Goodable

The Wichita, Kansas community and strangers from around the world are coming together to replace a stolen statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.
<img src="https://blacktranswomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/History_Jackie_Robinson_Breaks_Barriers_SF_HD_1104x622-16x9-1.jpg">
Robinson, known for breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier at the age of 28, has been a symbol of courage and change in the sport. However, a shocking incident last week was captured on security cameras as thieves desecrating his statue. The criminals cut the statue at the ankles, removed it and later set it on fire, leaving behind only the feet. The statue was not just any sculpture; it was a labor of love, handcrafted over two years by artist John Parsons for League 42, a local foundation dedicated to providing affordable baseball and educational opportunities to 600 children.
<img src="https://www.twincities.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Jackie_Robinson-Statue_Stolen_79429_db6d17.jpg?w=620">

The crime made international headlines. The theft was featured on major news outlets from ABC to CNN to The Athletic, but the story takes an uplifting turn beyond the initial media headlines. In the aftermath, Jaclyn Evans, an Executive Assistant for League 42, spearheaded a movement to rebuild what was lost. Understanding the profound significance of Jackie Robinson to the league and community, Evans initiated a GoFundMe campaign, appealing for support to replace the statue. In a remarkable response, hundreds of donors, many whom have never visited Wichita, contributed to the cause. <img src="https://i.imgur.com/7PstM7r.png">
The GoFundMe campaign is a testament to the power of community and goodwill, raising over $140,000 in just three days. While headlines initially reflected a disturbing act of vandalism, the story has evolved into a heartwarming act of strength and generosity. In this case, all it took was three days for random strangers to come together and say hate won't win.

After a Jackie Robinson Statue Was Stolen, a Town is Uniting to Support a Local Baseball League

Gizmodo

A team of MIT researchers has created a new material that lies flat like a sheet of paper—until you pull a string. With a single tug, it transforms into a fully formed 3D object, from a sturdy chair to a medical splint. It’s not magic, but it’s close.

The breakthrough is inspired by kirigami, the Japanese art of cutting paper, and is detailed in a new study published in ACM Transactions on Graphics. But instead of making decorative shapes, the team used a clever algorithm and a bit of material science to create real-world objects that can be flattened, stored, and deployed on demand.

The research comes out of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and could open up possibilities for everything from pop-up medical devices to collapsible space habitats.

“The simplicity of the whole actuation mechanism is a real benefit of our approach,” said lead author Akib Zaman, a graduate student at MIT. “All they have to do is input their design, and our algorithm automatically takes care of the rest.”

How It Works

The process starts with a 3D design. The algorithm then translates that object into a flat pattern made of quadrilateral tiles—imagine a grid of carefully sliced pieces that can hinge and shift into shape. This mimics how kirigami artists cut paper in a way that encodes new structural behaviors.

The system relies on what’s known as an auxetic mechanism, which refers to materials that behave unusually when stretched—they get thicker instead of thinner. That unique property gives the structure strength and flexibility when moving between flat and formed states.

Once the layout is calculated, the algorithm determines an “optimal string path”—essentially, the most efficient route for a pull-string to travel across the surface and lift each tile into place. The result? A structure that folds itself together with one smooth motion.

A Chair You Can Flatten

After running simulations, the team moved to real-world testing. They built a number of objects using laser-cut plywood, including igloo-shaped shelters and medical tools like splints or posture correctors.

One standout was a human-sized chair. The researchers laid it flat, pulled the string, and watched it come to life. It wasn’t just for show—the chair held up under actual weight.

There are still hurdles to overcome. “There will likely be scale-specific engineering challenges” when trying to build much larger structures, the researchers note. But because the algorithm doesn’t depend on any particular material or fabrication method, it’s versatile and easy to experiment with.

The goal now is twofold: tackle those larger engineering problems, and push the technique further by creating smaller, more intricate designs. Modular robots, lightweight shelters for emergencies, and even foldable space architecture could all be in play.

“I hope people will be able to use this method to create a wide variety of different, deployable structures,” Zaman said.

MIT Scientists Create Foldable Structures That Spring to Life With Just One Pull of a String

ESPN

Joe Burrow’s Christmas gifts to his teammates aren’t just thoughtful — they’re prehistoric.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, known for his calm demeanor and offbeat interests, leaned all the way into his fossil obsession this year by handing out real dinosaur, bear, and mammoth remains to the offensive linemen who protect him on the field.

According to Bengals center Ted Karras, it wasn’t just a quirky gesture. It was pure Burrow.
“I think it speaks to his intelligence and interests and his desire to do something unique,” Karras told ESPN. “I thought it was really special.”

Burrow hosted the linemen at his home in Cincinnati earlier this week, where they walked into a scene straight out of a natural history museum — fossil specimens mounted and displayed, ready for the picking. Players chose their fossils in order of arrival and seniority.

Karras selected a woolly mammoth tusk believed to be roughly 30,000 years old. Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims each went home with cave bear skulls. Rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild scored a Tyrannosaurus rex artifact.

“It says a lot about who he is — his personality, his heart, all of those things,” said Brown, who plans to display his skull next to the samurai sword Burrow gave him last year.

That 2023 gift — real swords for the O-line — made waves of its own. Burrow said he was in a “weapons mindset” at the time. This year, he’s in his fossil era.

The 27-year-old’s love for ancient bones first gained attention during his appearance on the Netflix docuseries Quarterback, where he was filmed visiting Chicago’s Field Museum with teammates. At one point, he geeked out over an Archaeopteryx fossil, calling it “sick.”
“When aren’t fossils on your mind?” he said in the series. “They go back millions of years.”

Still recovering from surgery for turf toe, Burrow missed nine games this season. The Bengals sit at 5-10 and will miss the playoffs for the third straight year. But in recent weeks, Burrow has spoken about trying to find happiness in football again — something that was evident in the way he approached gifting his teammates.

He didn’t reveal the gifts ahead of time during his pre-game press conference. “You’ll see,” he told reporters. And when his teammates did, they were all in.

For Brown, the fossil gift was a standout, even compared to flashier presents from other quarterbacks in his career. While playing in Baltimore, he got a slushie machine from Joe Flacco. In Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes gave him a Rolex and Rimowa luggage. This year’s fossil? Different — and unforgettable.

“It was quite an event, man,” said Karras. “He just continues to outdo himself as always with his kindness and generosity and his creativity. We’re just very thankful for him.”

Joe Burrow Gave His Teammates Fossils for Christmas, and They Loved It

In an era of texts and instant messages, a father and son from St. Thomas, Ontario, are betting on something much slower—and much more personal.

Chris Heil and his son Zachary Paquin have launched Once Upon a Letter, a subscription-based storytelling service that delivers fictional tales the old-fashioned way: through physical letters, mailed out every two weeks.

Subscribers receive 24 letters over the course of a year, each one offering a glimpse into the lives of fictional characters through the mail they send. The idea is rooted in nostalgia, but also in a desire for something more tactile and immersive.

“Back in August 2025, we noticed a growing desire for meaningful, screen-free entertainment and something that feels personal,” Heil said. What started as a creative side project quickly turned into a full-time venture after Paquin was laid off from his job in the Alberta oilsands.

Their first series, a wartime romance, has already struck a chord with subscribers. It follows Edward Bennett, a Canadian soldier stationed in Europe during the final year of the Second World War, and his wife Margaret, who is waiting for him back in Halifax.

“It’s told in the first person,” Heil said. “It’s basically letters between Edward and his wife, Maggie. They’re sending letters back and forth about their lives and the things they experience.”

Each letter comes packaged with extras: photos, historical notes, and other materials that help bring the story—and the era—to life. A sample letter, available to prospective subscribers, reads like a farewell note: “I may already be gone, but know that my heart remains here with you. Light your candle in the window as you promised, and I will find my way back to it.”

Future stories are already in development. One is a horror series told through the letters of an archaeologist in Egypt. Another follows Richard Dawson, a struggling Ontario farmer who heads west to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway.

For Heil and Paquin, crafting these letters is a labour of love. They spend weeks writing, editing, and workshopping each story with input from friends and family. “It’s not really just one of us writing it,” Paquin said. “It goes out to a lot of people, and we take all of their suggestions into account. It takes a bit of time to come up with a good story.”

The project has resonated especially well with older Canadians who grew up writing letters themselves. But it’s not just nostalgia. “We’re trying to go heavy on the Canadian content,” Paquin said. “And we’ve seen a lot of interested people. I think through, and even past the Christmas season, we’ll continue to see a lot of new people using this as a gift for any occasion.”

Interest has also started crossing borders. Paquin says they’ve had inquiries from the United States and are considering international shipping in the new year.

The process of stepping into character and telling a story through handwritten voices is both challenging and rewarding, Heil said. But it’s worth it.

“There’s so much that can be said with just a letter,” he said. “And there’s something about the anticipation—waiting for the next one to arrive—that you just don’t get with a screen.”

Ontario Father-Son Duo Brings Storytelling to Mailboxes with Bi-Weekly Letters

A wild cat species long thought to be extinct in Thailand has been rediscovered, decades after its last confirmed sighting.

Flat-headed cats, one of the world’s most endangered wild feline species, were detected 29 times during a recent ecological survey in southern Thailand, conservation officials and the NGO Panthera announced Friday.

The small, elusive cats hadn’t been seen in the country since 1995.

“We were surprised and thrilled,” said Rattapan Pattanarangsan, Panthera’s conservation program manager. “It’s extremely rare to capture them on camera.”

Flat-headed cats are roughly the size of a house cat, with close-set, rounded eyes and a flattened forehead. They are found only in Southeast Asia and are known to inhabit dense, swampy ecosystems like peat forests and freshwater mangroves — environments that are rapidly disappearing.

In Thailand, much of that habitat has been cleared for agriculture or development. “Thailand's peat swamp forests have been heavily fragmented,” said Kaset Sutasha, a veterinarian and researcher at Kasetsart University. Though not involved in the survey, he’s studied wild cats for years.

Last year, Panthera partnered with Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to install camera traps inside the Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary, a remote reserve in the south of the country.

Those cameras captured multiple images and videos of the elusive cats. Because they lack distinctive markings, it’s hard to know exactly how many individual animals were spotted. Still, one clip showed a female flat-headed cat with her cub — a particularly rare and hopeful sign.

Flat-headed cats typically have only one offspring at a time and struggle to reproduce in fragmented habitats. That’s one of the reasons the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates there are fewer than 2,500 adult flat-headed cats remaining in the wild.

Kaset called the rediscovery “exciting” but stressed it’s just the beginning. “What comes after this is more important — how to enable them to live alongside us sustainably, without being threatened,” he said.

The species is known to exist in parts of Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo, according to the Felidae Conservation Fund. Their diet consists mostly of frogs, fish, and shrimp, and they are believed to be nocturnal hunters.

Because of their elusive nature and the difficulty of accessing their wetland habitats, much about the species remains unknown. But Panthera and Thai conservationists say the rediscovery is a strong sign that more can be done to protect the remaining population — starting with preserving the few intact peat swamp forests that remain.

“This is a starting point,” Kaset said. “Now the real work begins.”

Endangered Wild Cat Spotted In Thailand After 30-Year Absence

ABC News

An ordinary school morning turned into a life-saving moment when two young siblings in Ohio jumped into action after their school bus driver suffered a medical emergency.

Catrina, 8, and her older brother Charlie, 14, were on board their Crestview Local Schools bus in Ashland last week when Catrina, sitting near the front, noticed something was wrong.

She asked the driver if she was OK. The driver silently shook her head no.

Catrina immediately rushed to the back of the bus to alert her brother. Charlie, a seventh grader, didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the bus radio and called the school for help.

“When I realized that something was going on, [I] went up there and grabbed the radio and then called the school because I knew that that was the quickest way to get help,” Charlie told ABC affiliate WEWS.

Their quick thinking was captured on the school bus’s onboard video camera, which was later shared by the district.

Despite their young age, the siblings remained composed. “My brother ... on the inside when something's going wrong, he's scared but on the outside, he's like calm and concentrated,” Catrina told WEWS.

Crestview Local Schools Superintendent Jim Grubbs praised not only Catrina and Charlie, but also another student—eighth grader Kali—who instructed other students to move toward the back of the bus and called 911.

“These students were truly outstanding,” Grubbs said in a statement. “They remained calm, communicated clearly, and helped one another in a situation that could have been much worse. Their families should be incredibly proud.”

The driver was taken to hospital and later released. She told school officials she had made a point of teaching students how to use the bus radio, and was relieved they remembered.

A backup driver arrived to finish the route and take the students safely to school.

“I feel proud and happy with myself and happy that we got [the driver] all better now,” Catrina said.

Ohio Siblings, Ages 8 and 14, Help Save School Bus Driver During Medical Emergency

Sunny Skyz

What started as a regular high school basketball game in Cabot, Arkansas turned into a fight for survival when referee Nosakhere Holcomb collapsed on the court from sudden cardiac arrest.

Holcomb was officiating a girls junior varsity game in November when he began to feel lightheaded during the second quarter.

“I’m standing there and I start feeling a little bit dizzy,” he recalled. “And I remember saying to myself, okay at halftime you’re going to need to eat something and drink some water.”

He never made it to halftime.

Holcomb collapsed on the floor in front of players, coaches, and fans. His heart had stopped.

“They saw me die, during a basketball game,” he said.

From the stands, Cabot High School athletic trainer Jennifer Asberry-Mathis sprinted onto the court, joined by several parents with medical backgrounds. One of them was Denise Hicks, a nurse and mother of one of the players. She immediately began chest compressions while others rushed to retrieve the school’s automated external defibrillator (AED).

“You never think it’s going to happen to you,” Asberry-Mathis said. “You train for it and you pray it never happens—and it did.”

Holcomb was shocked with the AED and his pulse returned before he was rushed to hospital.

“Whatever they did is what allowed me to be taken to the hospital and make it to the CCU, and get a stent put in my heart,” Holcomb said. “None of that’s possible if those nurses aren’t here, if that woman isn’t there to take care of me. If those parents aren’t here, I’m not here.”

Doctors discovered he had a 99 percent blockage in his main artery. He now lives with a heart stent and a monitor.

Nurse Denise Hicks said the scene was tense and uncertain.

“Whenever we saw him on the court and were taking care of him on the court, we weren’t sure what was going to happen,” she said.

Fellow nurse and parent Katie Boyd said seeing Holcomb after the fact was overwhelming. “Watching the video was definitely emotional, but very happy and blessed that his life isn’t finished here on earth,” she said.

Weeks later, Holcomb returned to the Cabot High School gym, walking through a tunnel of cheering students and staff. He was reunited with the people who saved his life.

In Nigeria’s Edo language, the name Nosakhere can mean “God stands by me.” For Holcomb, that meaning came to life on a high school basketball court.

“Basketball saved my life,” he said. “Basketball literally saved my life.”

Referee Reunites With Heroes Who Saved His Life After Cardiac Arrest During Game

At 94, Doreen Freeland is back doing what she’s always loved—digging in the dirt, surrounded by animals, and chatting with neighbours. She might not be on a farm in wartime Britain anymore, but she’s found something close at The Village Langley, a care facility designed specifically for people with dementia.

“It was fun sometimes, but it was a bit hard other times when everything's frosty and you got to pick those sprouts,” she says, remembering her years as a “land girl” during the Second World War, when women were recruited to keep farms running while men went off to fight.

Freeland now spends her Thursdays at The Village, southeast of Vancouver, where she gardens, feeds chickens, and bonds with goats. “The goats are quite something,” she says. “I prefer animals to people if it comes to that."

Diagnosed with dementia about five years ago, she left Nova Scotia to live with her daughter, Gail Deyle, who became her full-time caregiver. Though Freeland is also legally blind, she’s never stopped being active. “She told me once that if she can't play in the dirt, she doesn't want to be around,” says Deyle.

They both credit The Village for keeping Freeland engaged and energetic. “If we miss a Thursday, I'm in trouble,” Deyle laughs. “She gets perky every time she visits.”

The Village Langley is built to feel like a small town, not a medical institution. Set on five acres, it includes six cottage-style homes for full-time residents, a general store, a café, a hair salon, a woodworking shop, and a barn. Opened in 2019, it now houses about 75 residents.

Elroy Jespersen, co-founder of The Village, spent 30 years working in traditional seniors’ homes before deciding something had to change.

“I noticed this one group of people who struggled no matter what we did and it was people who were living with dementia,” he says. “Typically, what people would do to try to keep them safe is lock them inside a unit floor or something. I thought that's not a good way to live.”

Jespersen drew inspiration from dementia villages and “green care farms” in the Netherlands, where care is combined with outdoor activities and animal interaction. “No matter what limitations we have or what cognitive or physical disabilities we have, we all want to live our own best life,” he says. “Sometimes there is dignity in risk.”

So far, The Village Langley is the only place of its kind in Canada, though a similar project exists in Comox, B.C. Now, researchers at Simon Fraser University and McMaster University are studying the model to understand its impact—and whether it can be replicated more widely.

Professor Habib Chaudhury, who is co-leading the research, says the approach aligns with existing evidence. “Quality of life that includes greater mobility, reduced number of falls, resulted in better sleep, lower depression,” he says, listing the benefits seen in similar models in Europe.

But most long-term care in Canada still looks and feels institutional. “Long corridor, rooms on both sides,” Chaudhury says. “Very few have outdoor spaces that people can actually go and spend time in. Quite often, we sacrifice quality of life for the sake of safety.”

Starting in 2026, researchers will spend time at The Village interviewing residents, families, and staff while tracking changes in sleep, mood, and engagement. “The research team’s goal is to provide evidence that can inform future policy,” says Chaudhury, “to promote and implement innovative approaches in long-term care that will create a normalized and naturally rich, supportive care community.”

Still, there’s a catch—cost. Living full-time at The Village Langley runs between $10,000 and $13,000 a month, and currently there is no government funding. “Right now this is all done privately,” Jespersen says.

He hopes the research will lead to broader public support and funding. But experts caution that while the model shows promise, it’s not a cure.

“It’s not going to prevent them from getting worse,” says Dr. Howard Chertkow, a cognitive neurologist at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto. But he agrees the environment brings together key factors known to help: social contact, movement, and time outdoors. Still, he says public funding will depend on clear data. “We’re really going to need evidence, good evidence of what is effective. We don’t want just wishful thinking that a program is going to help.”

For Chertkow, prevention remains the most cost-effective strategy. “With exercise, with social stimulation, with better control of blood pressure … there are a number of things that can probably prevent up to half of the cases of dementia.”

More than 770,000 Canadians are living with dementia, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. That number could climb to 1 million by 2030 and 1.7 million by 2050. And stigma still plays a role in isolating those who are diagnosed.

“If you're not being invited to things, you're not being out there,” says Dave Spedding, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. “Isolation is really the enemy of the dementia journey.”

Spedding says approaches that reduce isolation benefit both patients and caregivers. For Deyle, The Village has helped her mother stay connected—to people, animals, and the earth.

“They seem to cater to just about everything that I like,” says Freeland, shovel in hand, surrounded by goats and friends. “Gail is quite pleased to leave me here and have a breather every now and again.”

Canadian Care Facility Offers Innovative Village for Dementia Patients

For several families in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, Christmas arrived just in time — thanks to a sheriff’s deputy who refused to let their holiday deliveries go missing.

Sgt. Terrell Coles was on patrol near the town of McKenney last week when he spotted a group of packages sitting unattended by the side of the road. They were near a set of mailboxes, but something didn’t add up.

“The addresses on the packages didn’t match the mailbox numbers nearby,” Coles told WTRV.

After securing the packages in his patrol car, Coles contacted FedEx to report the issue. A manager assured him that someone would come to collect the abandoned items. But days passed, and no one showed up.

So, Coles made a decision.

“At that point I took off my Sheriff’s Office hat and put on my Santa hat,” he said.

The deputy began hand-delivering the packages himself.

One of his first stops was Olivia Davis’s home. She was stunned when Coles arrived at her door with a box she had long given up on.

“I had actually given up on the package,” Davis said.

For Coles, it was a simple act of service — and the right thing to do, especially so close to the holidays.

“I know how I would feel if I ordered something and it didn’t get here on time,” he said. “One thing about police work is, you wear many different hats. And this is just another hat.”

In this case, it was a Santa hat — and for the families who were sure their packages were gone for good, the deputy’s unexpected knock on the door brought more than just a delivery. It brought back a bit of holiday magic.

Deputy Turns Santa After Finding Abandoned Packages on Patrol, Delivers All of Them

With glitter on his hooves, a Santa hat perched between his ears, and a bowtie to complete the look, Pascal isn’t your average therapy animal. But the tiny nine-year-old horse has become a breakout star at care homes across Quebec — charming residents, sparking memories, and offering emotional comfort as part of a growing animal therapy program.

“He has lots of character,” said owner Anne Caroline Coutu. “The capacity to connect with people, heart to heart, as we call it. Seeing him is sort of magical.”

Pascal is one of about 50 animals that rotate through the therapy visits run by Toutous Poilus, the animal animation organization Coutu launched in 2010. The group brings guinea pigs, doves, cats, rabbits, dogs — and Pascal — to long-term care homes, hospitals, and residences. They now run 10 to 12 sessions a week across Quebec’s Eastern Townships and the Montreal area.

At Wales Home, a care facility in Cleveland, Que., about 150 kilometres east of Montreal, Pascal’s recent visit turned heads and warmed hearts.

Polly McClure Gifford said seeing the little horse clip-clop up the hallway took her back to her childhood on a family farm.

“She wanted that pony to come in the house and sit and eat with us,” she said, laughing as she remembered her sister’s attachment to a childhood pony. “It brings back memories.”

Those moments are exactly why the animals are so welcome, says Lysanne Hamel, activities coordinator at Wales Home. “We’re out in the country here and most of them lived on a farm… so it’s kind of like grieving too, when they move in and have to leave animals behind,” she said. “To be able to see them again, pet them — it brings back good memories and time spent at home.”

Hamel was so inspired by the program, she even wrote a picture book about the animal troupe. Lily Courtepointe, named after one of Toutous Poilus’ guinea pigs, was published in the fall, with illustrations by her neighbour.

Pascal, however, remains the scene-stealer.

Jean Coates, a new resident at Wales Home, admitted she wasn’t an animal lover — until that day.

“But I might change after today,” she laughed, as a grey dove calmly sat on her head and a chicken nestled on the table in front of her. “I just can’t get over that,” she said, pointing at a bird perched motionlessly on Pascal’s rear end.

Training Pascal to be that calm and collected took time. Coutu, who won him on a Quebec game show in 2016, began training him soon after to adapt to what she calls “urban stressors” — sights and sounds that could spook animals. She desensitized him by dressing him up and taking him into noisy, high-traffic areas, preparing him for visits to hospitals and care homes.

Pascal is potty trained — an essential qualification for any therapy animal going indoors — and is rewarded with back scratches and treats. But he also gets breaks. “I respect his boundaries,” said Coutu, who ensures Pascal gets time off to rest at home.

The idea for Toutous Poilus came after Coutu witnessed the comfort animals provided to her father during his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Since then, the organization has grown significantly, powered by volunteers like Annie Lavariere, who help with everything from grooming and transport to vet care.

Lavariere says the impact is worth every bit of effort.

“Animals don’t judge,” she said. “Whether you’re rich or poor, whether you're in health or not, the animals just don’t care.”

And at the heart of it all is Pascal — glittery hooves, bowtie, and all — proving that therapy can come on four tiny legs.

Pascal the Mini Horse Brings Joy, Laughter, and a Bit of Magic to Quebec Care Homes

BBC News

At 77, Alexandra Pickford is still taking curtain calls.

The veteran ballet dancer, who began her training at the Bristol School of Dancing when she was just 11, is now preparing to tour a new stage production across southwest England in 2026. And while most of her peers long ago stepped away from the stage, Pickford is still dancing — and now directing — with a passion that refuses to fade.

“It is wonderful to succeed in my profession at this age,” she said. “Older people have something to give — all our life experience — but also something to learn.”

Pickford’s career began at the prestigious Royal Ballet School in London, part of the Royal Academy of Dancing. After graduating, she toured internationally as a soloist, performing ballet across multiple continents. Later, she became a fitness teacher, before officially retiring at 60.

But theatre was never far from her mind.

Not long after stepping back, she found herself missing the stage. During the COVID lockdown, Pickford took a leap and founded her own theatre company. “We did a very successful production which toured to the Edinburgh Fringe and sold out Bristol and theatres in Somerset,” she said.

Now, her company is working on a new play based on the life of Vesta Tilly, a trailblazing male impersonator and vaudeville star from the Victorian era. The show is set to premiere in March 2026, with performances planned across the south west.

Despite her long background in ballet, Pickford says acting is still relatively new terrain.

“I had to learn to speak on stage — I’m a four-year-old actor,” she said with a laugh. “My physical powers are failing, that’s very difficult as a dancer. I suffer after performances. Then I get up and do it again.”

Her determination has not gone unnoticed. Actor Chris Harris-Beechey, who has worked closely with Pickford for years, said her presence on stage is rare — and important.

“There’s fewer parts for older women, older people in general, but definitely older women,” he said. “That’s one of the things I love about the play — it’s showing that you never have to stop.”

“If there’s something you enjoy doing and you’re passionate about, there’s no point in letting yourself age out of that. There’ll always be a way for you to keep doing that.”

Pickford agrees. “It’s wonderful for such an old lady to go back to beginnings,” she said.

And she’s not finished yet.

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