Well, its not over yet! A loon in a car, followed by a touch of Shakespeare
My OH my, I thought I was signing off for my birthday but yeah. Then some mentalist drives over a load of pedestrians minutes away from where we are staying. Those poor people and their family, what an awful shock. Well after telling everyone back at home worrying that we are fine, we decide to go to the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne for an open air version of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s dream’. The traffic has been stopped so we walk there, unwittingly RIGHT at the scene of the crime. I nearly have a panic attack and am pretty cross at my navigator (Sorry Leon), but am a bit too terrified to articulate it and just want out! Outside Flinders Station, there are civilians videoing, making selfies, generally rubbernecking, and also massive police presence in their whirring cars, but mainly people just getting on with life (4hrs after the attack). On the highway beneath, a car absolutely roads along, again shattered my nerves! But one foot in front of another we make our way to the botanical gardens just before sunset.
We set up on my fleeced blanket scarf thing and just make it in time for the start. Impish fairies, dance, acrobat, and jiggle about, telling the well known tale of the starcrossed love quad, with the fairy king and queen, who all move magnificently in the sunset, and the rainbow lit trees perfectly echo the mood of magic and mystery. My fave was the mischievous Puck who narrates and entertains alike, while holding down some amazing acrobatics and memory skills for those Shakespearean lines. They all are really outstanding, and who ever adapted the play to have the hilarious modern twists, is a genius.
An absolute treat after the 2.5hr play ended, what the illuminated bats circling a gorgeous building in the background. Totally eerie and magical. We wander back to the tram stop via the memorial shrine which is so moving. The way it is lit up with the shadows of the soldiers… so moving.
The the takes us back past Flinders, and all has resumed normality, apart from one lone cop car. We are flying again in 7hr so I best get some rest!
The route from our hotel to Flinders station to show how close we were! 7 min walk!
