First snowfall in Sawrey Photo: Jessica Marshall

Dear Lover, Welcome to the New Year - though by now, we all no The Beatrix Potter doubt have adapted to writing 2016 instead of 2015. This will be a busy year of celebrations for the 150th Society anniversary of Beatrix Potter's birth, and we will have to attempt to limit the use of "150th". It does try to Interested in learning creep into almost every entry! more about Beatrix Potter? Society News: Consider joining the Society. Meet others who A final reminder that Membership renewals were are passionate about due in January. The form was in the January Journal Beatrix Potter, her life and and Newsletter, or can be found here, on the Society's works. You will also website. receive the quarterly Journal and Newsletter, full For those who may be near London in March; the of interesting articles Society AGM and Linder Lecture will be held at the about and the Sloane Club, Saturday, March 5, 1:30 p.m. Dr. Juliet Society's efforts and Dusinberre will give a talk, "Beatrix Potter: Defying events. the Enemy", looking at the ways Potter's characters escape their boundaries. Tea and biscuits, sales table, Find the Membership form and bring-and-buy stall round out the afternoon. for download, and more Members are welcome to bring guests. information about the Society here. It is not too early to be thinking of this summer's Study Conference in the , July 5 - 9, "Beatrix Potter: a lasting legacy". These events are Save the Date: always a stimulating few days with a friendly and welcoming group of people, and the talks are as 2016: entertaining as they are informative. The diverse connections that Beatrix inspires are astounding. July 5 - 9, 2016: Attached is the flyer with details of the events 17th Study Conference, planned for each day, and the registration form. Non- Lake District, UK Members are very welcome to attend this Conference - there is just a small surcharge of £30 for the full July 30, 2016: event. A Beatrix Potter Tea, Details and booking form for the pre-Conference Sherman Library and tour, "Beatrix Potter's north country heritage", Gardens, Corona del Mar, (Members only) can be found on the website . CA. Details in the next "Pottering About".

September 10, 2016: Autumn Meeting, Sloane Club, London

December 3, 2016: Winter Gathering, Sloane Club, London

2017

June 9-11, 2017: US Symposium, Connecticut College, New London CT "Beatrix Potter in the Natural World - in New London on the Thames River" Details to come....

©Frederick Warne & Co Quick Links A note from Jenny Akester, Chairman of the Email us at: Society: [email protected] In 2015 we celebrated thirty-five busy and successful om years of the Society, but it has not run itself and it needs YOUR input and help to keep it going for the next thirty-five! Several Committee positions need to Read the previous issue of be filled at the AGM in March, and there are many "Pottering About" here. tasks outside the official committee: designing the website and cards, editing books, the day-to-day Website secretarial work, publicity, talking to the media, Visit the Society's web handling enquiries for use of our photographs, sending page: membership leaflets to appropriate outlets, and so The Beatrix Potter Society

much more. Not all tasks require residence in the UK, and many can be done from home. If you would like to be part of the lively and active group of people who busy themselves on your behalf, or have questions, please contact me to learn more at Stay Connected [email protected].

On Radio and Television:

'The Verb' on BBC Radio 3 looks at writing for young people on Ian McMillan's 'Cabaret of the Word' and Pottering About Editors: celebrates the language of Beatrix Potter. The episode Janet Sullivan can be found on the BBC website, but it will only be Carolyn Schaeffer available until February 20.

"Beatrix Potter with Patricia Routledge", a new TV documentary aired in the UK on January 26. Patricia played Beatrix Potter on stage in the 1990s and is now

Patron of the Society. Judy Taylor was a consultant on the project, which had Patricia travelling from London to Scotland and the Lake District, following in Beatrix's footsteps. There may be a review in the next J&N, and we will let you know if an opportunity arises for those outside the UK to see it.

Patricia Routledge © Daisybeck Studios Limited

The same day, also on British TV, "My Story" on CBeebies had six-year-old Kai Chinaka, from Middlesbrough, UK, looking at the life and stories of Beatrix Potter. He also travelled to the Lake District to film. Of the experience he says, "It was fun doing the filming. Although I couldn't look at the camera. We went to a farm, to a castle, and to Beatrix Potter's house which was really good. But because it was old we couldn't touch anything." GazetteLive has the complete article. (Thank you to David Pepper for this one.)

Kai Chinaka and album of his visit to Hill Top. Photo: Gazette Live

A last minute addition from David - he's found a clip of Kai and his mum on the CBeebies show. (Kai's mum had commented on how uncomfortable she found the Victorian dress. She really doesn't look at ease, does she?)

In Other News:

The biggest news is, of course, the announcement of the discovery of the story, "Kitty-in-Boots", though the headlines about the book being "discovered after 100 years" are more than a bit misleading. "Kitty-in- Boots" is mentioned in Beatrix Potter 1866 - 1943: The Artist and her World (Taylor, Whalley, Hobbs, Battrick), with the illustration, and in Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature (Linda Lear), to name a couple. Even better, those of you with a copy of Leslie Linder's A History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter will find the entire story, and the illustration, in its pages. Still, it will be interesting to see what illustrations Quentin Blake (best known for his illustrations in Roald Dahl's books) provides for the story, won't it?! From among the blizzard of print, radio and television reports, a link to a BBC radio program, the Mark Forrest Show, which aired January 26. It will be available until March 23. Starting around the 6 minute mark, after a musical interlude with the Bee Gees (should you remember them), is an interview with Jo Hanks from Warne, who "discovered" the manuscript. Forward past another 3 1/2 minutes of music to Libby Joy, and the Society's view on it all. A last 3-minute piece of music (ABBA, this time, if you wish to dance along Memory Lane) brings you to a very interesting interview with Matthew Dennison, who is articulate and knowledgeable about Beatrix - and has a new biography of her in the works.

The release of the Potter coins and stamps are generating great interest - and a great many mentions in the media. The stamps will be released on July 28 (the 150th anniversary of Beatrix's birth), and the first of the coins is available from the Royal Mint. Thanks to Kathy Cole, Glyn Gregory, Connie Neumann, David Pepper, and Carol Saldeen who all sent links to photos of the first design, which also features the latest (fifth) definitive portrait of the Queen:

Below are photos of the Armitt Museum's exhibit area drying out after the flooding in in December. The exhibit materials were moved to the upper floor, out of harm's way. Glyn Gregory reports that the floods have subsided, though there is much work ahead to repair damaged bridges and roads in the Lake District. The Armitt has had a decontamination team working over the last two weeks and hopes to be open for business by the end of March. Happily, the weather is restraining itself with more normal rainfall at this point.

Photos: Glyn Gregory

Among the stories of wildlife in decline, a promising sign that the harvest mouse is making a comeback in Hampshire, where it had been considered extinct for the last twenty-five years. Beatrix Potter is noted as having immortalized this wee mouse by depicting them in her illustrations. A cluster of local farmers adopted methods of managing their land that would encourage wildlife and preserve their habitats. Thanks to Suzanne Terry for the article - the full version can be read at theguardian.com.

Photo: Natural /Julian Dowse

Coming Up:

February 20, 11:30 a.m., Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, Newport Beach, CA, a Reading Beatrix Potter event. Potter Tales and crafts for the young ones.

Enchantment Theatre production of " Tales": February: Clemson, SC; Paducah, KY; Rockville Centre, NY; Clinton Township and East Lansing, MI. Early March: Fairfield and Oskaloosa, IA; Joplin, Springfield, and Florissant, MO; Forest City, AR; Tiffin, OH, and Saginaw, MI.

Photo: Enchantment Theatre

There will be many special events and exhibits this year to mark the 150th anniversary of Beatrix's birth, far too many to list them all. Lakes Culture has a selection of events in the Lake District, for young and older, to mark the anniversary - a good starting point. We will add more as we hear of them. If you are planning, or know of, anniversary happenings in your area, please send us an email and we'll be happy to mention them.

Whitecroft Tours is offering, "Beatrix Potter's Lake District Legacy", a tour from June 19 - 29, 2017, organized by Helen Bertram, former Chairman of the BPS, and led by Anney Harris, one of the co-founders of the Society, and Betsy Bray, former North American Liaison Officer for the Society. Explore many significant Lake District locations, including Lingholm, Wray Castle, the Armitt Museum, Holehird Gardens, the and Hill Top, as well as Wordsworth's Dove Cottage, the superb Arts and Crafts house, Blackwell, and some less visited places of interest for lovers of art, nature and history in the beautiful Lake District. There are still a few places left, and you can find full details on the Whitecroft Tours website. [This is an independent effort, not a Society-run tour.]

Recently:

Following up on the gingerbread recipe that mentioned Beatrix Potter's handwritten recipe book, Connie Neumann found an article (TheKitchn.com) from September 2012, when the book went up for auction:

Photo: TheKitchn.com

"Today Beatrix Potter's very rare personal recipe book will go on sale in London.The children's author is most famously known for creating the Peter Rabbit stories (although there are no recipes for rabbit in the book!). The 161-year-old book recipe book is full of what were most likely family recipes, probably handed down over generations, with recipes for sponge cake, roast turkey, curry, and gingerbread.... The earliest entry dates from 1851, and continues on through many decades....The recipe book will go on sale today at Mullock's showroom in Ludlow, Shropshire, and it's expected to sell between £200-£400."

The book was handed down through the Heelis family, so the handwriting for most recipes is not Beatrix's, but several may be her additions - perhaps this recipe for curry?

Photo: Daily Mail UK No word on what it sold for....

Photo: Marta McDowell

We are re-running this photo of BPS Members Meredith McClung, Ann Troxell, Kirke Bent, Marta McDowell, and Joyce Reilly, who got together for one of Enchantment Theatre's December performances in Philadelphia - and also took in the Potter display at the Free Library. New BPS Member, Meredith McClung, writes about her experience at the Free Library: We were treated not only to seeing rare editions of the little books, original artwork and early porcelain figurines, but also a surprise visit by Karen Lightner! She had managed to find some time to meet us - her enthusiasm for Potter's books and art brought an added bloom to our outing. She even took us into the back room and pulled out an album holding many other drawings by Potter. [Karen, head of Art and Literature at the Free Library of Philadelphia, will be one of the speakers at this summer's Study Conference.] The wisdom I took away from my first Potter outing was offered by Marta McDowell. I mentioned that my friends had reacted with somewhat blank, quizzical faces when I told them I had joined the Society. I had to explain that we share a common interest in Beatrix's art, that many well-researched books had been written about her and, no, we did not wear rabbit ears to meetings! Marta replied simply and perfectly, "There is something nice about a world that has a Beatrix Potter Society." What a comforting feeling that gives me.

Tidbits:

At the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in the last week of January: defending bronze medalists in the Ice Dance, Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam (in third place at the time of writing), were skating to "The Tales of Beatrix Potter".

Roly-Poly Pudding, not always an appetizing concoction (it was also known as "aunt's leg," "washerwoman's arm" and "dead man's leg"), has been given an update - and no kitten in the recipe. Libby Joy found an article in The Post and Courier that gives some background on the dish and a pair of recipes, an 1892 cranberry version, and the more recent - and complex - Capon Roulade With Jimmy Red Cornbread Stuffing, Dried Cranberries and Cranberry Consomme.

A quilt created by Chieko Shiraishi, one of many on display at the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival, which ran from January 21 - 27.

In Closing: Thank you for all the contributions, and a special thank you to those who contribute so regularly. Send us your news of upcoming events, stories, photos and items of interest on all things Potter-related (in 100 to 150 words). The next issue of "Pottering About" is scheduled for the middle of March. Please send submissions by March 4.

Copyright 2016, The Beatrix Potter Society All rights reserved, UK Registered Charity No. 281198

The Beatrix Potter Society, C/O PO Box 202, South Harwich, MA 02661

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