The Beatrix Potter Society
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Moss Eccles Tarn, near Castle Cottage Photo: J. Sullivan Dear Beatrix Potter Admirers, The Beatrix Potter We are only days past Beatrix's birthday, on the 28th of July, and Society there have no doubt been a few cups of tea poured and cakes cut in her honour. If you have photos of such events, send them in for the Interested in learning more next "Pottering About". It has been quite a year of celebration! about Beatrix Potter? This issue has grown longer than expected, with a sizeable list of Consider joining the Society. exhibits and events; some on now, some to look forward to. As Meet others who are always, if you stay with us down to the bottom of the page, a smile passionate about Beatrix awaits. The next issue, due mid-September, will be a little late arriving in Potter, her life and works. your mailboxes, to allow time to add news from the Autumn You will also receive the Meeting. quarterly Journal and Newsletter, full of interesting Society News articles about Miss Potter and the Society's efforts and The Society's website Shop should be running again very shortly events. for new memberships and for orders for publications and merchandise. Please keep checking the website's Home page. Find the Membership form Thank you! for download, and more information about the Andrew Wiltshire sent Society here. this photo of the Society's publications in their new home at Task Fulfilment Ltd (on appropriately blue shelving!) ready for orders to be processed. Save the Date: December 2, 2017: Festive Gathering, Sloane Club, London. March 24, 2018: In Other News: San Diego, CA "The Worlds of Beatrix The Lake District is basking in the glow of its World Heritage site status, awarded by UNESCO early in July (if you missed it, a BBC Potter and Laura Ingalls news article can be found here). It is surprising to find not everyone Wilder: A Celebration of their is thrilled with the announcement. George Monbiot's article in The art and writing, farms and Guardian (UK), "The Lake District's world heritage site status is a gardens" betrayal of the living world" gives an opposing point of view. If that opinion leaves a sting, and you love the landscape of the Lakes, The Guardian has a series of stunning photos to soothe. Here's one for a sample: Quick Links Email us at: [email protected] m Read the previous issue of "Pottering About" here. Webte Visit the Society's web page: Buttermere Photo: Owen Humphries The Beatrix Potter Society Hull University's new exhibition, Larkin: New Eyes Each Year, delves into the life of poet Philip Larkin (who also happened to be a librarian at the university). Rather than focus on his writing, the Stay Connected exhibit looks at personal and domestic interests through collected souvenirs, books, photos, articles of clothing, letters to his mother - right down to Beatrix Potter figurines. The Yorkshire Post has a write-up on the exhibit, and The Conversation looks a little more closely at the man himself in this article. The exhibit is free and runs until October 1. "Pottering About" Editor: Janet Sullivan Proofreader: Lynne Moriarty Photo of Larkin exhibit curator, Anna Farthing, from Hull Daily Mail's report. The Guardian ran an entertaining article in July, "Beatrix Potter- pinching and Zizekian swipes: the strange world of book thefts". It relates some amusing stories of thefts from booksellers across Britain. Beatrix's little books pop up twice: Paul Sweetman of City Books in Hove comments on what he sees as the dumbing-down of book thieves: "In the 1980s, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Sylvia Plath and Jack Kerouac were the most likely to go missing, The Bell Jar and On the Road competing for being the least profitable books in the shop. We are now forced to keep Asterix, Tintin, Beatrix Potter and Dr Seuss behind the counter". Kelly Bradford of the Beckenham Bookshop says: "We can no longer stock any of the lovely small hardback editions of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, or any of the other small Beatrix Potter books, as they are continually pinched. And in Beckenham, too. Shocking." Thanks to all who sent this article. Andrew Wiltshire's book, Beatrix Potter's Secret Code Breaker, prompted an interesting Atlas Obscura article by Cara Giaimo, "Beatrix Potter's greatest work was a secret, coded journal she kept as a teen". More Coins: For the coin collectors, The Sun (UK) reports that the Tom Kitten coin will be released in August. No mention on the Royal Mint's website yet, but keep watch. Photo:The Sun Events: In the UK: August 5-13 and 15-26, 12:00 noon, Venue 360 (Underbelly Circus Hub, The Meadows) Edinburgh Fringe Festival "The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-duck": Soprano and actress Michelle Todd (a BPS Member) and the Children's Classic Concerts Festival Ensemble will perform Stephen McNeff's musical settings with tales of characters Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-duck. A little more information about the production can be found in Broadway World Scotland. Sunday, August 20, 3:00 p.m., Rutland Water Nature Reserve, Egleton, Rutland Birdfair's Pantomime, "The Tales of Beatrix Potter"; promising an enjoyable, (and chaotic) performance to delight all the family, with parts acted by Mike Dilger, Hugh Warwick, Stephen Moss, Jess French, and other Wildlife Trust VIPs. The River & Rowing Museum (Henley on Thames) exhibit, "Peter Rabbit: Mischief and Mayhem", continues until September 24. The exhibit shows the development of Peter Rabbit as a character. On display are original artworks, first editions, early Peter Rabbit merchandise, and more recent memorabilia produced as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter's birth in 2016. There is also a family trail around the Museum's permanent galleries, and Mr. McGregor's garden outside the Museum, with vegetables grown by local school children. Also at the River and Rowing Museum: Saturday, September 16, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m, Anney Harris, a co-founder of the Society, will give a lecture on Beatrix's life, covering all aspects of her life, from her privileged upbringing in London to her Lake District home. Advance booking is a must; details can be found here. Wednesday, September 20 and Friday, September 22, 7:30 p.m., Allan Bank, Grasmere "No man is an island: Hardwicke Rawnsley - a green Victorian" Dr. Rosalind Rawnsley, great- granddaughter of Canon Rawnsley, will talk about the sale of Grasmere Island in 1893 and how it inspired the founding of the National Trust. Seating is limited and advance booking is essential. Call 015394 35143 or email [email protected]. The charge of £10.00 includes drinks and nibbles. Also at Allan Bank; "Hardwicke Rawnsley: One man and an island", a free talk given by volunteers each Friday at 2:00 p.m. from September 15 until December 15 (excluding October half term). Thursday, September 21, 7:30 p.m., Wray Castle, Low Wray, Ambleside "A Nation's Heritage: Potter and Rawnsley" A talk by Dr. Rosalind Rawnsley about her great-grandfather and his friendship with Beatrix Potter. £10.00 charge, book online through the link. Until January 23, 2018, Room 102, V&A Museum, London "Into the Woods: Trees in Illustration" - an exhibit including works by Arthur Rackham, Margaret Tempest, E.H. Shepherd, and four by Beatrix. Ongoing at the Birnam Arts Centre, Birnam, Perthshire, Scotland: for families, the Beatrix Potter Exhibition and Garden. The guide for the exhibit can be found on the Birnam Arts website. Lynne Moriarty, on holiday in the UK, took a photo of the little garden's entrance: Friday, May 11, 2018, 12:00 noon, Castle Cottage, Near Sawrey Early notice, so you can make plans: Susan Branch (The New York Times best-selling author, artist, and fan of Beatrix Potter) will be paying another visit to Hill Top, and hopes to meet her British/European/American/Canadian/Down-Under/All-Over fans at Castle Cottage for a BYO Picnic Basket Party. Everyone welcome! The news has just appeared in Susan's blog - check there for more details to come. Below, a photo from the first BYO Picnic Basket Party, last summer at Stourhead in Wiltshire: Photo: Joe Hall In the US: September 30, 2017, Cheekwood Botanical Garden, Nashville, TN, time to be announced later. Marta McDowell will give her talk on "Beatrix Potter's Gardening LIfe". At the time of writing, the Garden's website has yet to list the talk but keep an eye on Marta's own listings for the time of the event. Information may also be available on the Herb Society of Nashville's website (currently in development). The event is part of that society's Herb Day. 24 March, 2018, Best Western Plus Island Palms, Shelter Island, San Diego, CA "The Worlds of Beatrix Potter and Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Celebration of their art and writing, farms and gardens" Advance notice of the California Meeting. Among other activities, Marta McDowell and Connie Neumann will compare the lives and gardens of these two writers who were contemporaries (Laura Ingalls Wilder's sesquicentennial is being celebrated this year, as Beatrix's winds up). More details will follow in the J&N, and in this space, as they become available. At the Theatre: In the UK: The Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria "Beatrix Potter's Victorian Magic Lantern Show" This theatrical performance documents Beatrix's life from childhood to conservationist and farmer, accompanied by a slide show with Lake District scenes and original footage of Victorian London.