View from Wray Castle grounds. The Potter family first spent a summer here when Beatrix was sixteen. Photo: J Sullivan

Dear Lover, Pottering About is back (at last!) after a pause for a summer The Beatrix Potter break. In that time, the internet provider has been changed - Society hence the slightly different look. We are a wee bit later than Want to learn more about anticipated with this issue with a few technical wobbles Beatrix Potter? along the way but, from now on, Pottering About should be Consider joining the Society. in your mail box every six weeks. You not only meet people who are passionate about Summer Happenings: Beatrix Potter, her life and works, you receive the Pottering About may have sat idle, but Beatrix Potter quarterly Journal and certainly did not! Her name appeared in literary articles, sale Newsletter, full of interesting listings, suggestions for Cumbrian walks and, in what must articles about be the strangest reference yet, as the nickname of a roller and the Society's efforts and derby player on the Nottingham Roller Girls. Feartrix Rotter! events. Gemma Fenyn, aka Feartrix, is a Beatrix Potter fan and mother-of-two. Can you picture her reading the Tales to her Go here to learn more about children at bedtime, then morphing into Feartrix for the the Society and to find the rink? Membership form for download.

In June, Dolly Parton delivered the millionth book from her Imagination Library reading Save the Date: program to a happy five-year-old in Liverpool. Not only was it the Saturday, December 6, 2014 millionth book in the scheme, it The Beatrix Potter Society's was the first in Braille - and it was Christmas Gathering The Tale of ! Thanks The Sloane Club, London to Glyn Gregory and David Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Pepper for sending the story. The A talk by Alan Titchmarsh full version can be found here. ('Peter Rabbit and Me'), followed by lunch.

Tickets on sale in October - check the BPS website.

Quick Links Email us at: [email protected] Website Visit the Society's web page: Beatrix Potter Society

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Pottering About Editors: Janet Sullivan Carolyn Schaeffer In July, a letter from Beatrix Potter to Victor Clarke was sold by Sotheby's in London for a staggering 9,000 GBP (14,725.00

US). The letter was written in May 1906 and closes with two sketches of Jeremy Fisher (see above photo) - a sneak peak of a character not yet in print. The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher was released two months later. Also mentioned were The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit (published later in 1906), and Tuppenny, the guinea pig, who figured in The Fairy Caravan (published much later, in 1929). For more details, go here. Thanks to Carol Saldeen for sending the story.

A Birthday Tea: Kelly Hicks writes to us of a special celebration that was held in July: "A group of Society Members from all over California gathered together recently in celebration of Beatrix Potter's birthday - and a few more notable milestones besides! Held a few days before the anniversary of Beatrix's birthday, the elegant tea fell on the actual birthday (her 89th!) of Anadel Law, the hostess of the event. Anadel was helped in pulling the event together by Brenda Martin, Judith Hedgpeth, Carmen Curtis, and Lynne Farrell, the Society's new North American Liaison Officer. Upon the welcome of the afternoon's attendees, Anadel was presented with a small cake of her very own in honor of her special day!

Carmen had organized a fun ice-breaker activity based on Beatrix's code alphabet (see photo), which was among a number of small favors gracing each place setting.

Photo: K Hicks After the delicious fare was consumed, Brenda reported on the interesting lecture given by Rowena Godfrey at The Beatrix Potter Society's 16th International Study Conference, and Dale Schafer shared slides that provided a glimpse of Eastwood House at Dunkeld, where some of the Conference attendees were lucky enough to lodge.

The final celebration of the afternoon was in Dale's honor: tribute was made to her fifteen years of service to the Society as a North American Liaison Officer and a gift was presented to her. Dale's efforts and dedication over the years are reason for celebration indeed - and a gathering for Beatrix's birthday made for the perfect setting in which to recognize such a good friend to the aims of the Society. Thank you, Dale!"

Coming Up:

October:

The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, CA 91108

A Celebration of Stories 11 October (Saturday) 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Step into a story during this one-day family program celebrating all things literary. Books will be brought to life through performances throughout the gardens by Unbound Productions, the Independent Shakespeare Co. and LA Opera. Visitors can also enjoy readings by The Beatrix Potter Society, drop-in activities with the Art Grist, and more. General Admission. www.huntington.org

Following the program a tea will be held: 4 p.m. at Rose Tree Cottage in Pasadena, CA. Call or email Mary Fry to confirm your attendance for the tea. (626) 793-3337, [email protected]

November:

There will be an informal Beatrix Potter Society gathering in Harwich, MA (Cape Cod) on Saturday, 1 November, from 2-4 p.m. Photos will be shown from the Society's Conference held in Scotland this summer. For more information, contact Betsy Bray at [email protected].

Eastwood House, Dunkeld, Scotland Photo: B Bray

For the Readers:

'Dear Mr Cunningham'

The book is a transcript of thirty-three letters sent from Beatrix Potter to Miranda Tisdale's Great Grandfather, Samuel Cunningham. They start in February 1935, when Beatrix Potter responded to an enquiry about Herdwick sheep from Samuel. He had sourced her details from a letter Beatrix had put in The Times. The communication continues until Beatrix's death in 1943; the content fluctuates between literature, farming, the weather, the War and general rumblings about life on a hill farm. There is also a memorandum, written just a few days before her death, and seven letters sent to Samuel's daughter in law, Dorothy.

Cost of book £7.99 (approximately $13.00 US) Postage to USA one book £4.75 (approx. 7.75 US), 5 books £12.85 To order a copy, contact Miranda Tisdale at [email protected]

Goodreads Book Chats

There are two online discussion groups, hosted on Goodreads.com. Although they have been quiet this summer, readers continue to sign on and both are active, should anyone wish to participate. The first, Marta McDowell's Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life, is a delight for gardeners and Potter fans alike. Marta's chat themes cater to both - drop by and have a look. The second discussion group, led by Janet Sullivan, is dedicated to The Fairy Caravan, a chapter book published late in Beatrix Potter's life, not as well-known as the little books but dear to Beatrix's heart. Signing on to Goodreads is free - both discussions need an invite. Simply look up the discussion and send a request, or send an email to [email protected] and ask to be included.

For the Collectors:

Beatrix Potter was shrewd and creative when it came to merchandizing her characters. Even in the early 1900s the offerings ranged from soft toys to puzzles, Peter Rabbit slippers, wallpaper and more. Would today's retail bonanza of items sporting Potter bunnies have been a surprise to Beatrix? Is it any wonder many of us are collectors? If you have a special item, a piece of Potter memorabilia, a collection (large or small) that you would like to share, send a photo and tell us a bit about it (100 words or so, to: [email protected]).

Beatrix Potter and the Armitt Museum:

For a short article about Beatrix, her accomplishments and connection to the Armitt Museum in Ambleside, England, go to this web page: The Wandering Museum Consultant. It includes another link to the Armitt's exhibit: "Beatrix Potter: Image and Reality", with an impressive online display of some of Beatrix's illustrations of fungi and wildlife.

Interesting Tidbit: The English actor Simon Pegg lives in a historic home in Hertfordshire, just north of London, which once belonged to Beatrix Potter's grandparents. "The house itself is 500 years old and there is bathtub in it that's about 250 years old that (Potter) probably had a bath in," says Pegg. "It's got this lovely history to it." [We assume this is Camfield Place, owned by Edmund and Jessy Potter and described by Beatrix in her Journal as "the place I love best in the world". Also owned by author Barbara Cartland for many years.]

In Closing:

Thank you for taking the time to read our news. Please continue to send us your contributions, news of upcoming events, and reports on events just past (in 100 words or less). Please feel free to forward Pottering About to your friends. Watch for the next issue of to land in your electronic mailboxes at the end of October.

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