I am always the last to hear about trends, so perhaps "Trapped in a Room With a Zombie" will not be news to you. A Unionville mother and her daughter were telling me about it at breakfast on Friday, and as best I can figure out it's a sort of audience-participation murder-mystery event for the video-game crowd.
After you buy your ticket, you and a group of strangers are escorted into a room where an actor dressed as a zombie is chained to a wall (now there's a resume builder).
You have an hour to escape, and to do so you must solve cascading puzzles and riddles that allow you to unlock padlocks, open safes, locate keys and such.
I asked for an example and my friend recalled that there was a piece of cloth with holes in it that, held over a sheet of numbers, highlighted the ones that formed a lock's combination. In another case, a rebus showed a web plus a hand stirring something -- which meant the next clue could be found in the Webster's Dictionary!
(Thankfully, there are staffers on hand to offer assistance for the less clever.)
Meanwhile, every five minutes the zombie's chains grow by a link, allowing him to get closer to the participants' brains and doubtless increasing their motivation to escape.
My friends did this in California, and obviously they managed to escape, but they say there's also one of these events in Philadelphia. What a fun birthday party it would be for the right person!
Saturday, November 22, 2014
LUNCH: Chicken salad sandwiches at the "Quaker Fare"
We just had a tasty meal at the Kennett Friends Meeting's "Quaker Fare" luncheon. Their chicken salad is always the best, and the cranberry salad, mushroom soup, and apple crisp were excellent too. They seemed to have a good turnout--we recognized several Quakers from Kennett and London Grove, including Pat Horrocks, Jessie Cocks, Betsy Walker and Jean Tennant-- and as we walked in we were greeted by our pal Lars Farmer, who did a great job of publicizing the event.
GRATITUDE: A shout-out to my wonderful readers
With the approach of Thanksgiving, I want to express my gratitude to my readers and to my family, friends, neighbors, gym mates, Facebook friends, and total strangers who contribute "Tilda items" to this column, willingly or not. I try really hard to feature in "Unionville in the News" as many different circles of our community as I can, and I absolutely couldn't do it without your help.
I also greatly appreciate all your nice comments about the column over the years (I started writing it in 2007). As you can probably tell, I have a lot of fun with it.
I also greatly appreciate all your nice comments about the column over the years (I started writing it in 2007). As you can probably tell, I have a lot of fun with it.
LOCKDOWN: Bomb threats disrupt the day at school
I overheard some local schoolgirls talking the other day about the bomb threats at their school (they didn't say which). The threats seem to have become frequent, so much so that the girls seemed completely unfazed about the situation. Their main concern seemed to how the lockdowns and searches wreak havoc with their classes and their lunch.
I suppose it's the equivalent of the "duck-and-cover" atomic bomb drills they had in schools during the Cold War, but there was nothing like that in my generation.
I suppose it's the equivalent of the "duck-and-cover" atomic bomb drills they had in schools during the Cold War, but there was nothing like that in my generation.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
THE LOOK: And yet I can't help wondering, what does she look like?
In recent days two women, on meeting me and learning that I write this column, have said that I didn't look the way they thought I would.
One said she thought I would be heavier, given the number of times I write about going out for meals and taking advantage of the food at parties and fundraisers. She's quite right, of course, but I also reminded her how often I write about my exercise classes!
Another woman told me she thought I'd be tall and blonde. I didn't get a chance to ask her what about my column made her think that, although no doubt there are a lot of tall, blonde (and skinny) women in Unionville.
For those of you who don't know me, I am not tall; in fact, the Young Relative points out regularly that he is now taller than I am even without his shoes on, and doubtless he will soon be towering over me.
As for the blonde part: those streaks in my hairdo were definitely not put there by nature.
One said she thought I would be heavier, given the number of times I write about going out for meals and taking advantage of the food at parties and fundraisers. She's quite right, of course, but I also reminded her how often I write about my exercise classes!
Another woman told me she thought I'd be tall and blonde. I didn't get a chance to ask her what about my column made her think that, although no doubt there are a lot of tall, blonde (and skinny) women in Unionville.
For those of you who don't know me, I am not tall; in fact, the Young Relative points out regularly that he is now taller than I am even without his shoes on, and doubtless he will soon be towering over me.
As for the blonde part: those streaks in my hairdo were definitely not put there by nature.
SPORTS: Pickleball is a hit at the Kennett Y
What is pickleball?
It's a game along the lines of tennis, played with oversized Ping Pong paddles. Three doubles matches were being played in the gymnasium at the Kennett YMCA the other day while I was walking around the track, and it looks like a great deal of fun. I spotted my gym friend Rita and her husband Felix welcoming players of all skill levels to the game.
I noticed that the game has an unusual scoring system, not the love-15-30-40 of tennis but a three-digit score, 9-1-2 for instance. I looked it up when I got home and found that the third digit denotes whether the server is the first or second server for his or her side.
The gymnasium is reserved for pickleball on Tuesdays and Thursdays at mid-day; check the schedule.
It's a game along the lines of tennis, played with oversized Ping Pong paddles. Three doubles matches were being played in the gymnasium at the Kennett YMCA the other day while I was walking around the track, and it looks like a great deal of fun. I spotted my gym friend Rita and her husband Felix welcoming players of all skill levels to the game.
I noticed that the game has an unusual scoring system, not the love-15-30-40 of tennis but a three-digit score, 9-1-2 for instance. I looked it up when I got home and found that the third digit denotes whether the server is the first or second server for his or her side.
The gymnasium is reserved for pickleball on Tuesdays and Thursdays at mid-day; check the schedule.
FIRE: Historic home gutted, tenants displaced
What a shame about the 1884 Chalfant House! The mansion, at 220 North Union Street in Kennett Square, went up in flames on Wednesday afternoon. Known for its imposing "upside-down chimneys," the house was designed by noted Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and built for Kennett businessman William Chalfant.
Fortunately no one was seriously hurt in the fire, and the four tenants (the house was divided into apartments) and their pets all escaped. A GoFundMe website (220 N .Union Street Fire Relief Fund) has been set up to help the victims, who lost all of their belongings. (I've contributed and I hope you will, too.)
Multiple local fire companies, including Longwood, Kennett, Po-Mar-Lin, Avondale, Oxford and Hockessin, were on the scene; in addition to the flames and smoke, these hardy firefighters had to cope with the strong winds and sub-freezing temperatures.
Two news helicopters were flying overhead, and people who live near the scene (including Kennett Square mayor Matt Fetick) posted their dramatic photos on social media.
As soon as I heard about the fire I turned to my copy of "Greetings from Kennett Square" by local historians Joe Lordi and Dolores Rowe. They describe the Queen Anne-style house as "magnificent" and say that the top-heavy chimneys "are thought to resemble early locomotive smoke stacks."
The house was an important work by Furness, who also designed the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts on North Broad Street in Philadelphia, the old library at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Wilmington train station.
I'm told that the house once was a funeral home, and there was still a crematorium in the basement. The house was on many summer walking tours of the borough and was slated to be on this year's candlelight tour as well.
Fortunately no one was seriously hurt in the fire, and the four tenants (the house was divided into apartments) and their pets all escaped. A GoFundMe website (220 N .Union Street Fire Relief Fund) has been set up to help the victims, who lost all of their belongings. (I've contributed and I hope you will, too.)
Multiple local fire companies, including Longwood, Kennett, Po-Mar-Lin, Avondale, Oxford and Hockessin, were on the scene; in addition to the flames and smoke, these hardy firefighters had to cope with the strong winds and sub-freezing temperatures.
Two news helicopters were flying overhead, and people who live near the scene (including Kennett Square mayor Matt Fetick) posted their dramatic photos on social media.
As soon as I heard about the fire I turned to my copy of "Greetings from Kennett Square" by local historians Joe Lordi and Dolores Rowe. They describe the Queen Anne-style house as "magnificent" and say that the top-heavy chimneys "are thought to resemble early locomotive smoke stacks."
The house was an important work by Furness, who also designed the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts on North Broad Street in Philadelphia, the old library at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Wilmington train station.
I'm told that the house once was a funeral home, and there was still a crematorium in the basement. The house was on many summer walking tours of the borough and was slated to be on this year's candlelight tour as well.
PENNOCKS: Quakerism and the Pennocks in Chester County
West Marlborough resident Mark Myers gave a fascinating talk at Primitive Hall on Wednesday night about the Pennocks (Joseph Pennock built the Hall in 1738) and Quaker life in eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century Pennsylvania. Mark lives in a house built by one of the Pennocks, serves on the Hall's board of trustees and has done a great deal of research on the family.
He started his talk-- held in the candlelit grand center hall--on an amusing note by asking for a show of hands: How many audience members were Pennock descendents? Several people raised their hands.
"OK," he said. "That helps me decide what I'm NOT going to talk about."
Mark discussed the basics of Quakerism like temperance and pacifism and how they shaped the lives of the Pennocks and other colonists: one Pennock was "eldered" for getting drunk at Darby Meeting, and others relinquished their roles in government rather than vote for military action.
Mark talked about Quakers during the Battle of the Brandywine (basically, neither the Americans nor the British trusted them), the Hicksite/Orthodox schism, and the differing Quaker perspectives on slavery. He also showed slides of suburban Philadelphia buildings that Joseph Pennock would have known, including the Chester courthouse, and photos of a half-dozen more recent Pennock descendants, including baseball great Herb Pennock.
He started his talk-- held in the candlelit grand center hall--on an amusing note by asking for a show of hands: How many audience members were Pennock descendents? Several people raised their hands.
"OK," he said. "That helps me decide what I'm NOT going to talk about."
Mark discussed the basics of Quakerism like temperance and pacifism and how they shaped the lives of the Pennocks and other colonists: one Pennock was "eldered" for getting drunk at Darby Meeting, and others relinquished their roles in government rather than vote for military action.
Mark talked about Quakers during the Battle of the Brandywine (basically, neither the Americans nor the British trusted them), the Hicksite/Orthodox schism, and the differing Quaker perspectives on slavery. He also showed slides of suburban Philadelphia buildings that Joseph Pennock would have known, including the Chester courthouse, and photos of a half-dozen more recent Pennock descendants, including baseball great Herb Pennock.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
KENNETT: Lunch and an art sale at two N. Union St. churches
Artist Patsy Keller alerted me to an "Artisan Fair" that the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Kennett Square will be holding from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 22. In addition to Patsy's fused glass (both art glass & jewelry), there will be works by a dozen other artists, including Hattie Weselyk's silver jewelry, Carol Apicella's mosaic mirrors, and Ray Parisi's photographs. Part of the proceeds will support the church’s outreach programs.
Also on Saturday, Nov. 22, and just a block away, is Kennett Friends Meeting's "Quaker Fare" luncheon to benefit the American Friends Service Committee. For $10 ($5 for kids) you get a chicken salad sandwich, mushroom soup, cranberry salad and other goodies. It runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
RESALE: Goodwill store is opening on November 28 next to Lowe's
A new Goodwill resale store and donation center is opening at 7 a.m. Nov. 28 next to the Lowe's home-improvement store in Avondale. The sign is already up, and the store is already full of clothes hung on racks, arranged by color. Some of my budget-minded friends are excited to have a Goodwill store so close. As for me, I'm more likely to drop off stuff I don't wear anymore -- which makes me happy, too.
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