Travel – Tue, 22 Nov 2011
Linda Fanny of Concord boarding the Orient Express in Prague with her Concord Insider.
Concord feeds the needy with gingerbread houses
Pleasant View Retirement held a Gingerbread Showcase last weekend. The retirement home was transformed into an enchanted gingerbread forest. At the center of it all were gingerbread houses created by the community.
Book of the week
For more information about the Concord Public Library, visit concordpubliclibrary.net.Caveat EmptorRuth Downie2011, 338 pagesFictionGaius Petreius Ruso, a medical man from Rome, arrives back in Britannia with his wife, Tilla, who is a midwife and originally from Britannia. Ruso is asked by his friend, Valens, to find a missing tax man and his brother, who disappeared with the tax money from the town of Verulamium. Ruso protests that...
Baskets for the needy
Inpiduals, friends and families are needed to volunteer with the sorting, packing and distribution of more than 70 tons of non-perishable food for the Capital Region Food Program's 2011 Holiday Food Basket Project.Since 1974, the HFBP has provided food to families and inpiduals for a special holiday meal and an additional two to three weeks. In 2010, more than 2,530 families throughout the Concord and 17 surrounding communities...
Handmade for the holidays
If it were up to Alison Murphy, she would have opened a holiday boutique showcasing items made by local artists last winter. Concord, though, may not have been fully prepared.But it is now.Murphy's dream ultimately came to fruition with the Nov. 1 opening of Concord Handmade, a pop-up holiday shop at 1 S. Main St. featuring items from as many as 70 New England artists, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.With CATCH...
Take a seat on a couch or three with Chuck
Name: Chuck MarshallTitle: Owner, Chuck's Used FurnitureHow long have you been in business?This is my 20th year. I was on Manchester Street for 10 years, and I've been here (on S. State Street) for 10 years.What led you to start a used furniture store?I was a store manager in Plattsburgh, N.Y., with Ames, I was 47 at the time and I was tired of it. I went from 100 employees to a couple off and on.What's the weirdest item...
Ken Tewksbury teaches us a lesson about pool
Any business that encourages one to “beat people with a stick” is certain to draw The Insider's attention. So The Institute of Billiard Sciences – which offers such a proclamation on its exterior sign – understandably found a spot directly in our crosshairs.There's no fighting involved, though. Only focus, as master instructor Ken Tewksbury spends his time training students on the nuances of billiards...
The Grammarnator finds a number (one) of mistakes
Since Mother's Day is just around the corner (after all, “if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”), the Grammarnator has decided to pay tribute to his mother-in-law by noting that her own personal pet language peeve popped up last week when the Food Snob referred to “the amount of free lunches we would receive” had the Snob gone into politics. Just as the Grammarnator abhors confusion between less and...
Keith’s not too cool for pool school
In my time here at the Insider, I've been something of a human guinea pig, trying mostly things I'm not particularly good at. I had never taken a yoga class before the one I wrote about on these pages, and I consider myself among the world's worst dancers, even after completing a square dancing class.But guess what? I may be even worse at billiards than all the other ventures combined.I know, I know, you're rolling...
Wrap stars
Concord Hospital is looking for volunteer gift wrappers to help during Main Street Concord's Midnight Merriment on Dec. 2. Please consider joining other Concord Hospital volunteers and wrap for a cause as part of the Spirit of Giving holiday campaign. All donations received for gift wrapping services directly benefit charity care at Concord Hospital Family Health Centers in Concord and Hillsboro-Deering.Volunteers are needed...
The Insider’s Guide to United Way Giving
Hey, Concord. It's that time of year again – time to get into the spirit of giving. So many of us take our basic necessities for granted, so it's easy to forget that there are those out there who struggle every day to afford such basic things as clothes and food. With the help of Val Guy at Granite United Way, we've compiled a list of New Hampshire charities that need your help this holiday season. With a little...
City Briefly
Each week, City Manager Tom Aspell sneaks out to the Route 3 corridor project, makes sure no one is looking and scratches out a city memo in the drying cement. This week, we acted as lookout and then transcribed it here for you.Trash talkSchedule changesThere will be no trash or recycling collection Nov. 24, Aspell writes. The upcoming trash and recycling collection will occur as follows: Thursday's route will be picked up on...
Dancing with the Ball and Chain
Dear Casper and Bill,I've been dating a girl for a little over two months now, and things couldn't be better. She makes me laugh, she's super attractive, and we always have fun when we go out. But the other night we were out at a bar with some of her co-workers and she started mercilessly making fun of “Dancing with the Stars” – which has long been my secret guilty pleasure. I played along well enough,...
Do high hornets’ nests mean a snowy winter?
When my 10-year-old grandson, Jay, and I were hiking in the woods, we saw a white-faced hornet's nest high in a tree and several days later we had a 22 inch snowfall. This made me think of the ancient adage, “See how high the hornet's nest; 'twill tell how high the snow will rest.” This folk-lore reminds us how old-timers tried to find clues in nature to determine the severity of the forthcoming winter, but I...
The Food Snob joins the club at EJ’s On Main
The Food Snob was sad to see Nonni's vacate its home on Main Street. The brick oven pizza and lunch buffet were delightful. Nonetheless, when God closes a door, he opens a window. And, when he closes a restaurant, he often opens another restaurant in the exact same location. With the news that EJ's on Main would be replacing Nonni's in the Holiday Inn annex, the Snob geared up to find out what the new kid in town had on...
It’s always sunny in Michael Browning’s world
Each month, the Concord Young Professionals Network spotlights one of its up-and-comers. This month, we'd like to introduce you to a member of CYPN's marketing committee, Michael Browning.Hometown: Bow.Employer: Cobb Hill Construction.Title: Business development.Favorite food: Spaghetti and meatballs.Last movie watched: Ocean's 11.Favorite TV shows: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Castle.Favorite sports team: Boston...
This Week in Concord History
Nov. 22, 1963: New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's schedule for a three-day campaign visit to New Hampshire is on the front page of the Monitor, but the trip will be canceled because of the lead story of the day: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.Nov. 22, 1987: Jack Germond, syndicated columnist, visiting the Monitor on the day after a convention at St. Anselm's College during which the Democratic presidential...
Concord feeds the needy with gingerbread houses
Pleasant View Retirement held a Gingerbread Showcase last weekend. The retirement home was transformed into an enchanted gingerbread forest. At the center of it all were gingerbread houses created by the community.
