It's October 1599. Shakespeare has finished writing his history play Julius Caesar, and
is visiting a fair in his home town of Stratford, with his daughter. She has just had her fortune told...
Now, dear daughter, what did Old Mother Howard say? What does the future hold for us, I wonder?
Oh father, Mother Howard talked a lot, but she had such a strange accent - I couldn't
understand a word she said!
You're just like Casca in my play Julius Caesar.
Casca? He's one of the men that kills Caesar, the Roman general! How can you say that, father?
I'm not a murderer!!!
Dear daughter... Casca was in a group of people who were listening to the great Roman speaker, Cicero.
But Cicero was speaking Greek, so Casca couldn't understand him.
Oh! why was Cicero speaking Greek?
That's what educated people spoke in Roman times. Casca says that some of the people
listening to Cicero could actually understand him. Here are the lines: Those that understood
him smiled at one another...
Those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for
mine own part, it was Greek to me.
So Casca had no idea what Cicero was talking about. Just like me and Mother Howard!
We'll leave them there for now.
I'll never understand the rules of cricket: out for a duck, silly mid-off, googlies...
it's all Greek to me!
Now tell me, daughter, did you understand anything Old Mother Howard said?
Yes! She talked about you, father. She said that you're going to be the most famous Englishman
of all time! ...but I think she was making it up.
Oh no, no, no! I'm sure she's absolutely right about that! She's obviously a very gifted woman.
What shall we look at now, daughter?
Can we go to the gold stall father? Pleeeeeease???
I didn't need a fortune teller to predict that! To gold, or not to gold: that is the question.