Book of the Week: Vivid depictions of subterranean
Underland By Robert Macfarlane (Non-fiction, 496 pages, 2019) There are few fears as universal as darkness and claustrophobia. Few concepts as alien as the geological timescale of the Earth. Few experiences as life changing as placing your palm against a hand-print older than your language. Robert Macfarlane, a renowned naturalist, explorer, and author, wrote Underland as a bridge between our shared myths of the...
City newsletter: Apply for state relief fund
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: FY21 proposed budget The proposed FY21 budget is available online at: concordnh.gov/ Archive.aspx?ADID=5027. This web page also includes links to the Finance Committee’s budget schedule. Main Street Relief Fund Pre-qualification Due...
Book of the Week: A riotous romp through space
Gideon the Ninth (Locked Tomb Trilogy Book 1) By Tamsyn Muir (Sci-fi/fantasy, 448 pages, 2019) Gideon is a sassy, sword-wielding ward of the desolate Ninth House. She is desperate to break free of her imprisonment and be anywhere else in the solar system, so she can kick butt, win glory, and flirt with other lady knights in peace. Harrowhawk Nonagesimus, heir to the Ninth House and a prodigy who can summon legions of the undead from...
Making Good Health Simple: The plank
With gyms closed and at least some social distancing precautions expected to continue through the summer, it might be hard to keep up the routines you are used to doing. However, it is still important to stay active for a healthy body and mind. Instructors from 43 Degrees North will be sharing quick exercises with the Insider that you can do at home. The Plank It’s one of my favorite exercises because you can do it anytime and...
Kindness Challenge: Teachers go above and beyond
There are so many people going above and beyond for others right now that it’s hard to choose who to focus on first. As the end of the school year is approaching and teachers have worked harder than ever during remote learning, it seemed like a good time to tell stories about local teachers who are showing kindness in action. The stories about these teachers have one thing in common. They all go “above and beyond.” I hope these...
This week in Concord history
May 27, 2003: Daniel Littlefield of Meredith goes to trial in Belknap County Superior Court on charges he killed a 69-year-old Bedford man, John Hartman, in a hit-and-run boat crash last summer on Lake Winnipesaukee. May 27, 2001: Families from all over New England descend on Wilmot’s Eagle Pond Lodge Conference Center for the sixth annual Half Moon Sober Festival, an event dedicated to the proposition that you don’t need alcohol to...
Poem: Life from our Past
It is that fleeting glimpse, of life from our past, we so deeply desire, these thoughts to last. Nostalgia can be an old friend, easily awakened without a thought, an elusive memory from childhood, you didn’t realize you sought. Perhaps a conversation or visit, or the scent of pine from the forest, will rekindle those memories, that have remained dormant at rest. These memories are welcome, for they return like an old friend, time...
Looking back: A trip down North Main
Please take a trip back in time with me to North Main Street. This is a photograph of North Main Street in Concord. The photographer stood over a century ago on North Main Street looking south towards our downtown. He was close to where now are traffic lights at the intersection of 393 and North Main in the middle of the road. Some perspective for your enjoyment: The first house on the left is the present day Carrigan House, the large...
Theme days
It seems as though we’re headed to a socially distant summer, and while some places are beginning to open up, people will likely be spending more time at home compared to past years. Here’s a brainstorm of ways you can have fun this summer at home or in your neighborhood. Do you have any other suggestions? Send us an email at news@theconcordinsider.com. Field Day Divide your family and/or close neighbors into teams, maybe with...
Parade for parents
Mother’s Day at Presidential Oaks usually means lots of happenings: families enjoying a buffet breakfast with Mom or taking her out for lunch or stopping by to visit with an array of gifts. However, with the suspension of visitation due to COVID-19, none of those usual Mother’s Day activities was possible. Despite the pandemic, Presidential Oaks staff still wanted to be sure Mother’s Day was just as special. A vehicle parade was held...
Look back: Remembering the ‘unknown’ soldiers
As I walk the Blossom Hill Cemetery this brisk day, I stop to reflect on those less fortunate. My thoughts are with those that have perished tragically in a time of war, just 11 young men. No different than our very own brothers, sons and fathers. Just eleven young men that enlisted with a passion to defend our country and speak for those less fortunate and oppressed. It is a very special monument where I somberly reflect today for it...
Poem: Once a family
Where there was once a family, there is none, at this simple family cemetery, on a hill under the sun. Their years were lived, on a nearby farm a century ago, much like families today, it was great love they did know. There were trials and tribulations, with the family that once lived near, as the years claimed each, no one left to tear. The old headstones casting shadows, askew with moss...
This week in Concord History
May 20, 1927: Filing his nationally syndicated column from Concord, humorist Will Rogers writes: “No attempts at jokes today. A slim, tall, bashful, smiling American boy is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, where no lone human being has ever ventured before. He is being prayed for to every kind of Supreme Being that has a following. If he is lost it will be the most universally regretted loss we ever had.” The next day, that American...
Book of the Week: A YA must read
Alanna; The First Adventure By Tamora Pierce (Young adult fantasy, 288 pages, 2010) Currently on Libby for audiobook download A must-read for budding fantasy readers, this is the first in a series weaving rich tapestries of magic and human nature in the fantastical Kingdom of Tortall. This captivating book chronicles the adventures, mishaps, and learnings of Alanna, a young girl yearning to become a knight of the...
Author event: Before and after society falters
Two New Hampshire authors visit Gibson’s Bookstore virtually to discuss their new spring books on Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m. Anthony Caplan presents Yet Today, a novel about normal people pushed to the brink while society functions, and Sam Kench, presenting The Fall of Polite, about New Hampshire families and characters struggling in lawlessness after society falls. Gibson’s will be hosting Caplan and Kench via Zoom...
City newsletter: Golf returns, survey for businesses
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Beaver Meadow reopens Beaver Meadow Golf Course is reopened on Monday, May 11, with guidelines in place to provide a safe and enjoyable experience to guests. Please see their website for more information bmgc.golf. Other updates will be...
It’s time to get scoopin’
It’s finally getting to that time of year when more days are warm than cold (despite what Saturday’s snowfall would have you believe). With temperatures on the rise, that can only mean one thing: ice cream season. Greater Concord area scoopers are opening their windows to all those in search of a delicious cone or sundae. Just a reminder: Like most everything these days, hours and availability are subject to change, be sure to call in...
Children’s book: A bit o’ fun from DePaola
Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato Written and illustrated by Tomie DePaola (32 pages, 1992, children’s fiction) There is nothing like a tale told by Tomie DePaola with its distinct illustrations and lively tone. You’ll find yourself speaking with an Irish brogue as you read this fun tale aloud about “Jamie O’Rourke the laziest man in all of Ireland.” Now Jamie’s poor overworked wife is in bed and can’t get up, so it is up to Jamie to...
Book review: Get swept away by great storytelling
The Name of the Wind By Patrick Rothfuss (Fantasty, 722 pages, 2008) Currently on Libby as e-book As the roads become dangerous and foreign threats turn soldiers to mercenaries, a new menace stumbles upon the sleepy village of Newarre. But was it perhaps drawn there, seeking out a kingkiller in hiding? A bloodless, powerful man who has fought with angels? Quiet innkeeper Kvothe may be more than he appears to the village...
Book review: A WWII tale
The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir By Jennifer Ryan (Fiction, 371 pages, 2017) It is March 1940 during World War II in the English countryside, and the vicar has closed the choir because the men in the choir have gone to war. But the women start up the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, led by the free-spirited Miss Prim. This story is told through different characters’ letters and journals. Mrs. Tilling’s son has gone to fight and she must give...
Book of the Week: A modern fable
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse By Charlie Mackesy (Fable, 128 pages, 2019) In a world today that is full of uncertainty and confusion it is welcoming to read a book about friendship and love. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a well written short story to help us escape reality even if it’s just for a short period of time. This book follows the lives of four not so typical friends who spend time on a...
This week in Concord history
May 13, 2003: In a bold move, the Senate Judiciary Committee strips the parental notification provision from the House parental notification bill and instead passes an amended bill that outlines the required counseling a minor must receive before she can have an abortion. May 13, 2000: Although mourning the death of Adam Petty the day before, drivers and race officials at New Hampshire International Speedway make clear the show...
Volunteers shop for seniors, load on bus
For Concord Senior Transit and Rural Transportation Services going with the flow these days means transporting groceries instead of seniors. Cindy Yanski, the regional mobility manager, she it reminds her of the scene near the end of the Lord Of The Rings when Sam has to carry Frodo. “I can’t carry it for you, Mr. Frodo, but I can carry you!” he says. Well, the bus can’t carry its seniors but it can carry their shopping lists and...
Entertainment
The Screen Red River Theatres is working with Magnolia Pictures so filmgoers can watch independent movies at home. Here’s a look at the current offerings. Ticket prices average about $12. Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (R) The Whistlers (Not Rated) Extra Ordinary (R) Best of CatVideoFest: Creature Comforts Edition (Not Rated) Sorry We Missed You (Not Rated) The Booksellers (Not Rated) Saint Frances (Not Rated) The...
Neighborhood scavenger hunt
Staying at home and social distancing is a good time to look for those things we often see, but don’t always observe. So, while you’re out in your neighborhood taking a walk to enjoy the spring sunshine, here’s something of a scavenger hunt. What can you find close to home? Give it a good study and have a little fun. A tree that grows fruit A blue truck A four-leaf clover A basketball hoop A birding singing out A flower that is...
City newsletter: Parking garages get cleaned-up
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Parking garage updates Beginning earlier this week, the city’s contractor will begin demolition of the concrete plaza located near Warren Street and the South Stair Tower. The work will take approximately five to seven business days to...
Did N.H. soldier acquire Confederate gold?
The winter snow was melting, the cold water flowing freely along in the brook. After a long winter the spring of 1865 finally arrived and the conflicts between the Union and Confederate soldiers seemed to be concluding. Some of the last Confederate soldiers left were scouring the cities for valuables as others were simply pleased to quietly leave the north and return to what might be left of their homes in the south. A detail of...
This week in Concord history
May 6, 2003: Gov. Craig Benson appoints a 12-person task force to determine whether the Old Man of the Mountain should be reborn as a plaster of Paris, rubber or granite version of its former self. Benson says the Old Man of the Mountain Revitalization Task Force will explore what should be done to best memorialize the New Hampshire icon, which fell from its Franconia Notch perch sometime last weekend. May 6, 2003: An elderly...
Book of the week: Fantasy novel deals with real emotions of teens
Princess Academy By Shannon Hale (Fantasy, age 10 and up/ 314 pages/2005) Miri is a 14-year-old girl who lives in the remote quarry community of Mount Eskel. Everyone is shocked when a messenger from the king arrives to tell the village the crown prince’s future bride will come from their small village. Due to Mount Eskel’s low status, a princess academy is formed to train each potential bride. All the girls must now deal with...
Book review: Is relationship worth the work to repair?
Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay in or Get Out of Your Relationship By Mira Kirshenbaum (nonfiction/308 pages/1997) Wondering if you should stay in your relationship or leave? Things just aren’t what they used to be, and you don’t know if working on it will help. Maybe you’ve been trying to work on it, but things just haven’t changed. This book...
