I'm always entertained by the chatter of the schoolkids in the Y locker room. The other day one girl was telling her friends that for English class, she was assigned to write about "something painful." She chose swim practice -- a perfectly valid topic, though probably not what the instructor intended. The teacher made the mistake of trying to correct the girl's swim-team jargon. The young athlete's description of her point-by-point rebuttal to the teacher (who sounded like an insufferable know-it-all) was devastating.
I'm encouraged by kids who display that sort of spunk.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Sunday, November 12, 2017
HOCKESSIN: Old meetinghouse photos
Hockessin Friends Meetinghouse is holding a talk on Saturday, Nov. 18, about Charles S. Philips, who photographed Quaker meetinghouses, other buildings and landscapes in New Castle, Chester, and Delaware counties in the 1890s. On Jan. 14, 1896, he visited Hockessin Friends Meeting.
Pamela Powell, photo archivist at the Chester County Historical Society, will present a slide show of images by Philips from the historical society's collection.
Potluck supper is at 6 p.m., with the program to follow at 7 p.m.
The meeting's 2018 calendar, "Quiet Shelter: Selected Photographs of Friends Meetinghouses by Charles S. Philips,” will be available to purchase for $20. The cover features an image of Hockessin Meeting from the CCHS collection. The calendar is a fundraiser for the renovations of the meeting's First Day School classrooms.
Hockessin Friends Meeting is at 1501 Old Wilmington Road.
HAMLET: The play's the thing
Leave it to the courageous actors at Unionville High School to take on "Hamlet" as their fall play. We had never before seen senior Suchi Jain, who played the lead role, on the UHS stage and greatly admired her intensity and her command of the language (not to mention her fencing skills).
Sophomore Rachel Tierney played Ophelia, and she did a great job with the "mad scene," staggering painfully around the stage wearing only one shoe.
The lighting, designed by Jonathan Chidekel, was striking, especially in the opening scene, when a spotlight narrowed in to highlight the telling detail of Claudius and Gertrude's clasped hands.
The curtain call was funny: everyone reverted to being smiling high school kids only seconds after the last scene, where pretty much everyone dies violently.
Hearing the Bard's words reminded me of the play's many contributions to our language -- to name just a few, "neither a borrower nor a lender be," "ay, there's the rub," "to thine own self be true," and "there's method in his madness."
Sophomore Rachel Tierney played Ophelia, and she did a great job with the "mad scene," staggering painfully around the stage wearing only one shoe.
The lighting, designed by Jonathan Chidekel, was striking, especially in the opening scene, when a spotlight narrowed in to highlight the telling detail of Claudius and Gertrude's clasped hands.
The curtain call was funny: everyone reverted to being smiling high school kids only seconds after the last scene, where pretty much everyone dies violently.
Hearing the Bard's words reminded me of the play's many contributions to our language -- to name just a few, "neither a borrower nor a lender be," "ay, there's the rub," "to thine own self be true," and "there's method in his madness."
Saturday, November 11, 2017
KENNETT: The Charge of the Light Parade
The annual Christmas parade (officially the "Kennett Square Holiday Light Parade") in downtown Kennett will be held on Friday, Nov. 24 (the day after Thanksgiving). It is always an absolute hoot, with impressively decorated farm equipment, fire engines, and work trucks. The competition among farms gets quite heated, with more elaborate light displays and juicier generators each year. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, too, usually in an antique car.
The parade gets under way at 6:15 p.m. According to Historic Kennett Square, it starts at Center Street and heads east on State Street (against traffic flow) before turning onto South Broad Street.
WEEDS: Green Grazer Goats
A loyal Tilda reader was intrigued by an advertisement he saw for Green Grazer Goats, a Lincoln University farm that rents out its herd of 32 goats to serve as efficient, economical and eco-friendly weed-eaters.
The ad points out that goats can clear noxious vegetation like poison ivy, kudzu, and wild rose and can access hillsides and irregular terrain that heavy equipment can't.
The goat owners bring the goats to your property, set up temporary electric fencing to keep them corralled, and visit often to monitor their progress. They also provide shelter, vitamins and minerals for them.
Green Grazer Goats is on Facebook (the videos of the goats at work are impressive!), and the phone number is 484-643-6939.
The ad points out that goats can clear noxious vegetation like poison ivy, kudzu, and wild rose and can access hillsides and irregular terrain that heavy equipment can't.
The goat owners bring the goats to your property, set up temporary electric fencing to keep them corralled, and visit often to monitor their progress. They also provide shelter, vitamins and minerals for them.
Green Grazer Goats is on Facebook (the videos of the goats at work are impressive!), and the phone number is 484-643-6939.
CHADDS FORD: Upscale Mexican food
For this week's date night we made our first visit to Agave Mexican Cuisine in Chadds Ford, which opened earlier this year. The interior is very attractive, with soothing lighting; you'd never know it used to be a Wawa. As soon as we sat down, a server brought us water in a thick glass decanter; soon after, chips and zingy green salsa appeared.
Our food arrived very quickly. My trio of shrimp tacos ($16) came in a clever zig-zag holder that kept them standing upright. They were excellent, and I liked the novelty of having a whole leaf of lettuce rather than the usual shreds. My date, in a red-meat mood, ordered a ribeye steak with cactus and mushrooms ($27); he gave me a bite or two and it was really good.
The parking lot was full, but because the dining room is spacious, it didn't feel crowded at all. At the table next to us was a family with two school-age kids, but most of our fellow diners were couples and friends.
Agave is a BYO, and many people were drinking their own wine, hard cider, and beer (the restaurant also offers tequila mixes). One diner brought a selection of beer for his party in a wooden carrier that reminded my date of his UHS wood-shop project.
Agave is at 1620 Baltimore Pike, catty-cornered from Hank's diner.
Our food arrived very quickly. My trio of shrimp tacos ($16) came in a clever zig-zag holder that kept them standing upright. They were excellent, and I liked the novelty of having a whole leaf of lettuce rather than the usual shreds. My date, in a red-meat mood, ordered a ribeye steak with cactus and mushrooms ($27); he gave me a bite or two and it was really good.
The parking lot was full, but because the dining room is spacious, it didn't feel crowded at all. At the table next to us was a family with two school-age kids, but most of our fellow diners were couples and friends.
Agave is a BYO, and many people were drinking their own wine, hard cider, and beer (the restaurant also offers tequila mixes). One diner brought a selection of beer for his party in a wooden carrier that reminded my date of his UHS wood-shop project.
Agave is at 1620 Baltimore Pike, catty-cornered from Hank's diner.
WALMART: A careful clerk
This week's customer service shout-out goes to Trevor, a checkout clerk at the Kennett Walmart. My oddly assorted purchases the other night included a loaf of bread, a bath mat and knitting needles. Trevor made a point of fitting them all into my shopping bag with meticulous care, even wrapping the bath mat around the bread, so that nothing got crushed, torn, or punctured. Thank you!
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