Wow, that was a lot of fun. A bit exhausted today, and trying not to post mortem the tiny things that didn’t go quite as I would have liked, none of which were to do with performance. Someone from the library had the time to do a head count, and there were still 111 people around at the end, and more earlier who took smalls of to bed and so forth.
Clearly the strawberry moon presaged great things – SO glad I didn’t realise the leap year meant the Solstice was really Monday, we would have got very wet!
So a vaster-than-empires thank-you (yes, I know that isn’t Shakespeare*) to:
Library
Joan Redding, for saying yes, trusting us with her library and letting us get on with it
Tony Gibson, parking maestro and usher in chief
Ralph Winkler, Sound engineer
Pat Roberts, Max Norman, Judy Cumberbatch, Danny Connolly for helping set up.
Arachne Mates
Judith Stephenson for taxi services
Alix Adams and Muireann Grealy for being brilliant bar staff and strawberry distributors
Jay Hassan for amazing cakes
Michele for book sales and saying ‘We’ when talking about Arachne Press.
Jane Ferguson for ushering and programme distribution
Bea (and Hugh) Jackson for set (and cannon) dressing
The readers, for reading so magnificently and entering into the spirit of midsummer madness with such aplomb
Jennifer A McGowan (best-dressed Shakespearean character)
Saul Reichlin (presence, gravitas, and doormanship)
Katy Darby (especially for the tress-tossing)
Carrie Cohen (super fundraiser)
Cliff Chapman (MC extraordinaire)
Mike Eden (out of retirement especially for us)
Musicians
Raise the Roof for fearless singing of very new songs especially Juliet Desailly for the solo and Maestra Kirsty Martin for the 100 mile round trip
Rosalyn Miller & Toby Hine for acting whilst singing and Mark Wainwright for playing the guitar with music trying to take wing.
Writers:
For meeting the brief so magnificently and entertainingly.
Pat Tompkins
Elinor Brooks
Rachel Bellman & Elizabeth Charlesworth
Sarah Lawson
Jennifer A McGowan
Carolyn Eden
Kirsty Martin
Juliet Desailly
and of course the founder of the feast, Master William Shakespeare.
Audience
Well, weren’t you the bees knees? 111 of you stayed the course to the end, in ever cooling temperatures and rising wind. Congratulations on being our largest audience yet! Stay in touch! If anyone took any pictures they are prepared to share please let us know, I really can’t manage video, audio recording and taking stills.
Video will go up over the next week as I edit it – Still have some Story Sessions to edit, and the Solstice Shorts Submissions to read… but been too busy preparing for this to get it all done. Contain your Souls in Patience, I will get there.

*Andrew Marvell, since you ask
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