Free Republic

A South African anthropologist has asked permission to open the graves of William Shakespeare and his family to determine, among other things, what killed the Bard and whether his poems and plays may have been composed under the influence of marijuana. But while Shakespeare's skeleton could reveal clues about his health and death, the question of the man's drug use depends on the presence of hair, fingernails or toenails in the grave, said Francis Thackeray, the director of the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who floated the proposal to the Church of England. Thackeray...

British actress Judi Dench has said friends must read film scripts to her because she is gradually losing her eyesight to macular degeneration. "I can't read scripts any more before because of the trouble with my eyes and so somebody comes and reads them to me, like telling me a story," she said. The actress, who won an Oscar for her role in "Shakespeare in Love," said she can no longer see faces in front of her due to the condition, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday. "You get used to it. I've got lenses and glasses and things and very...

Mudlark, Released on: 1971-01-01June Bug | 2:16Leo Kottke - Topic | 4.67K subscribers | 1,847 views | July 13, 2023

Randy Meisner - Take It To The Limit | 4:19CaliforniaMusic Dream | 289 subscribers | 37,896 views | February 18, 2018

Shakespeare's Sonnet 98 - "From you have I been absent in the spring," | 1:06The Insane Artist | 24K subscribers | 2,472 views | March 15, 2020

“No one really knows what it’s like to be queen.” It’s 1887, and the British Empire is celebrating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee — 50 years on the throne. Kings and princes are in attendance. So is Abdul Karim, who has traveled from his famine-ravaged India to the event to present the aging monarch with a ceremonial coin. “Whatever you do, you must not look at Her Majesty,” he is admonished. But eye contact is made, followed by a sweet smile, and a most unlikely historical friendship is born.

Some 10,000 people turned out in Stratford, central England, to see a parade revved up by a New Orleans jazz band.Prince Charles joined top British actors live on stage in a surprise crack at playing “Hamlet”, as thousands of William Shakespeare fans packed The Bard’s hometown for the 400th anniversary of his death on Saturday. The heir to the throne joined the likes of Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ian McKellen and David Tennant at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon for the culmination of a day of parades, dancing and fireworks.et” was set.