UNIONVILLE: Anniversary service

Unionville Presbyterian Church, 815 Wollaston Road, will be celebrating its 175th anniversary with a traditional Kirkin' o' the Tartan Worship Service starting at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 5. Guests are asked to bring or wear their family tartan "if you have one." The first Kirkin' ceremony in America can be traced back to a service held at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., in 1941; the minister, the Rev. Dr. Peter Marshall, was originally from Coatbridge, Scotland, and served as Chaplain of the U.S. Senate.

AVONDALE: Celebrity sighting?

As I was leaving Perkins the other night I couldn't help staring at a customer getting out of his Saab: he was a dead ringer for comedian Larry David. Same glasses, same hair, same build, same way of moving. He was wearing a white jacket with a black diamond on the back, like a harlequin pattern, and was carrying a big bag over his shoulder.
When I got home I checked online to see if he might be in the area but found no info. Nor could I track down his distinctive jacket: Googling "black diamond jacket" just directs to you a lot of skiing outfitters, and apparently would-be customers are more interested in seeing what the front of a jacket looks like than the back.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Honoring Civil War veterans

A West Marlborough neighbor has been quietly looking after the old Mount Olive AME Church cemetery on Upland Road, where several African-American Civil War soldiers are buried.
He has run into a problem and asked me if I could help. It seems there are two massive dead oak trees on the property that need to be taken down. If left to fall on their own, one will hit a house and the other will go across the road. 
He has gotten a quote from tree surgeon Dean Madsen of $3,000 to take down both trees, which he considers more than fair, considering that a crane will need to be brought in.
My neighbor, who wants to remain anonymous, wonders if there is any interest among our wealthy community in helping to fund this project and preserving the historic site and the memory of these brave veterans.
"I just want to get this done," he said.
Please contact me at uvilleblogger@gmail.com and I can put you in touch with him.

ULTA: No more trips to Concord Pike

According to a hand-written cardboard sign in the front window, the new Ulta Beauty store in the Longwood shopping center will open on Friday, May 3. I am rationing my shampoo until then because Ulta is one of the few places that carries my brand; for some diabolical marketing reason, it isn't available online.

BINGO: Winners and losers

We spent Saturday evening at a charity bingo competition at a church in Westtown.
It's amazing, the power of a simple bingo card. Across the table from us was a sophisticated, urbane guy who, during the week, jets around solving high-stakes problems for corporations. After a seemingly endless streak of non-winning cards, he started wailing, "I'm a loser! Loser!" and making an L-shape (designating "Loser") with his thumb and forefinger.
Another intensely frustrated man at our table would mutter, "No! no!" every time the caller announced a number that didn't help his cause. When he finally scored a bingo, we were all relieved.
Trading of prizes was encouraged. Dearest Partner swapped some pineapple-scented towelettes for a set of BBQ tools (he doesn't wear makeup; she doesn't have a grill), and I was happy to accept three boxes of Fourth of July sparklers from a woman who says they make her nervous. My $10 Wawa gift card was not a candidate for swapping.
One man won five bingos and generously started giving his prizes to people who hadn't won. A horse trainer at our table ended up with a set of three little beanbags, opened the box and started juggling them expertly. Who knew?!