The impetus for her novel came from her brother, who was a South African lawyer and had grim tales to tell of torture and terror from his clients. He is now an Anglican priest. Hayward teaches ESL at Santa Maria Urban Mission and was a teacher in both England and South Africa, where she was born and grew up.

Hayward is her pen name; Glynnis Belchers is her day-by-day name. Her husband, Brian Belchers, is a vice president at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, management consultants. Their children, Lindsay and Graham, graduated from St. Andrew's School, and Glynnis was president of the parents' association and a substitute teacher there.

Lindsay, 26, is teaching in London after graduating from Los Gatos High School and UCLA, and Graham is a junior at Georgetown, studying in Denmark and South Africa this year. A Telling Time is available at Main Street Antiques, British Food Centre in Campbell, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

PACKAGE ALERT: Dave Snyder is not usually confrontational, so he amazed wife Joanna—and perhaps himself—when he demanded credentials from two teens he figured were intent on theft.

Dave, out walking his dog, noticed two packages propped at a neighbor's door. When Snyder came back that way he saw two teens walking along with a clipboard and box. He assumed they were taking a survey or selling something. Then he passed the neighbor's porch, noticed a package missing and confronted the boys.

One teen wore a jersey with Wallace 80 on it. By now the package had been shoved under a hedge. While Snyder went to his house to get a camera, the boys vanished. The police patrolled the Johnson Avenue area but found no trace. Later the Snyders printed up a neighborhood alert flyer.

New neighbors Kurt and Niloufar Bachmann got their mail and both packages intact the next day, thanks to Dave Snyder's watchful eye. In response to the flyer, another neighbor, Cathie Noble, reported a missing package, too, but Joanna had spotted her package across the street while delivering the flyers. So that, too, was gratefully retrieved.

The two women have since struck up a friendship and have become walking buddies. Another respondent said the boys were selling newspaper subscriptions so may have been legit. Still, Dave Snyder cautions neighbors to make their houses look occupied and have someone pick up their mail when absent.

VIOLINIST: Van Meter third-grader Anya Rehon wanted to raise money for her school and cast about for the best way to do this. She decided to take her talents to the Los Gatos Farmer's Market, where she entertained one recent Sunday, playing the violin.

She's been taking lessons, off and on, since age 2. The 9-year-old raised $125 with her musical morning, a sum she presented to her school the next day. Anya is the daughter of Lisa Roberts and Peter Rehon, and proud grandparents are Frances and Charles Roberts.

INJURED IN INDIA: Ray Dellavecchia, former owner of Jiffy Market, suffered a serious head injury while traveling in India with his wife, Ruth. Emergency brain surgery was performed in New Delhi, and he was hospitalized there for four weeks. He is now in Santa Clara Valley Medical rehab.

The blow was caused by the tour bus he was on going hard over a speed bump. Ray and four others bumped their heads on the bus ceiling. The group had visited Singapore, Maylasia, Thailand, Pennang and Sri Lanka before reaching India.

INTO THE WOODS: In the cast of Into The Woods, produced by Peninsula Youth Theatre, are Justine Lauren of Los Gatos as Rapunzel; Lindsay Wilkinson of Los Gatos as the harp; and Jillian Lawson of Saratoga as the baker's wife.

The production at Cubberley Community Center, Palo Alto, will run May 14, 15, 16 at 7:30 p.m.; May 17 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and May 18 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $13-$16. Call the box office at 650.988.8798.

CLARIFICATION: Pat Bargetto did, indeed, give a raffle ticket to Kathy Cusick that turned out to be the necklace-winning one at the AAUW English Tea, but Cusick paid for it. Bargetto felt a recent item here made her look selfless enough to apply for sainthood.

NEWS-TYPE TYPES: Several Silicon Valley Community Newspapers toilers cropped up at a recent birthday party for Executive Editor Dale Bryant, given by husband Ken. The doings were conducted at a neighbor's home, because the Bryant digs are being revamped after terrible termite temerity.

Bylines you may recognize: Sandy Sims and husband Phil, Carl Heintze and wife Marge. The exact number of birthdays will not be cited here, since I'd like to keep this job.

Got a tip for Main Street? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.