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Local Life
Hill’s only former
Scotland Yard detective by LEN LEAR If they ever have a reunion of former Scotland Yard detectives who are now living in the Chestnut Hill area, it’s a pretty safe bet that silver-maned, distinguished-looking Anthony Watkins, 64, a Chestnut Hill resident for 20 years (Moreland Avenue), would be the only person showing up. Sherlock Holmes would never even make it over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Watkins, who recently moved to Andorra (although he’s still as much a part of the bar scene at Chestnut Grill and Solaris Grill as the furniture), is like the genie who can fit into any bottle. He grew up in a part of Wales where coal mining was pretty much the only occupation for young men. Most of his adult male relatives were coal miners, but Watkins was determined to avoid the soot and coal dust and black lung disease that attacked so many others, so he signed up for the British Navy at the age of 15. The hard-working teenage seaman eventually earned the right to take flight training,... A love of beauty blossoms
for Anne Hopkin by PAT STOKES During a recent conversation with friends, one suggested
that if more people all over the world had better access to art, music
and beauty in general, they might be less likely to participate in the
kind of ghastly goings-on we're hearing about these days. Bill Will, in
his wonderful poem (Chestnut Hill Local, May 13, page 4), hints at this:
that art and beauty are within us, while at the same time, the beauty
of the universe around us actually feeds and supports our appreciation
of it (needless to say, after the essentials are provided: food, water
and shelter). I was reminded of this point today, during my interview with the vivacious owner of Anne Hopkin Flowers, Anne herself. Her philosophy: to surround yourself with beautiful things that make you happy, and conversely, that happy people do (and make) beautiful things. As to the millions of individuals who will never have an opportunity to experience such delights, we have to recognize... Powerful images by Mt. Airy photographer now on exhibit by LEN LEAR Mt. Airy photographer Conrad Louis-Charles, 42, whose work
can currently be seen at InFusion Coffee and Tea Shop, 7133 Germantown
Ave., through June 27, is definitely in the major leagues. His poignant
images have been exhibited in galleries in Paris, Brazil, the Dominican
Republic, Japan and Old City Philadelphia, just to name a few. His stark
images of poverty, homeless children and others in obvious distress are
not for the faint of heart, but their poetic soulfulness lingers in the
mind like a rainbow. "I want to bring an awareness to what is happening
to street children in Brazil and eventually to street children in big
cities all over the world," explained Louis-Charles, 44, whose magazine
assignments have taken him all over the world. "I've driven around with social workers in Brazil. There is a lot of street crime... 'Mindless support for
president killed Nick Berg' by JIMMY J. PACK JR. It is not clear how this whole thing started, but the
conversations have been ongoing. From the offices of the Local to an outdoor
table at Solaris Grill to the deck of a friend where bottles of wine
and fresh-shaken Cosmopolitans are poured every 15 minutes. I can not get my mind off of the image of that 26-year-old
West Chester man, Nick Berg, sitting in a chair, a rope of beard connecting
his head of hair, shiny orange pseudo-prison garb, staring into his
very short future, glassy-eyed and forced to submit his name, his
family's name and place of residence to the microphone of a cheap
video recorder. Berg's story has saturated every news media outlet. People are sending and receiving the web video of Berg getting his head sawed off, literally, with a sharp knife. Everyone is outraged,... Brad Pitt 'Troy-umphant'; almost hits Homer by NATHAN LERNER Loosely inspired by The Iliad, the epic poem attributed to Homer, Troy recounts the tale of the Trojan War. Fought approximately 1250 B.C., the war pitted the unified Greek city-states against Troy, which was situated in Anatolia (modern day Turkey). In all likelihood, the long ago war was precipitated by a desire to control the Dardanelles, the strategic water passage, which connected the Black Sea with the Aegean. As depicted by director Wolfgang Peterson (Das Boot, A Perfect Storm) and screenwriter, David Bentioff (25th Hour) the events are driven by love, hubris and a quest for glory, thereby mirroring Homer's version. When Prince Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom) impetuously spirits away Helen (Diane Kruger), the beautiful wife of King Menelaus of Sparta (Brendan Gleeson), the plot is set into motion. King Menelaus convinces his brother, King Agamemnon of Mycenea (Brian Cox), to raise an army... |