Wednesday - Irish Tea at Grey Gables Bed ’n Breakfast Inn – 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. “May you always have tea beside the fire.” A little “Blarney” is an added spice to life’s conversation and pleasure. MENU - Dubliner Tea Sandwiches, Emerald Isle Quiche, Leprechauns with Bacon Vinaigrette, Potato Poundies, Tipsy Squire Trifles, Blarney Scones with Cherry Walnut Spread and Assorted Teas. $10.00 plus tax and gratuity. For reservations call Linda Brooks Jones at 423-628-5252.
Saturday afternoon – Short Film Festival at the Visitor Centre theater, 3:00 p.m. Eastern (a complete listing of the films is below). Film festival tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Call Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 to purchase tickets by phone. After-festival dinner at Rugby’s Harrow Road Café and lodging in historic buildings can also be reserved.
Saturday evening – Community Potluck 7:00 p.m. Following the potluck Jane Logan will speak briefly about the HRI Board Nomination process and Cheryl Cribbet wants to speak to volunteerism this year.
English Primroses at the Rugby greenhouse and Snowdrops at Newbury House - photos: George Zepp
NEXT ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCING – MARCH 13
I am hoping to offer an evening of dance on Saturday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. We have invited a couple of dancing friends from Nashville for the weekend, and thought that would be a great fun and encouragement to our Rugby dancers – NOT beginners any more! You are doing great!!
I will check on the availablity of the Friendly House or the Community building and see what works best. 7:00pm.
BOOK CLUB DOINGS
By George Zepp
Rugby's book club had a strong attendance of 15 people Saturday night when "The Help," a best-seller by Kathryn Stockett, was the topic at hand. Two of those present, Jessie Gully and Nora Meadows, were both able to give a little extra personal insight. The novel about black maids and race relations is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. Both Jessie & Nora are originally from that state.
Charles & Lavonne Gibbs were the welcoming hosts.
Next time (on April 17) the club plans a side trip just slightly out of Rugby to the west. The topic will be Afghanistan. The location will be the home of Kit & Candy Howes in Armathwaite. Kit proposed two popular books on the subject, since some Rugbeians have already read one of them. Both will be talked about, but exposure to only one is needed. They are: "A Thousand Spendid Suns" (2007) by Khaled Hosseini (who also wrote the popular "Kite Runner"), and "The Places in Between" (2006) by Rory Stewart.
The Howes’ house is at 446 Big Creek Road in Armathwaite. Go west on Hwy. 52 approximately 3.5 miles from the Rugby bridge, look for Sam Smith Road and then Noah Buck Road. Scenic Bluff Road (on the left coming from Rugby – its Hwy. 52 gate will be open) is just west of Noah Buck. Take Scenic Bluff to Big Creek Road. Follow Big Creek Road to the end. Their wonderful fireplace will be lit and warming (if needed then).
The Rugby Commissary on the last day of February 2010 doesn't look much different from the original in 1892 -- minus the carriage, of course. Some folks might not know it had to be rebuilt from the ground up. The old photo was taken by a visiting member of the Kimber family from England, the new one by George Zepp.
BIRTHDAYS
March 4 - Glenda Drogich
March 5 - Kathy Hicks and Ryan Erickson
March 6 - Steve Logan
CALENDAR
March 3 - Irish Tea at Grey Gables Bed ‘n Breakfast Inn. 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern. May you always have tea beside the fire. A little “Blarney” is an added spice to life’s conversation and pleasure. MENU -Dubliner Tea Sandwiches, Emerald Isle Quiche, Leprechauns with Bacon Vinaigrette, Potato Poundies, Tipsy Squire Trifles, Blarney Scones with Cherry Walnut Spread and Assorted Teas. $10.00 plus tax and gratuity. For reservations call Linda Brooks Jones at 423-628-5252.
March 6 - Southern Arts Federation’s 3rd Annual Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival at Rebecca Johnson Theatre in Rugby 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Film festival tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Call Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 to purchase tickets by phone. After-festival dinner at Rugby’s Harrow Road Café and lodging in historic buildings can also be reserved.
March 6 – Community Potluck, 7:00 p.m. Eastern
March 12 – History Club, 7:00 p.m. Eastern – Mike Harris will discuss the planned Cemetery Tour, reviving a few historical Rugby figures for today’s visitors and residents
March 13 – English Country Dancing, 7:00 p.m. Eastern
March 20 - The Wild Thyme Players and The Silver Stage Players present an original production of “The Way the Story Goes” a collection of true stories written and performed by artists ranging in age from 10 to 85. 7:30 p.m. Eastern, Historic Rugby’s Rebecca Johnson Theatre. Contact Historic Rugby for more information or reservations at 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441. Admission is free, but donations to Historic Rugby and the Players will be appreciated.
March 21 – Open Auditions for New Rugby Play - “Emmy & Granny: The Hughes Women at Uffington House, 1881 – 1887” written by Brandon Daughtry Slocum from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern at the Rebecca Johnson Theater at Historic Rugby. No preparation, resumes or headshots are required. There will be cold readings from the script with 10-12 parts to be selected.
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
WORKSHOP CALENDAR
For Workshop Registration contact Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 - rugbylegacy@highland.net
Pastel Easter Basket - Saturday, March 27, 10:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m. Instructor: Veronica Ludlow Fee: $54. A perfect workshop for beginning basket makers. This class makes basket making simple and you will create a colorful Easter basket to use year after year.
Spring Wildflower Walk & Image Show - Saturday, April 10, 10:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m. Instructor: Jack Carmen Fee: $25. The Rugby region abounds with spring wildflowers, including several rare species. Jack Carman, whose book Wildflowers of Tennessee is a definitive guide, will lead us, by carpool and then hike, to a very special Cumberland Plateau location for wildflower viewing and photographing. Attendees will learn and see at least 30-35 species and attend an afternoon film presentation and book signing. Rugby's rare heirloom gladiolus bulbs will be for sale from Rugby’s Heirloom Nursery & Greenhouse.
Wet on Wet Iris Painting - Saturday, April 24, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Eastern. “Iris" oil painting class in the Jenkins wet-on-wet technique by certified art instructor Mara Trumbo. Step-by-step instructions will ensure you will complete the painting in one day. Cost of $60.00 includes the use of all studio materials and a 16"x20" stretched canvas. Please bring a packed lunch with drinks and a sunny disposition for a fun day!
By Linda Konig
This past week has really brought home to me that birds don't seem to pay as much attention to present temperatures as they do to the length of days and the gradual advance of the sun in a northerly direction. In other words, Spring is advancing even though our thermometers don't say so. We've had some pretty cold temperatures and snow this week, but the birds don't seem to be paying that any mind. On Tuesday, Donna Heffner called me all excited about watching a flock of about 50 Sandhill Cranes that had landed at Todd's Bottom. Yes, they're migrating northward again toward Nebraska and neighboring states where they'll mate, lay eggs, and raise their young. Fortunately, we're on their flight path, and so we can watch and hear them flying overhead in fall as they head southward and again in spring as they head north. Many of them winter at Birchwood, Tennessee near Chattanooga.
What Donna was most excited about was that she had seen a couple of Sandhill Crane "couples" performing their courtship dance. We were both surprised, because we'd assumed they didn't start doing this till they got "home" to Nebraska. Evidently, the increasing rays of the sun had begun stirring their hormones, though. I went down there myself for a couple of mornings and saw about 12 of them. A few seemed to be together as "couples" but none were dancing. Their dance has been described as one of nature's most graceful marvels. I plan to keep looking – especially if it gets warmer. B-r-r-r-r.
Photo by Laura Erickson http://www.lauraerickson.com/bird/Species/Cranes/SandhillCrane/SACRGallery.html
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
Full Film Festival Listing
“Falling to the Top” Narrative Short. Directed by Wes Edwards. Produced by Brittany Hailes. Nashville, TN. Shot in an artfully directed, gothic comic book style, this is a uniquely crafted, funny short film about Bob, a hapless twenty-something trying to pull his life together.
“Faster Pastor” Documentary Short. Directed by Adam Farrell, Savannah, GA. As the sun sets on a humid August evening, local preachers, pastors, and ministers end their sermons and start up their stock cars. There can be only one Faster Pastor.
“Flight Lessons” Animated Short. Produced and Directed by Neil Helm, Savannah, GA. An airline captain and aviation enthusiast relates to an unexpected audience the wonder and intricacy of modern jet aviation.
“Monster Movie” Animated Short. Produced and Directed by Stephen Hammond, Savannah, GA. A cute, pigtailed little girl sits silently in front of the TV flipping through channels. Out of the darkness, a monster leaps forward, but the little girl remains unmoved.
“My Deer Friend” Narrative Short. Produced and Directed by Andrew Cherry, Savannah, GA. Glen, an energetic pre-teen, is faced with the pressure to kill a deer in order to win his father’s respect. Richard, a white tail deer, offers to lay down his life for his friend.
“Pollenating” Experimental Short. Directed by David Montgomery, Fernandina Beach, FL. An ode to Georgia O'Keeffe, “Pollenating” features imagery derived directly from nature. The motion is a result of the diversity of nearly everything in existence.
“Raised on Rice and Gravy” Documentary Short. Co-Directed by Conni Castille and Allison Bohl. Breaux Bridge, LA and Lafayette, LA. More than anywhere else in the South, folks in the food-conscious town of Lafayette stubbornly cling to their traditions of home cooking and a shared midday meal.
“Si Tú No Estás” Narrative Short. Directed by Noé Santillán-López, Savannah, GA. A bolero guitar player, Julian struggles with music and life after the death of his wife. His grief breeds indifference to his son. Taken aback by a revelation, Julian opens his eyes to the reality in front of him.
“Sunlight & Babies” Documentary Short. Produced and Directed by Kimberly Craig, Savannah, GA. This documentary ventures into the nightlife of truck stop culture, as told through the voices of several anonymous truckers via CB radio interviews.
“The Farm Team” Documentary Short. Produced and Directed by Scott Balzer, Marietta, GA. This short doc is a first-hand look at the challenges of being on the grounds crew of a minor league baseball team in Mobile, Alabama, the rainiest city in the United States.
