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Monday 17 August 2015

The Things I've Learned From Watching Shakespeare's Plays

The Things I’ve Learned From Watching Shakespeare’s Plays             

If you have tears, be prepared to shed them now:

1.       Never poke your sword into the arras, since you might end up killing your girlfriend’s Dad.

2.       If you suspect that your lover has committed suicide, get a proper second medical opinion before doing anything rash, as they might just be in some sort of coma.

3.       Don’t believe in prophecies, as they can be highly misleading.  For example, whole forests can shift their location, for a whole load of reasons – global warming being only the most recent.

4.       It’s a dumb idea to hand over all your assets to your children after you retire, but before you’ve made firm arrangements for your later life care.  Your children may not be as grateful as you might expect and the whole situation could turn nasty.  They may cut the size of your retinue – and who needs that when you’re 80?

5.       When making love to someone in a darkened room, have a chat with them first as it’s amazingly easy to end up having sex with the wrong person.

6.       It’s a good idea to leave quickly when being pursued by a bear.

7.       Don’t count on your friends being the sort of people you want to have closely around you at a toga party.  Knives are very easily concealed as weapons, and likely to lead to such outbursts as “infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”

8.       If in an enchanted forest, try not to fall asleep.  You may wake up feeling a complete ass. Or fall in love with completely the wrong person.

9.       Boys’ affections can be quite fickle.  For example Romeo was madly in love with Rosaline one minute, the next second he’s head over heels with Juliet.

10.   Do proper research on prices on comparison websites.  For example you can usually get a perfectly good horse for rather less than a kingdom.

11.   Payday lenders sometimes have a role to play.  If your cargo is not delivered on time, even Wonga’s extortionate rate of interest can be preferable to hacking off a pound of your own stomach.

12.   Make sure that you know exactly where your acquaintances are buried. One skull can look very much like another.

13.   Don’t believe all you hear about witches.  If you encounter three ugly old women, gathered around a large cauldron, and cackling in verse incoherently, they are most likely to be the local branch of the WI engaged in their jam-making activities.

14.   If you have tricky-to-remove stains on your hands, try soaking them in a solution of bicarbonate of soda before rushing off to see your psychiatrist.


Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2015

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