A 10-minute drive south to Yankee Candle Village found that partially shut down. The former main building is closed and vacant, as is the popular Christmas Shop with its beautiful Christmas displays. However, the grounds with their many flowers are still well-kept. A former full-service restaurant has been replaced by a pizza parlor. I took a few photos around the reduced village which I added to the truck series. You can see it all at this link:
By the time I arrived, there were already a few dozen Model A's at the farm. More would arrive, and the final tally was 101, one more than their goal. Of course, I didn't photograph all of them, just a sampling of the more interesting in terms of condition, color, style, etc., at least in my opinion There were other makes, including several classics of the '30s through '50s that apparently belonged to the farm.
I don't have much information on the Bean Farm. It doesn't appear to be a working farm. There were no animals and no evidence of gardens. There was no admission charge, no one greeting car owners or spectators, no one directing traffic. Signs identified areas as "Old Car Parking" or "New Car Parking." A sale of raffle tickets was the only money collected. A large buffet was served, all free. That was unprecedented. I have never before found free food at a car show, or anywhere else for that matter.
The day was cool and overcast, but the rain held off until the show was over. You can view my coverage of this rather unusual event at this link:
March 26, 2023 — I had never been to the Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island. I was well-acquainted with the Audrain Automobile Museum in Newport and may have thought they were one and the same. But I learned the Newport Car Museum is actually in Portsmouth and is unrelated to the Audrain which I had visited many times. A friend had done a photo series on the museum in Portsmouth and I was impressed with the number and quality of cars there.
I found the Newport Car Museum's website and was further impressed by the stunning beauty of the cars. Unlike the Audrain which installs a whole new exhibit about every three months, the Newport exhibit is permanent with an occasional car added or a loaner returned to its owner. Many of its cars are loaned or donated. It typically features about ninety vehicles, all beautifully restored to their original new condition and artfully displayed in the spacious, well-lighted, very photogenic museum.
I didn't attempt to photograph all ninety of the cars at the Newport Car Museum, but selected something less than 60 of what I considered the finest. Hope you're as impressed as I was. You can see them at this link:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/newportmuseum/
My coverage of the Audrain Automobile Museum is at this link:
The play was "Breadcrumbs" by Jennifer Haley, directed by Catherine Stewart, first presented in three live performances at Capitol Center for the Arts on the Bank of NH Stage in Concord, New Hampshire, then live-streamed over the Internet.
The play jumps back and forth in time, a trend in drama and story-telling that seems to be increasing, but which I feel is being over-used and often confuses me, although I'll own up to being easily confused. But many times the story line doesn't make it clear which of its multiple time periods we're witnessing. But thanks to Tayva Young's ingenious use of lighting we're saved from becoming lost in time once you catch on to her technique. You can still get lost in this play, but being lost is part of the grim subject matter.
Alida (Katie Collins), a writer, has been diagnosed with dementia. Beth (Rachel Chapin) is a nurse's assistant assigned to Alida's care. Alida, already writing reminders on scraps of paper and occasionally groping for the correct word, is hoping Beth can help her write her life's story. Their relationship is not an easy one. Alida, living alone and always self-sufficient, is resentful and bad-tempered. She orders Beth out many times, repeatedly berating her for being late, lying, and having a disorganized personal life.
In flashbacks, signaled by a switch from color to black and white in the Internet version, Collins plays herself as a child and Chapin portrays Alida's' mother. This is what I meant by clearly identifying its place in time.
The two actors carry this play beautifully through its alternately heart-warming and heart-breaking progression. It has all the fine production values, direction and stagecraft we've come to expect from theatre KAPOW.
There was a replica of the 1886 3-wheel Benz, accurate in every detail, generally credited by automotive historians as the first automobile. Also among the rare vehicles were two V16s, a Cadillac and a Marmon, the only V16s ever produced.
I photographed every vehicle and motorcycle in the exhibit, with multiple views of several. You van see them at this link:
Historic snowstorms buried cities throughout the nation, notably in Ohio and western New York. Buffalo was covered in five feet of snow, paralyzing the city and resulting in about 30 deaths. While all this was going on, a warm front brought heavy rain and temperatures in the 50s up the east coast into New England on December 23. The next day, temperature fell off a cliff to single numbers with wind chills below zero. But highways were clear.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, in an abundance of caution I've been avoiding parties with large numbers of people in enclosed spaces. So rather than join my extended family at their Christmas party, I've stayed at my sister's house and we hook up with them over Skype. You can see my Skype setup and photos and videos with contributions from photographers at both locations at this link:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/christmas22/
Glass Dove Productions was presenting "A Safe Passage," Ireland-based playwright Irene Kelleher's fourth play. Catherine Stewart directed this performance. Tayva Young, whose work has enhanced so many theater KAPOW productions I've enjoyed, did the very effective lighting, an important part of this play. In fact, everyone deserves recognition for tackling the unique challenges of presenting a play in such a small space. Stage design and props were the responsibility of Quentin Stockwell. CJ Lewis was in charge of sound. Corrie Owens-Beauchesne was the stage manager.
The setting is a lighthouse on the Irish coast on New Years Eve, 1979. The cast consists of just two actors. Christy (Andrew Codispoti), a lighthouse keeper who has never gotten over a tragedy in his past, has only occasional radio contact with the shore to keep him company. He takes wind and other readings and reports conditions on the radio, makes notes in his log, paces around the realistic lighthouse on the Ring's small stage with the keeper's desk and communications equipment on one side, a spiral staircase, lanterns, trunks and other clutter scattered around. We have to imagine a view of the sea from one corner that Christy keeps returning to as a storm moves in. He also frequently stops at a small table on which a bottle of Jameson's Irish Whiskey and a glass sit. He examines some papers and pictures on the table, but doesn't drink.
A crash of thunder, flash of lightning and loss of lights plunges the stage and entire theater briefly into darkness, startling the audience. In a dim returning light, a woman (Emily Karel) can be seen standing outside the lighthouse. Christy shouts at her to get off the rocks where she's in grave danger. He finally gets her into the lighthouse. She's cold, wet, wearing rather sexy party attire. He offers her blankets and dry clothes which she refuses. She remains silent as he questions her as to how she got there, her name, her intentions. Could she have been planning suicide? How could that be? He suffered devastating loss but found the will to go on. He radios shore for emergency rescue. There's no response.
When the woman finally gets her voice, she taunts Christy. Their relationship immediately turns hostile. He begins to pour a glass of Jameson's for her, but she grabs the bottle and drinks directly from it. When she urges him to drink, he claims he never touches the stuff. Their conversation becomes increasingly contentious, sometimes leading to physical violence. Christy starts hitting the Jameson's. As I mentioned at the beginning, in the small confines of this theater, the audience almost becomes part of the action, especially with such convincing actors as Codispoti and Karel.
I'm reluctant to describe any more of this tense play for fear of lessening its impact on those who may see it. As Stewart, the director, puts it, when we invite a stranger into our lives our world can be turned upside down, in good or terrible ways.
