Over To You
YOUR LETTERS
Get in touch with your views about the country, your travels and the magazine
PHOTOS: © SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST
OUR FAVOURITE LETTER I always know when Shakespeare was born. In 1964 I was 12-years-old and in my final year of primary school. We learned about Britain that year, taught by our enthusiastic Anglophile teacher, Mrs Quinn. Throughout that year a family friend gave me copies of the magazine Coming Events in Britain, which was celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s birth. I devoured the magazines, did well with my studies and promised myself that one day I would walk where Shakespeare had walked. Of course study, girls, cars and a career got in the way and my first trip to the land of the great playwright had to wait until 1992; I have been back a number of times since. The years that have transformed a young schoolboy into an ageing man have also seen the
magazine go through many changes to become BRITAIN. Imagine the reminiscent delight I felt when I received the latest issue in the mail and discovered a lovely celebration of the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare. Where did all those years go? Fortunately the course of true love did run smooth for me and for well over half of those 50 years I have shared my adventures with my wonderful spouse, Christine. Together we are planning another visit to Britain next year. I’m always a bit smug when the year of Shakespeare’s birth comes up at trivia night. David Crouch, Victoria, Australia
BRITAIN REPLIES: We are so pleased to have
triggered some wonderful memories for you and glad to come across such a loyal reader. If you like Shakespeare (and who doesn’t) then go to www.britain-magazine.com/shakespeare for more on the Bard’s 450th birthday.
Our favourite letter wins a copy of the beautiful book An English Room with photography from Derry Moore. In it famous Britons talk about places that enthral them and what it means to be British (see page 65). •
CHEERS ALL ROUND
One of the best places to soak up the culture of Britain is in a pub (Here’s to the Perfect Pub, Vol 82, Issue 1). I visited numerous pubs when I lived near Cambridge for a couple of years in the mid-80s and revisited England, Scotland and Wales 13 years ago. There’s no place that I’ve discovered other than the UK that knows instinctively how to showcase a warm and inviting place to eat and drink with the locals, where hospitality is the norm. The essence of pub food is more than the traditional fish and chips. I’ve indulged in a ploughman’s lunch, oxtail soup and mushy peas; a pleasant offering to the taste buds that’s incomparable. J.D. Marckmann, Missouri, USA HOW TO WRITE TO US – by post to: Letters, BRITAIN, Chelsea Magazines, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ; or to: Letters, BRITAIN, Circulation Specialists Inc, 2 Corporate Drive, Suite 945, Shelton, CT 06484, USA. Or email the editor: sally.coffey@chelseamagazines.com Follow us on Twitter at @BritainMagazine or like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BritainMagazine
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BOWLED OVER What? No mention of bowls (A Question of Sport, Vol 82, Issue 1)? Are you not aware of the legend of Sir Francis Drake insisting on completing his game of bowls before going off to face the Spanish Armada? Or that the World Bowls HQ is in Scotland? James Dunlevey, Menifee, CA, USA
@RoyalObsessed Latest issue of @BritainMagazine has so many of the greatest things in Britain I don't know what's left for future issues.
8 COMPETITION WINNER Congratulations to Leigh Hatts from London who has won a weekend in Richmond upon Thames.
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