CASTLES. and shakespeare. Who may not have existed. (read on.)

so history. Lots of it. Warwick…hwere to starrrt. At the beginning.
Before I even got to my lodgings, I walked past/photographed the church where J.R.R. Tolkien got married, a lovely little Catholic church.

No. let’s start with the best thing.
You’re about to learn things. Things they don’t tell you in history class.

Because it would be too complicated.

You know, they say Shakespeare was not Shakespeare. He could have been many people, or that could have been a pseudonym. There are many candidates, I will not list them all. Elizabeth I is one of them. But all those possibilities save one don’t hold water. That one is Faulke Greville, former Earl of Warwick and once an inhabitant of Warwick Castle. Here is the case for his possible genius. Make your own call. It sparked my interest.

Warwick is near Stratford on Avon. There is proof that William Shakespeare met Faulke. Shakespeare left only a bed and a modest amount of money in his will. No writing desk. No inkwell. No documents. None of that.

Elizabeth I summoned Shakespeare to come to her court three times. He never showed once.

There is no record of Shakespeare attending his own plays. Faulke Greville attended them all.

There are numerous verbal clues, hidden in the jargon of that time, hinting that Shakepeare was not what he appeared, and even that he was Faulke. I don’t remember the specifics. Look it up if you like.

The wealthy and famous in that time had portraits painted to show their importance. The only portrait of Shakespeare was drawn 13 years after his death.

And here is the thing that made me wonder. In an ancient church in Warwick, Faulke Greville is buried. Or is he? His grave began to crack some time ago. It was X-rayed to find why it was cracking.

There is no body in the grave. Just boxes lined with lead. What did they store in boxes lined with lead?

Documents. His grave contains no body, only boxes filled with documents.

Makes you wonder, hey? Here’s the kicker: The Greville family line is still around. The woman who calls the shots with regard to the grave?
She doesn’t want the grave opened. But she’s ill.

The next in line? He/she wants to open it.

Pull it open, man. Let’s get the truth. After all, wouldn’t it be something to find an unsung literary genius after 500 years?

Well now, there were other things. Like Lord Leycester’s Hospital, which has nothing to do with medicine, rather, it is a place for retired servicemen to live. It is basically a beautiful quaint Tudor building complex. Like a fool, I had no camera. Pride and Prejudice was partly filmed there, if that gives you any idea. Look it up.

Here's the mean truth about photos. I have them, obviously. Not from that jaunt. They are here, on my compy. But uploading them is a PAIN. I may post them separately, I may put them on Facebook when I get home.(in fact, i think that'll be my London-sick fix) I may even show them to you personally if you wish. But I hate always having a camera. It ruins things sometimes. Tough beans. I will post some. But not all.

I'm going to flirt with verbal description for awhile.
The oak beams in this Lord Leycester place were older than America.
GET YOUR HEAD AROUND THAT. That oak, man, it's like stone. I petted it. It was tough.

Oh, Warwick Castle was cool, but too commercialized for my snarky amateur-history-buff soul. The views were incredible. ALL RIGHT FINE HERE'S PICTURES. from the tower, from the hill, from other places.
because they must be resorted to when words fail. The whole time I was thinking to myself "This is where fairytales come from. All those Brit fantasy writers, this is the soul of their worlds. This is where they live. Here." also autumn lasts so much longer here. These were taken on the first weekend of NOVEMBER. does MN look like this in November? NO.