Shakespeare offers a helping hand on the most depressing day of the year!

Monday (Jan 19^th) will officially be Britain’s most depressing day – but don’t worry, with Blue Monday looming The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust are offering a remedy for all those in need of some January cheer! To mark this gloomy day, they are offering entry to any of the Shakespeare Houses for just ONE pound, as well as some bard-advice to beat the January blues.

William Shakespeare also recognised that we all feel depressed from time to time and no doubt when he wrote the famous opening line “now is the winter of our discontent” over 400 years ago, he was obviously referring to the credit crunch! The good news is, there are ways to help beat the blues and we all know that trying something new is a healthy start. So for 2009, why not try some Shakespeare?

January is typically the month when most of us feel sadder than usual.  Hardly surprising when Christmas is a distant memory leaving only bills to pay! Cliff Arnall, a health psychologist, formerly of Cardiff University came up with a statistical formula to measure the unhappiest day of the year, now known as Blue Monday (January 19^th).

THIS MONDAY ONLY, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is offering everyone* the chance to visit any of the five Shakespeare Houses for just a pound. Here are their top 5 recommendations to dispel gloom!

1.      Try something new – visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace and learn a bit about our local bard, a bit of culture goes a long way!

2.      Get some exercise! Enjoy a spot of fresh air and a wander with nature in any of the five fabulous award-winning gardens that surround the Shakespeare Houses!

3.      Pet a Pig! Meet some of the rare-breed animals on show at Mary Arden’s Farm. We all know animals are a great way to relieve stress!

4.      Get in the mood… Visit Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and feel the love at England’s most romantic cottage, where Shakespeare courted his wife to be.

5.      Meet some Tudors! At Mary Arden’s Farm, visitors can see first hand how a Tudor Family would have lived – now that will make you feel better. As the line goes  “convert all your sounds of woe into hey nonny nonny”.

Diana Owen, Director of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said “Each of the houses has something different to offer and for people have never been to one before, then this is a great way to try something new without having to spend much money. Feeding our rare breed animals at Mary Arden’s farm is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and the woodland walk at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage is a ideal for some gentle exercise and feeling in touch with nature.”

(*£1 Entry offer excludes GROUP BOOKINGS)

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[1] “Now is the winter of our discontent” is taken from “Richard III” by William Shakespeare

[1] “converting all your sounds of woe into hey nonny nonny” is taken from “Much Ado about Nothing” by William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene 3

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is an independent charity that cares for Shakespeare’s heritage. It owns five Shakespeare Houses in and around Stratford-upon-Avon:

·         Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6QW

·         Nash’s House & New Place, Chapel Street, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6EP

·         Hall’s Croft, Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BG

·         Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Cottage Lane, Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 9HH

·         Mary Arden’s Farm, Station Road, Wilmcote, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 9UN

Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Mary Arden’s Farm will be open from 10am to 4pm on Monday 19^th January. Hall’s Croft and Nash’s House & New Place will be open from 11am to 4pm.

For further information about the houses, please visit www.shakespeare.org.uk

For further information and press enquiries please contact:

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust                                                                  

Helen Robson – PR Manager                                                                            

Direct line: 01789 207134                                                                

Mobile: 07887 661770                                                          

Email: helen.robson@shakespeare.org.uk                                 

Web:   www.shakespeare.org.uk                                       

However, we were delighted to receive this video from True Tube – check it out and ley us know what you think…

Our band was joined by John Milsom and family, the creator of the “Life’s a Beach” exhibition which was the backdrop for the carnival. With media interest from Real Radio, The Wakefield Express and The Yorkshire Evening Post soon all of Yorkshire will be having a giggle at photos of us making music with office supplies at the beach! We promise not mind if some of you crack a smile.

Now that Blue Monday’s over and it’s back to the regular work at GREEN Communications I’ve been thinking of ways of keeping this site alive until Blue Monday 2008.

An obvious way is to now countdown to the Happiest Day of the Year in June…. any other suggestions? We’ve already asked for people’s ideas of staying cheerful so what else can we ask??

Today’s weather has been glorious. A frosty start but then a lovely sunny Sunday tnhatw as quite warm too. I put some washing out and some of it dried nicely…..

Over in the You Ess of Ay (USA) coverage of Beat Blue Monday campaign got confused with the Colts Blue Monday – something good to do with their version of football??

Also, I wondered how the weather factor would affect people in hotter climes than Britain. Over here it’s blowing a gale, wet and grey. In Florida it’s ’93 in the shade’ (whatever that means) and everyone’s sipping pina coladas.

But thanks to a great article by Bridget Hll Grumet I now understand how tropical weather can be a pain:

“But even Florida’s fabulous weather poses problems: Lawns need mowing, fleas bite, and we can’t wear those smart winter styles.”

Lastly, even if the factors in the equation do translate across the Atlantic… does anyone care? Those *crazy* guys at The Big Dumb Fun Show don’t seem to be with comments like this:

“Happy Blue Monday. Today is the worst day of the year according to English researchers….but lets face it, it [sic] love their muffins, but other than that, who’s listening to the English?”

How very dare they!

Dr Arnall – the guy behind the Blue Monday formula – has also put together an equation for the happiest day of the year, which is:

O = Outdoors and Outdoor Activity – playing out , sport, exposure to wind, sun and water (sea, rivers and streams)

N = Connection with Nature – trees in full bloom, lots of flowers, lots of wild animals visible

S = Socialisation – talking with neighbours and friends

C_pm = Positive Memories of Childhood Summers – especially the beach, picnics, ice cream, playing out with friends

T = Mean Temperature – usually warm, sun high in the sky, warm southerly winds

H_e = Looking Forward to Holiday or Time Off (e = expected)

All of which means that Friday 22 June 2007 will be the happiest day of the year….

(Full disclosure: Dr Arnall devised this formula on behalf of Walls ice cream!!)

Pictures please…

Excellent coverage also included pieces in the Independent; Guardian; Daily Mail; The Sun; Telegraph and loads of locals. In the interests of balance it’s worth also pointing out that The Guardian’s Newsdesk podcast has Ros Taylor casting doubt on the scientific voracity of Dr Arnalls ‘Blue Monday’ equation.

Also, some lovely blog coverage too…. have a look here.

 

Feell free to uplaod your pics of morphology-defying beach building attempts to Flickr with the tagbeatbluemonday!