450 years ago the greatest dramatist of all time was born - William Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon.

It also St George's Day so a good reason to get out the bunting and let the Falstaffian hair down. I went to Stratford in 1964 the 400th anniversary and witnessed the Wars of the Roses season directed by Peter Hall. It was a total revelation and from then on I've been a fan of the Bard. Seeing Henry IV parts One and Two with Ian Holm as the bumptious Hal was a joy. Falstaff was played by Trevor Griffiths with consummate skill. Later I saw Hamlet with the juvenile David Warner in a long multi-coloured flowing scarf. I spent the whole summer in Stratford, occasionally popping back to a friends pub for a wash and change of clothes at the aptly name Shakespeare Inn in Harbury. In a recent survey by the British Council of the five most populous countries in the world the other day, they were asked what they associated with England and 25% said that it was the writer Shakespeare. The Queen and David Beckham trailed a long way behind. The German people have adopted him as their most loved dramatist, he is produced in that country more than any other apart from in England. They claim Shakespeare was actually a German, despite having other great writers like Goethe and Schiller. In reality Shakespeare belongs to us all, he transcends nationality and speaks to us all today in a way that no other writer has ever done. When Nelson Mandela was in prison he chose the play Julius Caesar Act II where Caesar says "Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once". What more is there to add.