WEST MARLBOROUGH: Sharpening the clipper blades

Hooray for Chip Miller and PJ Arnold, who had their heads shaved at The Whip on Thursday night to raise money for children's cancer research. Karen and Bob from Burton's Barber Shop in Kennett sheared the two of them, raising $600 in donations for the Children's Cancer Research Fund. I'm told the two have more fund-raising schemes up their sleeves.

PJ Arnold (left) and Chip Miller (right) had their heads shaved for charity.

KENNETT Y: Getting into the holiday

The Kennett Y went all out for Halloween this year, with lots of decorations, costumed staff and kids' parties. One of my instructors placed what looked like a severed foot strategically at the doorway to her classroom. And a giant black spider loomed over the lobby like something out of a Steven King horror novel. The mother of one toddler told me that her son was at first terrified of the arachnid -- but then was just as upset when they took it down.

CIRCLE GAME: Improving roundabout etiquette

A woman who lives near the Unionville roundabout on Route 82 came up to me at the Kennett Y on Monday and asked me to remind people that cars actually in the circle have the right of way and motorists who are entering the circle are required to yield. Apparently some drivers haven't quite internalized this notion yet (and I imagine the same applies to the Route 52 roundabout as well). She also stressed how helpful it is for drivers to use their turn signals to indicate to others which road they intend to take when leaving the circle.

MASONS: It's time for pancakes again!

Just the other day I was driving past Kennett Masonic Lodge 475 at Cypress and Center Streets and wondered whether it wasn't time for their famous pancake-and-sausage breakfast again. Sure enough: it will be held this coming Saturday, Nov. 7, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $8 for adults, $4 for kids. We went for the first time last November, and the pancakes were really excellent. My breakfast-mate and I devoured four each, plus sausage, coffee and orange juice.

LONGWOOD: Classes in art, gardening, landscape design and more

I just received Longwood Garden's "field guide" of courses and trips for the coming months, and what an intriguing assortment! Just a random sample of the classes includes botanical illustration, deciduous plants, flower arranging, pruning techniques, photography, and "the afterlife of trees"; they're even sponsoring visits to some private gardens and top-tier nurseries.
I saw several local people listed as instructors.
Aimee Olexy, owner of Talula's Table, is teaching a class on herbs. Kennett Square borough council member Dan Maffei is teaching landscape design (which is his profession). In a day-long program called "The World of Mushrooms," Jim Angelucci of Phillips Mushroom Farms will discuss the history of mushrooms in Kennett Square and my West Marlborough neighbor Jake Chalfin of Laurel Valley Soils will talk about repurposing mushroom compost. After a mushroom-themed lunch at the Terrace Restaurant, tours of Phillips and Basciani Foods are planned.

THORNDALE: A Mexican restaurant with a kaleidoscopic interior

We have great Mexican restaurants here in Kennett, but we decided to try a new place last weekend up in Thorndale en route to an Irish-music concert in Coatesville (multicultural much?). It's called Casa Herrera, and it is worth the trip for the décor alone. I was told it was "colorful" inside; what an understatement THAT was! Every surface of the restaurant is brightly painted and lavishly decorated with folk art. The zombies, skulls and other Halloween decorations were just the salsa on the tacos.
The food, you ask? My dinner partner and I both had shrimp dishes, and the shrimp were large, tender and perfectly cooked. Delicious! Prices were reasonable, our sweet waitress was cheerful and efficient, and the place was doing a good business by 7:30 p.m.
Casa Herrera, which is owned and run by former mushroom worker German Herrera and his family, opened early this year at 2755 Lincoln Hwy (Business Route 30) in Thorndale.

TASK FORCE: Library task force issues its mission statement

This information about the task force was released Oct. 26, and I reprint it verbatim. It is on the Kennett Township website.

"Kennett Township and Kennett Borough have created a Task Force in order to support the library in addressing community concerns and rebuilding community support for the library in order to be successful in building a new library.  

The other participating municipalities have been invited to join the Task Force. The library is an important asset to our entire community and we need to continue the support!

The mission of the Library Task Force (LTF) is to inform, enrich and educate the members of the community of the value of the Kennett Public Library aka Bayard Taylor Library (library). In accomplishing its mission, the LTF will create unified support and vision for the future of the library, establish financial transparency, create and formalize professional communication channels and assist the library in determining the appropriate location for a new library and seeing it through to completion. 
Goals of the LTF:
• Create and formalize communication channels
• Assist the library in determining the location of the new library and seeing it through to construction
• Establish financial transparency 
• Inform the public of the value of the library – PR
• Unified support and vision for the future of the library 
Members:
• One representative from each of the participating municipalities 
• One representative from the Library Board."

HERON: An unexpected sight in the side yard

We had a very welcome visitor on Sunday morning: a great blue heron, walking slowly and deliberately across the yard near a tiny creek. The majestic bird (Ardea herodias) was actually more gray than blue. I tried to get a photograph but couldn't get close enough: I didn't want to scare him off. He ended up walking farther along the little creek and out of sight.

RED FACES: Two mortifying things that happened to other people

On Saturday I witnessed two embarrassing moments and my first reaction to both was, "thank goodness it wasn't me this time!"
Near the beginning of a memorial service, as everyone was settling into silence, a friend's cell phone rang. She manage to silence it after a few chimes, and it was funny to watch everyone else quickly putting a hand into pocket or purse to make sure their phones were muted, too.
And at intermission at an Irish music concert, a gentleman accidentally knocked an Orangina bottle off the counter onto a tile floor. It shattered, sending glass shards flying yards away. He asked the attendant for a broom and dustpan and swept it up. (His family kept pointing out small flecks of glass he missed.) After he finished he said, "I'm just going to crawl away now."

BELIN: More love for the Longwood Gardens cat

People are still writing to me to express how much they miss Belin, the beloved "ambassador cat" at Longwood Gardens, who died on Sept. 23. Belin made his home in the Peirce-du Pont House.
1. Reader Ann writes: "I was so pleased that you put the Belin story in your column.  He had a wonderful personality, if he felt like it , he would meow back a good morning.   As a regular morning walker I miss him. " (She added, much to my delight: "Keep up the Library Story, maybe we can get our name back?")
2. "We always made the time to stop by and see Belin each time we came to the gardens. Inside or outside, he always loved a good chin scratch and we loved giving him the attention. We were saddened today to find out he has crossed the rainbow bridge. We will miss you Belin, you were special!"
3. "Dear Belin, We will miss you. You were always there for us when we visited. Love,
MiMi and PaPa."

ARTISANS: Church of the Advent will host a fair

Episcopal Church of the Advent member Gaila Ciccarone wrote to me about an artisan fair that the church will be hosting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14: "The fair will showcase local artisans and their specialty creations including: handcrafted jewelry, sculpture and tile ceramics, fused glass pieces, custom painted furniture, original mixed media artwork and pottery, textiles, photography, and much more."
The artists will be at the event to discuss their work. Admission is free, and the church is at 401 N. Union St. in Kennett. The website is www.adventartisanfair.com. 

HADLEY: Elliot Engel will give a lecture on wine

Historian Elliot Engel is returning to Kennett Square on Saturday, Nov. 7, to give his 16th Hadley Fund lecture. This year he'll be talking about "The History and Mystery of Wine": "Dr. Engel will trace the phenomenal ancient origins of wine and continue the story through the wide and often wild popularity of wine today."
You may recall that last year Dr. Engel explained to us how Charles Dickens' "Christmas Carol" changed the modern conception of Christmas -- as well as the greeting card and publishing industries.
Professor Engel is an excellent speaker, with the impeccable timing of a stand-up comedian. He is also very popular, so I suggest getting to the talk early. It will start at 3 p.m. at Kennett Friends Meeting. As with all Hadley Fund programs, admission is free.