When Steve Kerr was in high school, he was honored at a Southern California basketball banquet, a rare occasion for the sharp-shooting but largely forgettable prep player. He attended with his mother.

The guest speaker was a tall, distinguished man whose intelligence and values shone through as he spoke to the audience about family and education and the values behind basketball.

Now that, Ann Kerr leaned over to tell her son, is the kind of coach I would love for you to play for.

Neither of them had an inkling at the time, but Kerr would, indeed, play for Lute Olson.

Olson, then coach at the University of Arizona, not only proved Ann Kerrs instincts correct in that he helped shape the course of her third-born, but he also provided a home and comfort to Steve when unimaginable tragedy shook the Kerr family. No mother could have predicted that.

Olson died in August at age 85 but is never far from Kerrs thoughts. On Tuesday, the Warriors head coach will honor Olson at the Game Changer awards. The annual event by Coaching Corps, a nonprofit that trains and supports youth coaches in underserved communities, will be held virtually this year.

I suppose everyone has these serendipitous meetings with people who change their lives, Kerr said, but this happened to be a really dramatic one. He completely changed the course of my entire life.

Kerr registered Olsons impressiveness at the banquet, but it wasnt until a few months later that Olson noticed Kerr. Olson had left Iowa to take the Arizona job, a program in disarray that went 4-24 the season before he got there.

Olson needed bodies and scrambled to find them; at a summer league tournament he became intrigued by a shooter nailing outside shots. Kerr had only one other scholarship offer from Cal State Fullerton and was contemplating trying to walk on at UC Santa Barbara. But Olson told the 18-year-old that he was interested.

But he was off recruiting and there were no cell phones, and I didnt hear from him, so I felt like I had to accept Fullerton, Kerr said.

His father, Malcolm, asked him where he really wanted to go. And when Kerr said Arizona, Malcolm followed up to see whether Olson was really interested. He was, Kerr was offered a scholarship and had to make the awkward call to decline Fullerton.

Sure, his mothers words about Olson resonated, but so did the allure of leaving Southern California, of playing in what was then the Pac-10 Conference. His future, it seemed, was set.

It was all kind of perfect, Kerr said.

What: Annual event and fundraiser for the Oakland-based nonprofit, whose mission is to train and place coaches in underserved communities.

When: Tuesday 6 p.m.

Where: This year's virtual event will livestream on YouTube. It will also air on NBC Sports Bay Area at a later date.

Who: Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will honor his college basketball coach, Lute Olson. Giants coach Alyssa Nakken will honor her travel softball coach, Gabe Abelia. San Diego-based soccer coach Laura Marquez will be presented with the Coach of the Year award.

That summer, he went to Beirut with his family, where his father was teaching at the American University. At the end of the summer, Kerr was to fly back to the United States and begin college. Civil war was raging in Lebanon, the embassy in Beirut had recently been bombed, and when Kerr had to leave the airport was closed and his options for getting out of the country became a dangerous ordeal. He was driven through Syria to Jordan, where he finally caught a flight and headed to Tucson.

A few months later, weeks into his first college basketball season, Kerr was awakened in the middle of the night by a call from a family friend. His father had been assassinated in his office building.

The tragedy was worldwide news. An Arizona booster heard it on the radio late that night and called an assistant coach, who went to Kerrs dorm room and took him to the Olsons house. The story has been oft told of how Kerr, suffering from shock and half a world away from any of his family, was cared for by Lute and his wife, Bobbi. He slept on their couch. They fed him.

I had only known him a couple of months, Kerr said, but he felt a responsibility to look after me.

Kerr told The Chronicle last summer that he began regularly stopping by Olsons office and even napping on his couch.

He just kept everything as normal as possible and allowed me to play, practice and move on with my routine, which was important, Kerr said. You have to sort of fall into a routine when you suffer a loss like that. Youve got to find a way to just get through the day.

Kerr got through the days, and the months, and eventually the years, helping to turn Arizona into a postseason staple and becoming one of the most popular players in the program.

Along the way, Kerr said, Olson became a kind of father figure.

He was definitely the most influential person in my life outside of my family, Kerr said.

They kind of adopted him, said Margot Kerr, Steve Kerrs wife, who had begun dating her future husband when they were sophomores. The whole team kind of sheltered him.

The Olsons created a family atmosphere that would last throughout Olsons tenure at Arizona. Bobbi, who died of ovarian cancer in 2001, was instrumental in that structure.

Pancake breakfasts, gatherings at their house, Margot said. None of the players were from Arizona, so it really became their family.

Kerr has used those lessons learned from Olson to try to create a similar feeling on the Warriors. Though the NBA is vastly different from college, he has tried to replicate the same sensibility.

In the NBA it has to be built differently, but the thinking is, Can we build something special? Something that people love to be part of? And how do we do that? Kerr said. I recognized the power of what Lute built.

Its no coincidence that in building his team, Kerr has consistently relied on Arizona alumni, from former player Andre Iguodala to former assistant Luke Walton to assistant coach Bruce Fraser.

Andre and I used to talk about how like-minded we were in the way we saw the game, Kerr said. The way he taught fundamentals. An emphasis on detail. If you play for Lute you understand the game at a level you maybe otherwise wouldnt have. Maybe that sounds arrogant, but it comes from the detail we saw in Coach Olson, the things that became ingrained, watching the amazing foundation he built.

Kerr, of course, went on to an amazing career and played for some of the top coaches in the game. But the bond with Olson remained, through his and Margots wedding, the births of their children, dinners on the road, Kerrs introductory news conference with the Warriors. Olson followed his former player closely, and the coach whose program was nicknamed Guard U particularly loved Kerrs dazzling backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

A year ago, before the NBA shut down, the Warriors played a game in Phoenix. Kerr and Fraser used the trip as an opportunity to drive down to Tucson to see Olson, who was doing poorly after suffering a stroke.

We had a feeling that might be the last time we would see him, Kerr said.

A few months later, Olson died. But his influence remains forever.

Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion

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Warriors Steve Kerr recalls meeting with Lute Olson that changed his life - San Francisco Chronicle

Details Texas Tech Athletic Communications Basketball 17 February 2021

Due to continuing inclement weather, the Texas Tech at TCU men's basketball game scheduled for Thursday has been postponed. The Big 12 made the announcement on Wednesday morning along with the postponement of the Texas at Oklahoma game.

Additional information will be released when available.

The Red Raiders (14-6, 6-5 Big 12) are now scheduled to return to action against Kansas at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas before playing at Oklahoma State on Monday in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The team now has postponements remaining to be played against Baylor, Iowa State and two against TCU. Texas Tech is scheduled to host Texas at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 at the United Supermarkets Arena, while the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship is from March 10-13 in Kansas City.

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Inclement Weather Results in Another Postponment for Texas Tech and TCU - BCSNN - Best College Sports News Network

As the WHT is all too aware many of us are cooped up while obeying the Stay at Home message from the government.

Ayot Greenway from Welwyn Garden City to Wheathampstead - Credit: Archant

But that does not mean you cannot use your one bit of exercise a day to go somewhere new and interesting in Welwyn Garden City - in addition tothe parks and green spaces we are luckyto have.

Ayot Greenway from Welwyn Garden City to Wheathampstead - Credit: Archant

The Ayot Greenway, which runs from Welwyn Garden City toWheathampstead, is off road and is a nice walk with lots of trees, some streams and fields.

Ayot Greenway from Welwyn Garden City to Wheathampstead - Credit: Archant

The track runs three miles along a former branch line from Welwyn Garden City railway station towards Luton and Dunstable, and ends in the mock station, complete with a statue of playwright George Bernard Shaw.

Ayot Greenway from Welwyn Garden City to Wheathampstead - Credit: Archant

Walking toWheathampstead also allows you to experience a new village, which has a 16th-century arch set in the brick wall in front of Wheathampstead Place and a remnant of our Iron Age past at the Devil's Dyke.

Ayot Greenway from Welwyn Garden City to Wheathampstead - Credit: Archant

Similarly, walking fromWheathampstead to Welwyn Garden City allows you to appreciate the Henry Moore statue in the town, brought for the centenary, as well as Stanborough and Panshanger Parks.

This newspaper has been a central part of community life for many years. Our industry faces testing times, which is why we're asking for your support. Every contribution will help us continue to produce local journalism that makes a measurable difference to our community.

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Nice walks in Welwyn Garden City and Wheathampstead - Welwyn Hatfield Times

Max Hastings, the ex-Telegraph editor, says few English people will care if Ireland is united. Photograph: iStock

Irish unification will take place within a generation, righting a historical wrong, one of Britains best known historians and journalists has suggested.

Max Hastings, a former editor of the Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard and the author of multiple books on military history, said such an outcome would serve the best interests of Irish people, save a rump of alienated Protestants, historically out of their time.

He described partition as a monstrous injustice which was done at the behest of a million Protestants whose forebears were planted in Ulster by Oliver Cromwells followers in the 17th century.

Ever since, the Northern Ireland fragment has been governed by a so-called Unionist Protestant majority, whose sole rationale is the negative one of staying out of the Irish Republic by remaining attached to Britain, he said.

Mr Hastings echoed comments made by the former British chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne that English people would not care if Ireland was united. Mr Osborne recently suggested Northern Ireland is heading for the exit door of the UK and few people will care.

Writing for Bloomberg, Mr Hasting said most British people did not care a fig for John Bulls other island as George Bernard Shaw described Ireland.

Polls show a slim majority in Northern Ireland for a referendum on Irish unity. If this comes, and should a majority choose to join the South, few English people will care.

He accused Ulster Unionists, who ruled Northern Ireland for 50 years until the abolition of Stormont in 1972, of treating the Catholic minority almost as harshly as US white segregationists in the old South treated African Americans.

Lord Brookeborough, a Protestant grandee who served as Ulster prime minister between 1943 and 1963, said without embarrassment that, while he knew fellow landowners who employed Catholics on their estates, he would never do so himself.

Mr Hastings worked as a journalist at the outset of the Troubles and witnessed the attack on Divis Flats in 1969 when it was sprayed by machine gun fire killing nine-year-old Patrick Rooney.

Most of us English spectators of the Troubles deplored the IRAs atrocities as much as we recoiled from institutionalised Protestant injustice.The next day, I heard Unionist ministers justifying police actions by pleading that they faced a Catholic uprising, he said.

The IRA later murdered hundreds of innocent people with bomb and bullet. Both sides had much to be ashamed of, before an uneasy truce was achieved by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Hastings suggested the prosperity of the Republic made unification a possibility in a manner in which it was not in the 1960s.

Thus, even many Northern Catholics saw little economic advantage in embracing Dublin. Today, that has changed remarkably. With the collapse of old Northern industries, especially shipbuilding and textiles, the economy is kept alive only by massive subsidy from Britain 24 billion in public spending, against 14 billion collected in taxes.

The South, meanwhile, has become a prosperous, confident society, and an enthusiastic member of the EU.

Two minorities still see virtue in keeping Ireland partitioned. The first is composed of a diminishing number of stubborn Protestant Unionists, who dominate their own community, but would become marginalised in a united Ireland. Meanwhile, some Southern politicians are privately fearful of the perils of absorbing several hundred thousand embittered Proddies. Violence, so long an Irish tradition, remains very close beneath the countrys skin, and every Irish politician knows it well.

The witty and wise English writer Sydney Smith did not much exaggerate when he wrote two centuries ago: The moment the very name of Ireland is mentioned, the English seem to bid adieu to common feeling, common prudence and common sense.

Mr Hastings predicted that the Scottish will likely opt for independence, too, but the Welsh are unlikely to seek independence because of their economic dependence on the UK government.

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Irish unity will take place within a generation historian Max Hastings - The Irish Times

Hollywood star Viola Davis opened up about being one of the very few young Black students at Julliard and how it affected her.

Speaking to The Telegraph, the Academy Award-winning star, 55, spoke up about her film, Ma Raineys Black Bottom, which earned her a Golden Globes nomination as well.

She harked back to the time when she watched the theaters onstage adaption of Ma Raineys Black Bottom.

"It was like I was watching a famous singer that I loved in private, even though I didn't even know who Ma Rainey was at all, she said.

She revealed further that during her time at Julliard, she never performed any plays by August Wilson, who is known for his cycle of 10 shows encircling African American community of the 20th century.

Davis revealed that this was because the few Black students in her graduating class werent cast for shows enough.

"I can't say that I'm not appreciative of my training there, but I did not find a sense of belonging. It was a place that taught classical, Eurocentric theatre as if it was the Bible and for me, as a chocolate, kinky-haired girl, there was no way in," she said.

"To perform in Shakespeare, or George Bernard Shaw, or Eugene O'Neill, I felt like what was required of me was to make any hint of my Blackness disappear, that it would somehow be a good thing if the audience could forget I was Black, she went on to say.

"There is still a sense that a woman has to look a certain way and be a certain age in order to be sexual on screen. And if those rules are broken, they're broken for white actresses only. And they're wonderful white actresses Meryl Streep in 'Hope Springs,' or Diane Keaton in 'Something's Gotta Give.' But I don't feel like that same freedom has been extended to black women, especially dark-skinned black women. I simply don't see it," she continued.

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Viola Davis says she had to make her Blackness disappear as a student at Julliard - The News International

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Press Review: Climate Change by Bill Gates and the Anti-Q Lobby - News - haveeruonline

#entertainment Viola Davis on racial bias in Hollywood: Dark-skinned Black women do not have the same freedom as white actresses in the industry.

Hollywood actor Viola Davis opened up about the racial bias in the film industry and told how white actors have it easier than the Blacks when it comes to portrayal of roles in terms of age and opportunities. In an interview with The Telegraph, she told, Dark-skinned Black women do not have the same freedom as white actresses in the industry. There is still a sense that a woman has to look a certain way and be a certain age in order to be sexual on screen. And if those rules are broken, theyre broken for white actresses only.

She gave examples of Meryl Streep in Hope Springs and Diane Keaton in Somethings Gotta Giveand said that although they are wonderful actors, the same freedom of portrayal has not been extended to Black actors, especially the dark-skinned Black women.

The 55-year old actor also spoke about her starring role in Netflixs Ma Raineys Black Bottom and reflected on the first time she saw the August Wilson play when she was working as an usher at a theatre during college.

It was like I was watching a famous singer that I loved in private, even though I didnt even know who Ma Rainey was at all, Viola said.

She went on to say that when she was a student at Julliard School, she never performed any plays by the theatres poet of Black America who wrote a cycle of 10 shows about African-Americans in the 20th century, all but one of which were set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I feel this was largely because our graduating class at the time didnt have enough Black students to cast in the shows, she told.

The award-winning having the Triple Crown of Acting, revealed how she didnt have any sense of belonging in the arena and felt like she had to make any hint of her Blackness disappear.

She said, I cant say that Im not appreciative of my training there, but I did not find a sense of belonging. It was a place that taught classical, Eurocentric theatre as if it was the Bible and for me, as a chocolate, kinky-haired girl, there was no way in.

To perform in Shakespeare, or George Bernard Shaw, or Eugene ONeill, I felt like what was required of me was to make any hint of my Blackness disappear, that it would somehow be a good thing if the audience could forget I was Black, she further added.

The outstanding actor has an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy and two Tony Awards, being the first African-American to achieve the feat. In fact, she has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in Ma Raineys Blacck Bottom. Her next role is as the executive producer for First Ladies, a showtime series in which shell play Michelle Obama.

As the film has finally premiered on Netflix, she is working to get in shape for her next film Woman King. For Ma Raineys Black Bottom, the actor had to gain weight to look like the singer. However, her transformation for the next role sparked a controversial debate among fans on sexism and racism. Read more about it here.

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Viola Davis: Dark-Skinned Black Women Do Not Have The Same Freedom As White Actresses - SheThePeople

Ireland Reads campaign gathers momentum

People are encouraged to take part in the national day to celebrate reading on 25 February

As a country boasting a multitude of writers and no less than 4 Nobel Prizewinners in Literature: William Butler Yeats (1923), George Bernard Shaw (1925), Samuel Beckett (1969) and Samus Heaney (1995), Ireland is perfectly poised to declare 25 February as its national day to celebrate reading.

In the build up to this date, public libraries nationwide have launched a campaign called Ireland Readsin partnership with local councils, publishers, booksellers, authors and others. Campaign partners will be running Ireland Reads initiatives and events throughout the month, asking everyone to squeeze in a read (no matter what - a book, a poem, a comic, or a newspaper) onIreland ReadsDay, Thursday, 25 February.

A new websitehas been set up where people can take a pledge to read on the day and see how many minutes have been pledged by their fellow-readers all over Ireland. The website also offers 800 book recommendations from librarians across the country, suited to a persons interests and time at their disposal. There you can meet the campaign ambassadors from the sphere of writing, science, sport, health and broadcasting, who share their stories about what reading means to them.

Right now, many of the activities we used to take for granted are not available to us, but you can always enjoy a good book, newspaper or magazine. These are all available free online and any time to library members. Libraries and library staff are waiting to welcome people back whenever thats possible, but until then we always have books to remind us of other people, other places, and better days, says Marian Higgins, County Kildare Librarian, quoted by the county website.

Ireland Reads is part of the government-backed Keep Well initiative to help people maintain enjoyment and physical and mental wellbeing amid the lockdown.

Studies summed up by RT show that children who read a lot when they are young tend to become avid readers throughout their life, accumulating significant knowledge along the way. As for adults, reading for pleasure enhances empathy, self-understanding and is an effective antidote for loneliness. And last but not least, reading offers an easy escape from the mental treadmill of anxiety and depression caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Ireland Reads campaign leads up to national day to celebrate reading on 25 February - TheMayor.EU

By Sukant Deepak New Delhi, Feb 16 : Stressing that author and journalist Sandeep Bamzais recently released book Princestan: How Nehru, Patel and Mountbatten Made India manages to unearth multiple facets of the period between 1945 and 1947, Congress MP and writer Jairam Ramesh said that though history tells us that the British transferred power to India and Pakistan, there was also a third party to which the British were toying with the idea of transferring power to.

Most of our historical discussions and discourses tend to neglect Princestan. We focus only on the transfer of power to India and Pakistan. Bamzai has not only brought together all the material on Princestan but also tells his readers a fascinating tale of how three key personalities Nehru, Patel and Mountbatten, helped by V.P. Menon played a decisive role in ensuring that India did not get Balkanized, and the partition that took place was only into two dominions India and Pakistan.

Published by Rupa Publications, the book, which sheds light on a plan devised by some powerful princes to not join either India or Pakistan in run-up to independence, was discussed during a launch event organised by Oxford Bookstores on Monday.

Recalling that the idea of writing the book came to him while researching for the first book of the trilogy, Deconstructing the Accession: Bonfire of Kashmiriyat, when he came across rare material bequeathed to him by his grandfather, who was the OSD to the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the author said, It was a treasure trove. I was to later discover that most of it was not even in the available at National Archives or the Nehru Museum.

In my possession are first copies of all documents in the form of letters and correspondences. It made all sense to build it into a bigger book, about all the ambition of 565 princely states. Of course, being a working journalist, snatching time to sit down and write a book is not easy. However, in 2015, during a sabbatical, I got down to work on this book. ORF was kind enough to give me a fellowship for that period.

Though a student of economics and not history, the author immersed himself in the documents, and researched at the Nehru Museum and National Archives. Adding that research also involves corroborating the material in hand, Bamzai says that it is important to interpret history in light of new material and findings.

Many of Nehrus biographers didnt use the strand of thought that stood on the alliance between him and Mountbatten to combat the princes. Frankly, Nehru passed the baton to Mountbatten, who in turn passed it to Sardar, and that is how this exercise culminated in all the princes coming together.

Adding that Sardar Patel was the enforcer, Mountbatten the charmer, Nehru the ideologue with VP Malik the draftsman, Ramesh said that in our fixation on India and Pakistan, the third player Princestan never got the attention it deserved. And it is interesting to note that Princestan was a perfectly secular enterprise and straddled the Hindu-Muslim divide.

We know that it was Bengal and Punjab that got partitioned and not India. This book brings out the important fact that India might have got partitioned had the princes had their way. An important aspect of political history in the transfer of power did not get the attention it deserves. I am glad this book bridges that gap.

Although the authors grandfather would not discuss politics with him , his father would tell him stories from that era. While Nehru lived in 17, York Road, and his grandfather in the outhouse, Bamzai recalls, Nehru would frequently talk to my father, who was a child then. I have several photographs from that time. I grew up with a lot of stories of that era.

Pointing that while Patel and Nehru were clear that princely states had no role to play in independent India, while Mahatma Gandhi believed in the concept of trusteeship, Bamzai said, He felt that princes represent the trustees and should rule. However, Netaji also supported Nehru that India had to be one without any princes and provinces.

Nehru was influenced by Fabian socialism, Annie Besant and George Bernard Shaw and was completely anti-monarchy. In fact, the princes would tell Patel and Gandhi that it was impossible to talk to him.

When Ramesh pointed that much space has been devoted to discussing Ram Chandra Kak (Kashmirs Prime Minister during 19451947) and Ramaswami Iyer who served as the Diwan of Travancore, Bamzai said, Lets not forget that it was Kak who allowed the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh to think he should vacillate till there comes a time when he can be independent. Of course, it did not come to that. But we must remember that Hari Singh signs the instrument of accession only when the raiders come and there is no other option, on October 26. Travancore wanted to have its own secret pact with the British thanks to the strategic ports and the large Thorium reserves there.

When asked by Ramesh about the most surprising bits that he came across during the course of his research, the author said, At the time when Nehru had rejected the Dickie Bird Plan, Edwina Mountbatten calls VP Menon, informing him that both Nehru and Mountbatten were in Shimla. Menon goes to Shimla, takes Mountbatten to Nehru and an alternate plan is put together. Menon then calls Sardar. Here, I would like to stress that a major reason behind writing this book was to emphasize the role of many nameless and faceless individuals.

While Princestan took around five years with three years of research and a year to actually write, Bamzai has completed the research for his next book on Kashmir. This one was supposed to be released earlier but Covid-19 delayed our plans. From the materials in my possession, I have retained a large part on Kashmir, which is not out even in the first part of the trilogy.

In the next book too, I will use the same approach as the one adopted in Princestan. Kashmir will be seen through the prism of five people.

Bamzai further stressed on the need for a National Freedom Archive, an idea floated by Kanchan Gupta, Distinguished Fellow at ORF during a launch event for Princestan. There is some priceless historical material in various private collections including mine. Much more needs to be documented about the different facets of the Indian Independence movement which is a vast canvas.

Ramesh added that he too has some rare material and there existed several important documents scattered in different state archives. All that should come under one roof. The archives should also be digitalised so that everyone can access the documents easily.

Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.

Continued here:
Princestan is many pages of revelations: Jairam Ramesh - The Siasat Daily

Love has been documented through the arts since the very beginning through stories of feeling, passionate songs and carefully crafted tales.

Each one sparks a series of emotions and its hard not to get a little chocked up when those all time classics are revisited.Sunday isthe biggest day of love of the year, but Valentines Day 2021 will be a little different given where things stand in the world. Doing some of the normal things with your valentine might not be possible, but never fear because there are options.

This weekend will be filled with opportunities to share that feeling of love with those around you througha livestreamed concert,play readings and a silent film classic on the big screen with live music.Love will certainly be in the air.

Jody Hill Simpson, the founder of Music on Norway Pond,first met Nik Walker when as a 7-year-old second grader he joined her PALS Childrens Chorus in Massachusetts. Back then, Walker was focused and had talent, and Simpson knew he had a future in the arts. She just didnt know he was going to become a star on Broadway.

You could imagine it, but you never really know, Simpson said. But I could see it and hes going to be a force in the world; he already is.

The two kept in touch and Simpson followed his career as he starred as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, both on Broadway and touring around the country. Last March, Simpson made her way to New York to see him star in the Temptations musical Aint Too Proud. The following day, Broadway shut down.

On Sunday at 4 p.m., Music on Norway Pond will host Walker for a livestream concert from his home in New York City filled with songs from Hamilton, Aint Too Proud, Ragtime and Carousel as well as other classics that evoke a feeling of togetherness and love.

Theres a lot of moving songs, Simpson said.

Most of Music on Norway Ponds shows were canceled over the summer, only hosting a few socially distanced outdoor concerts, including a Carol Fest event on the Hancock Common in December.

But as Simpson tried to plan more for the organization she got the idea of asking Walker to do a livestreamed concert. It would be the first of its kind for Music on Norway Pond but Simpson felt Walker would be perfect for it.

I thought if I could do anything, this would be the one online concert, Simpson said. If were going to livestream something, were so lucky to have this happening.

During the broadcast, Simpson will showcase some of the video clips she found in her archives of Walker when he was a young chorus member.

The show is free, but those who wish can donate to Walkers favorite charity, Give Kids The World.

My goal is to just get lots of people watching because by the end they will feel like they know him, Simpson said. And because we all need happy right now.

Simpson is not sure what is next for Music on Norway Pond, but shes just happy to have the opportunity to showcase her student from so many years ago.

Im trying to figure out ways to keep the Music on Norway Pond community together in a safe way, she said.

To receive the link to the concert, visit http://www.musiconnorwaypond.org. The concert will be available on the Music on Norway Pond YouTube channel following the livestream.

Valentines Day will have a little extra love this year with The Park Theatre producing a live-streamed reading of two powerful and witty one-act plays from acclaimed British playwright Alfred Sutro. Beloved actors Lisa Bostnar and Gus Kaikkonen will read A Marriage Has Been Arranged and The Open Door live on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.

They are so lovely and nuanced and powerful and funny, Bostnar said. Id like to do them (on the stage).

Bostnar and Kaikkonen first met in 1995 and have worked together on too many projects to count.

Hes directed me, I dont know how many times, hundreds probably, Bostnar said. Weve worked together so many places.

One of Bostnars top three plays was when she shared the stage with Kaikkonen for the two-character production of Annapurna at the Peterborough Players. They even did a Valentines Day reading in 2017, Famous Letters of Love, Passion and Romance at The River Street Theatre.

A Marriage Has Been Arranged tells the touching and funny story of a self-made millionaire proposing marriage to the noble but penniless Lady.

But its not your standard, run of the mill marriage proposal, Bostnar said.

In The Open Door Sir Geoffrey Transom has a frank and intimate conversation with his best friends wife late in the evening at a cottage by the sea, about love, about relationships, Bostnar said.

Sutro, a contemporary (and friend) of D.H. Lawrence and George Bernard Shaw, was well-known for his immensely popular plays produced in Londons West End at the beginning of the 20th century. Many of his plays were brought to Broadway with great success. Additionally, Sutro adapted several for the silver screen.

There will be a live audience talk-back after the production where Bostnar and Kaikkonen will take questions from the audience.

Encore on-demand showings of the production will be made available starting Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Tickets for the live-streamed show are $12 and can be purchased by visitinghttps://theparktheatre.org/or by calling the theatres box office at (603) 532-8888.

Sunflowers Caf in Jaffrey will be offering special Valentines Day Eve takeout dinners in conjunction with the live-streamed event. Interested patrons can reach the restaurant on Facebook, https://www.sunflowersnh.com, or by calling (603) 593-3303.

Its a one-of-a-kind film about a timeless topic: true love.

7th Heaven (1927), a romantic drama that won actress Janet Gaynor the first-ever Best Actress Academy Award, will be shown with live music on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre. Live music will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist.

7th Heaven, which also netted Frank Borzage the first Best Director Oscar, is a fable set in Paris just before World War I. Its the story of an abused and abandoned young woman (Gaynor) who is cast aside by her family, only to be adopted by an ebullient sewer worker (Charles Farrell) with his sights set on higher things.

In her new home, the girl learns a fresh way of looking at life. Eventually love blossoms but will it survive the onset of war? Borzage used all the techniques of silent film at its height to craft a universal and timeless story that audiences have found moving since the pictures first release in 1927, one year before the talkie revolution.

7th Heaven received the most nominations of any film a total of five at the first-ever Academy Awards ceremony, held on May 16, 1929, in the waning days of the silent era.

Besides winning Best Actress for Gaynor and Best Director for Borzage, it also won an Oscar for Benjamin Glazer in the Best Writing, Adapted Story category. 7th Heaven was also nominated for Outstanding Picture, Production (the forerunner of todays Best Picture category) and Best Art Direction.

Live music will be provided by Rapsis, who improvises scores for silent films using a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra.

Its kind of a high wire act, Rapsis said. But for me, the energy of live performance is an essential part of the silent film experience.

7th Heaven was remade in 1937 as a talking picture starring Simone Simon and Jimmy Stewart in the lead roles.

The Wilton Town Hall Theatre continues to observe procedures to comply with all state and CDC public health guidelines. Capacity is limited to 50 percent; patrons are required to maintain social distance and wear masks until seated.

Admission is free, but a donation of $10 per person is suggested to support the Wilton Town Hall Theatres silent film series.

For more information, visit http://www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call (603) 654-3456. For more about the music, visit http://www.jeffrapsis.com.

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Love is in the air and on the screen for Valentine's Day - Monadnock Ledger Transcript