On Nov. 9 three friends and I went to hear a performance by guitarist Adrian Legg at the Kennett Flash.
Before I talk about Adrian, I want to say what a great, relaxed, intimate venue the Flash is. We were up the balcony (it's only up a few steps), which is furnished with comfortable black couches, so you can stretch out like you're at a Roman banquet or a VIP lounge. The Flash even offers food service: we had a hamburger and a chicken Caesar salad, both tasty.
Now on to Adrian, an endearing 68-year-old great-grandfather from London who was not only an amazing musician but a hilarious storyteller. He plays a customized guitar and coaxes from it wonderful, soothing melodies of the sort that are regularly featured on 88.5 WXPN's "Echoes" program. He adjusts his guitar's tuning on the fly, and the observant guitarist in our party noted that the tuning pegs are pointed down, like a banjo's.
We never knew where his stories would end up. In one of them, he told us about how it's a good thing that the blues got started in America because it never would have gotten any traction in England. Had a blues musician in Britain bemoaned the fact that "I woke up this morning and my woman did me wrong," "someone would have said, 'oh, you poor chap, come in and have a cup of tea,' and boom! that would have been the end of it."
In another story he said whenever he is expecting a delivery through the mail and it's taking too long, he has developed a sure-fire way to guarantee that it will arrive: he gets into the bathtub and soaps up and just when he reaches "peak lather," his mailman, Aidan, is sure to show up.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
SURGERY: Where's Diana?
I'm guessing regular patrons of the Kennett Square post office have been wondering where their friendly postal worker Diana has been. Here's your answer: she had rotator cuff surgery three weeks ago and is taking time off to recover.
I was delighted to see her pedaling away on a recumbent bike at the Kennett Y on Nov. 11 and asked her how things were going.
Very well, she said, although her shoulder is still quite painful. She's been going faithfully to physical therapy sessions at the Premier facility on McFarlan Road, where they give her a rigorous workout. She still can't lift her arm above her shoulder, so she has to recruit her husband or her son to do her hair (her son does a better job, she says). She still has to wear a brace on her right arm, although she'd temporarily removed it while on the exercise bike.
She doesn't think she'll be returning to the post office until at least the end of the year, she said, because she needs to be able to lift 70 pounds. In the meantime, she's watching Hallmark TV and reading Nora Roberts books.
I was delighted to see her pedaling away on a recumbent bike at the Kennett Y on Nov. 11 and asked her how things were going.
Very well, she said, although her shoulder is still quite painful. She's been going faithfully to physical therapy sessions at the Premier facility on McFarlan Road, where they give her a rigorous workout. She still can't lift her arm above her shoulder, so she has to recruit her husband or her son to do her hair (her son does a better job, she says). She still has to wear a brace on her right arm, although she'd temporarily removed it while on the exercise bike.
She doesn't think she'll be returning to the post office until at least the end of the year, she said, because she needs to be able to lift 70 pounds. In the meantime, she's watching Hallmark TV and reading Nora Roberts books.
GOODBYE: Final issue of Horse of DelVal
Well, this is a bummer: "The Horse of Delaware Valley" has published its final issue. The equestrian tabloid's December issue says "Thanks for the Memories" on page 1, along with thumbnails of 15 covers from the past. Its website says, "We wish you the best" but gives no reason for the abrupt closing.
It was always funny to watch people pulling the newspaper out of their post office box at Unionville and immediately opening to page 2 to see if their photograph was there. Page 2 was reserved for shots of spectators and participants at horse events (bonus points if you were blonde, wearing a smart hat, carrying a cute dog or kissing your pony).
There were pages of full-color real estate ads featured gorgeous bucolic farms. Sometimes the locations were described using an insular shorthand like "Tuesday country" (translation for baffled outsiders: the areas where Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds hunt on Tuesdays).
Sorry to see another publication go by the wayside.
It was always funny to watch people pulling the newspaper out of their post office box at Unionville and immediately opening to page 2 to see if their photograph was there. Page 2 was reserved for shots of spectators and participants at horse events (bonus points if you were blonde, wearing a smart hat, carrying a cute dog or kissing your pony).
There were pages of full-color real estate ads featured gorgeous bucolic farms. Sometimes the locations were described using an insular shorthand like "Tuesday country" (translation for baffled outsiders: the areas where Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds hunt on Tuesdays).
Sorry to see another publication go by the wayside.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
WEST MARLBOROUGH: A great afternoon
We had a wonderful time Sunday at the 82nd running of the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup races here in glorious West Marlborough.
When you're outside for the afternoon, the weather matters, and this year it couldn't have been better: it was wonderfully warm for early November, although on the top of the hill where we were parked it was windy enough to blow over our folding chairs (but nothing like the memorable wind a few years ago that blew over the portable toilets).
We caught up with lots of friends and neighbors, ate fried chicken and way too many desserts, said hi to lots of dogs (a big brown Newfoundland was my favorite this year), and cheered for the jockeys we knew.
This year a couple of friends from Kimberton were participating in the carriage parade, so we stopped by to visit and got a close-up look at the carriages, among them some grand four-in-hands and some simple and completely charming pony carts, with everyone in elegant costumes. Our friends told us that everyone met up at New Bolton Center, then drove their carriages over to Wayne and Marjorie Grafton's farm and then on to the Hunt Cup.
The sidesaddle race was great fun to watch, and I marvelled at the skill and grit of the ladies -- and one gentleman -- who participated. Afterward we saw our friend and physician Dr. Mary-Anne Ost, a sidesaddle enthusiast herself, and she said she hopes the sidesaddle event becomes a regular feature on the Hunt Cup race card.
When you're outside for the afternoon, the weather matters, and this year it couldn't have been better: it was wonderfully warm for early November, although on the top of the hill where we were parked it was windy enough to blow over our folding chairs (but nothing like the memorable wind a few years ago that blew over the portable toilets).
We caught up with lots of friends and neighbors, ate fried chicken and way too many desserts, said hi to lots of dogs (a big brown Newfoundland was my favorite this year), and cheered for the jockeys we knew.
This year a couple of friends from Kimberton were participating in the carriage parade, so we stopped by to visit and got a close-up look at the carriages, among them some grand four-in-hands and some simple and completely charming pony carts, with everyone in elegant costumes. Our friends told us that everyone met up at New Bolton Center, then drove their carriages over to Wayne and Marjorie Grafton's farm and then on to the Hunt Cup.
The sidesaddle race was great fun to watch, and I marvelled at the skill and grit of the ladies -- and one gentleman -- who participated. Afterward we saw our friend and physician Dr. Mary-Anne Ost, a sidesaddle enthusiast herself, and she said she hopes the sidesaddle event becomes a regular feature on the Hunt Cup race card.
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