street is one of London's main shopping streets.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratford_International_station

Stratford, Canada.

London, England.

London, Canada.


Paris, France.


Paris, Texas.


About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite pages.

Quick Guide To What To Do Overnight in York? Chocolate, wine and ghosts

Why York?
York is one of England's, Britain's, top destinations for foreign and local visitors. Why? It is old, historic, and has everything in a compact, small city which you can walk around.

Where to park? We stayed in a hotel with parking.

You can do York as a destination in its own right or as a great stopover, driving from London, perhaps overnight in York. See it on your way up north, on your way back, or both.

We came back from Edinburgh and spent overnight in York at the Hotel du Vin where we had dinner in the hotel restaurant.

You will want to allow a morning to see York, the Shambles (pedestrian street), a chocolate shop and chocolate shop museum.

If you are only allowing a morning, or a day, check opening times and what you need to book.

Admire the walls or walk along them. See the cathedral outside, and inside.

You might want to budget for all of these and maybe a ghost tour in the evening.

Overseas visitors can take a tour of the UK including York, Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare) and Edinburgh, capital of Scotland.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.