The February 16 concert of traditional spirituals featuring local singing group WORD, guest conductor Moses Hogan, and soloists Dr. Gary Burgess and Marcelle Clamens, will take place at St. John's church, Pembroke, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets ($25) are available from the Adventist Book Store on King Street, Opus One on Reid Street, and from WORD members. For further information ( 236-9843.

Actor Michael Douglas will unveil a plaque in memory of his late uncle, pianist Lawrence Dill, when the Bermuda Conservatory of Music celebrates Mr. Dill's life in early February. The plaque will mark a studio named in his honour.

Mr. Douglas will also present the new Lawrence Dill Scholarship to its first recipient, Aaron Daniels, who studies piano with faculty member Dr. Karol Sue Reddington. The scholarship was founded by Mr. Dill's daughter, Susan Attride-Sterling, other members of the Dill family including Mr. Douglas, and friends. It is to be awarded annually on the basis of ability and financial need. The date of the invitation-only event is pending.

Meanwhile, the Conservatory is also planning another event when plaques to honour the contributions of the late Wendy Kyle, Partner Re, Fidelity Investments Ltd., the Hon. Deidre Chapman, and the West End Management Group will be unveiled. Mrs. Kyle was chairperson of the Suzuki School of Music and contributed significantly to its success. The other individuals and companies have given financial assistance to the Conservatory.

Bermudian Mario Trott-Simons, whose poetry has received international recognition, has now published her first book, "The Kiss of Poetry." It contains 27 poems with computerised illustrations by Daphine Douglas, and is sold at Washington Mall Magazines for $7.

Ms Trott-Simons, who was born and raised here, has spent part of her life in Jamaica and is the mother of two children. Her poetry is inspired by events good and bad in her life, the poignancy of which is reflected in her writing.

"There is something in the book to touch everybody," she says. "Because I was going through a lot of stress I turned to writing, so I say I am giving people my heart. My poems are intended to lift people up. I wanted to show that through all your stress there is still hope, no matter what."

The collection includes a poem about Bermuda, to which the writer longed to return when living in Jamaica, and 'My Two Angels,' which refers to her children.

Ms Trott-Simons regularly enters poetry contests, and two of her poems, 'Cycle of Life' and 'Bermuda, My Little Island,' received awards from the International Library of Poetry (ILP) in O Wings Mills, Maryland, USA. The same organisation also included 'Cycle of Life' in its publication, 'Ballads of our Lives.'

Ms Trott-Simons has been twice nominated 'Amateur Poet of the Year' by the ILP, and was invited to go to Washington, DC to read her poetry, but was unable to accept.

Ms Trott-Simons is also herbalist with 22 years' experience. She recently invented a successful hair product, Panacea, for which the Business Development Centre in Jamaica has now given her a grant to develop and market.