Avon-upon-Stratford

R and I braved the hostile elephants today, and went out for fresh air and exercise. And pasta, obviously.

The Ocado man had told us first thing this morning that we were likely to be cut off by rising floods, but bitter experience has taught us that when in doubt about the state of the Avon, the thing to do is to check the live webcam at Bidford Bridge; and that reassured us that although the river had indeed broken its banks, the road was still quite passable. You couldn't, however, say the same thing about the southern towpath in Stratford - as you can see from the last image in this sequence.

The swans appeared slightly bemused by the situation, but were stoically adjusting to it - apart from the pair in this shot, which were in a total bate, and stomping around each other like a pair of sumo wrestlers. I thought it was a territorial thing, but R suggested that it was a domestic dispute, and given that they're a mixed pair I think he's most probably right.

The building on the opposite side of the river here is the unlovely extension to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. I try quite hard (and usually succeed) not to be the kind of person who whines about things not being as good as they used to be - and I know that the RSC did need extra dressing room and administrative space; but why they had to build something that looks (from pretty much any angle) like an overinflated shipping container remains a mystery to me.