WILLIAM Shakespeare came to Worcester for his marriage to Anne Hathaway and I’m only too happy to repay the compliment and visit the Bard’s town of Stratford-upon-Avon.

There’s nothing quite like sitting on the banks of the town’s noble river and enjoying a pint of beer which is why that celebrated actors’ haunt the Dirty Duck perfectly fits the bill.

So there was I, supping away, when who should hove into view but Lord Falconer, one-time New Labour hotshot and confidante of former prime minister Tony Blair.

Judging by the time of day, I guess that he and his companion were off for a bite to eat before a session at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

I wonder what was showing that night… Macbeth, Julius Caesar or perhaps The Merchant of Venice?

Whatever it was must have been very much a busman’s holiday for the former big cheese.