Yes, today I am in full-on 'Boring for Britain' mode as I give one of my Shakespeare talks to the ladies of the Croscombe Women's Institute. This one is entitled "Shakespeare in Love: The Young, the Middle-Aged & the Don't Ask!" The 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death is imminent and no doubt the ladies will be looking forward to something suitably high-minded and intellectual. Alas, what they're in for is a stream of undiluted filth! Well, perhaps that's over-stating it a bit, but the fact is that 'our Will' was, in the famous words of that other great man of English letters, Monty Python, "a very naughty boy"! For a start, at the age of 18 he put his girlfriend, Anne Hathaway, in the family way and was forced to get married in a hurry. Later in life, the equally naughty, Emilia Lanier, the 'dark lady of the sonnets', tempted him into some London-based naughtiness - honestly, these theatrical 'slebs', they never leave it alone!
In the course of my talk - assuming anyone is left in the room - I will remind them of the late, great, Italian physician, Gabriel Fallopio, who published a book in the same year 'our Will' was born advising gentlemen always to use a sheath during intercourse which, according to their wealth or lack of it, should either be made of linen or dried bladder or, if you were a real down-and-out pleb, animal intestines - yeeeeees, quite! Most important of all, though, Dr. Fallopio insisted that the sheath be tied at the top with a pink ribbon 'to please the ladies'. Typical smoothie Italian! Anyway, I have no doubt that the ladies of the Croscombe W.I. are made of the similarly tough stuff that goes to make up the other W.I. ladies to whom I have given this talk so I don't think anyone will faint!
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/41089
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/39647
(And WW, for you, there's an entry on that "Wiltshire dig" you mentioned in a comment I noted recently you left somewhere - near the latest entry - just *do the clickie* on the title page to bring up the most current entries.)
Posted by: JK | Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at 12:29
And David, a picture with which you might impress the ladies of Croscombe. My advice? Enlarge it.
(Better yet - ask if "There a member of the audience wish to join me at the lectern and Blow it up?! )
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/533
Posted by: JK | Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at 12:44
David, JKs advice for a show and tell piece in your talk before the ladies is spot on. That "item" just proves that the drive for sex is timeless and young men have always found a good excuse to do so, even in Shakespeare's day. You might say "where there's a Will there's a way". The ladies will no doubt laugh.
JK thanks for that link to the Wiltshire dig. Quite interesting. There were four comments following it and I recognized one name "Dearime". Another comment mentioned a story about an Iron Age site in Somerset of all places! Imagine an ancient site like that just under Duff manor.
Posted by: Whitewall | Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at 12:58
Personally, I would not be caught dead wearing "pink ribbon". My standards are pretty low, not desperate.
Posted by: Whitewall | Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at 13:14
Thanks for the links, JK.
Whiters, if pink isn't your style you could always try a tartan ribbon.
Posted by: David Duff | Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at 16:59
"Thanks for the links JK" yeah right. Easy to assay your actually reading David.
First fr'instance (of at least three).
No question for either me or Whitewall
"[T]he Spuds McKenzie title of Master of the Revels?"
The ladies of Croscombe will not be amused.
Posted by: JK | Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at 17:57
JK, until now I had never heard of Spuds McKenzie but I assume it refers to some dog who took part in a TV ad. 'The Master of the Revels', of course, ran London's theatres - with an iron rod! - in Shakespeare's days. I can assure you that the ladies of Croscombe were very amused, particularly with the idea of pink ribbons!
Posted by: David Duff | Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at 21:01