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Approaching "Beatrix's side" of , on the ferry from Bowness Photo: J. Sullivan

Dear Admirers, The Beatrix Potter Welcome back to another mix of articles, events and Society happenings - it is always an adventure to see where Beatrix will take us! Interested in learning more about Beatrix Potter? Consider joining the Society News Society. Meet others who are passionate about The Society's Committee, following the AGM in early March: Beatrix Potter, her life and works. You will also receive the quarterly Journal and Newsletter, full of interesting articles about and the Society's efforts and events.

Find the Membership form for download, and more information about the Society here.

Save the Date:

May 20, 2017: Spring Meeting, Sloane Club, London.

Rear row, l to r: Angela Black, Meetings Secretary; Miranda Gore Browne; Sue Smith, Treasurer; Helen Duder, Archivist and merchandise specialist. June 9-11, 2017: Front row, l to r: Rowena Godfrey, Chairman; Kathy Cole, Secretary Photo: Betsy Bray "Beatrix Potter in New London on the Thames River: A Symposium at the Linda Lear Center for The Society is still looking for Members to take over the roles Special Collections and of Treasurer, Sales Manager, and Editor of the Journal and Archives", Connecticut Newsletter, as well as someone to help create publications. If College, New London, CT. you can volunteer, please contact [email protected]. September 9-10, 2017: Autumn Meeting, , UK.

December 2, 2017: Festive Gathering, Sloane Club, London.

Quick Links Email us at: [email protected] m

Read the previous issue of "Pottering About" here. Matthew Webte Dennison, Visit the Society's web page: author of Over The Beatrix Potter Society

the Hills and Far Away: The Life of Beatrix Potter, gave a talk for the Stay Connected annual Linder Lecture, following the AGM.

Pottering About Editor: Janet Sullivan

Photo: Betsy Bray

When filling your calendar, please consider our forthcoming events: the Spring Meeting, May 20, at The Sloane Club in London; the Symposium at in New London, CT (US), June 9-11; the Autumn Meeting in the Lake District, September 9-10; and our Festive Gathering, December 2 in London. Details of all these will be announced on the website and in the April or July J&N. A new membership leaflet will shortly be available for download from the website. PayPal will be installed for sales, which should make payments to the Society much easier to carry out.

In Other News:

An op-ed by James Rebanks in The Times on March 1 was noticed by many of you. While not directly related to Beatrix, the opinions are ones she might well have been in agreement with, and she shared Rebanks' love of Herdwicks, and his respect for the traditions of fell farming. In any case, it is an engaging read that you can find through this link.

In The Telegraph (UK), a write-up about David Birkett, subject of a BBC documentary on life in the Lakes. Beatrix Potter appointed Birkett's great grandfather, Joe Gregg, her advising shepherd when she bought Mill Beck Farm in Langdale. Birkett says he never met Beatrix but his grandfather did, when he was a boy. "At all the sheep fairs she used to give him money to buy sweets." The full article can be found here.

A Smithsonian article does an excellent job (with help from Rowena Godfrey and Linda Lear!) of relating Beatrix's merchandising efforts, noting just how far ahead of her time she was.

Beatrix's first patented toy was Peter in 1903. One of these, dated between 1904 and 1906, recently sold at auction for £1200. Isn't he lovely?

Updates: Photo: Barnebys Nantwich News and The Sentinel report that the 38-foot tall constructed at Snugbury's ice cream farm, one of last summer's nods to Beatrix's 150th, was destroyed by arson in February. Happily, Hannah, Kitty and Cleo Sadler, the "Snugbury's sisters" have confirmed that Peter will be rebuilt, thanks to a fundraising campaign that achieved its goal in 48 hours. The sisters say, "Huge thank you to those who have offered to volunteer their time and donated, and to all the kind words of support. We would like to make a special mention to Penguin Random House, who have also donated towards the rebuild...!"

Photos: Snugbury's

The decline of the red squirrel in the UK is in the news again, with a program now underway to kill the invading greys and monitor the squirrel population. Karen Brulliard's article in has links to further sites and articles, brings Beatrix's Squirrel Nutkin and Timmy Tiptoes into the fray, and references Linda Lear. A colourful map shows how much the reds have dwindled.

Marcus Crocker's figure of Squirrel Nutkin, one of several that appeared around London last spring in honour of the 150th anniversary, seen here in front of Buckingham Palace. Photo: David Parry

The uproar over the rare books in 's estate, including a number of Beatrix's little books, has been settled. You may recall that the Sendak estate was arguing that the rare editions willed to the Rosenbach Museum and Library should remain part of the Sendak Foundation. Two years later, it has been decided that 643 books will stay at the Rosenbach, and 252 will go to the estate. The Potter books will remain at the Rosenbach (reputed to be the largest collection of Potter books in the US and the third-largest in the world). The article at philly.com has more information and photos. If anyone happens to be near Philadelphia, a representation of the collection (including some of the Potter books) will be on display at the Rosenbach until April 30.

Deborah Schakel (Holland, MI) noticed a nearby Beatrix Potter exhibit mentioned in her local paper and hurried to catch it before it closed, January 22. She sends this report: "Last November, Darlene DeHudy, a reference librarian at Muskegon Community College, spotted a collection of fifty Beatrix Potter figurines at an estate sale. Worried that the collection would not be intact at the half-price time, and overhearing a comment, "May we just buy the frog?" she hopped forward and - just like Mr. McGregor - bagged Peter, Jeremy Fisher and friends. To celebrate Beatrix's 150th,

Darlene created a captivating display at the College that included her new figurines, copies of the little books, books that Beatrix might have read, artifacts, quotes, photographs, and information from the Warne website. Darlene has been a lifelong fan of Beatrix Potter and says, "loving her books was instantaneous and everlasting. I am proud to tell her story and lift up her achievements via the display." As a BPS Member and Potter performer, I was intrigued and arranged to meet Darlene and see the display. A new little book of friendship begins. Thank you, Beatrix."

Photos: Deborah Schakel and Darlene DeHudy

Coming Up:

An auction of note on March 30: Forum Auctions, London, has first editions of most (possibly all) of the little books, including the privately-published editions of and The Tailor of . Also included are several of the Nister books and Beatrix's own copies of A Window in Thrums and The Etchingham Letters.

In the UK:

Mandy Marshall and Castle Cottage will be featured in the series "Back to the Land" with Kate Humble, Tuesday, March 21 at 8:00 p.m. on BBC2. Watch for a repeat to be listed on Sunday, March 26 in the afternoon.

"Beatrix Potter's London", in Gallery 102 of the Victoria & Albert Museum, has been extended until June 20. If you haven't seen it and will be in London this spring, be sure to set aside a little time to take in the exhibit. Next up, from June 22 until January 28, 2018, will be "Into the Woods" with images of trees in illustration, including four by Beatrix.

In the US:

Tuesday, June 13, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. The Tale of Beatrix Potter Tea, W.K. Kellogg Manor House, Michigan State University

At the Theatre:

In the UK:

The Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness-on-Windermere,

"Beatrix Potter's Victorian Magic Lantern Show", a theatrical performance of Beatrix's life from childhood, to conservationist and farmer, accompanied by a slide show with Lake District scenes and original black and white footage of Victorian London. Tickets tea and entrance to the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction.

Performance dates: May 3 and 27, September 13, and October 4.

Also at the Old Laundry Theatre, "Where is Peter Rabbit?", the play that delighted those at the 2016 Summer Conference, will be back this summer.

Performance dates: June 10 to July 3.

Tickets for both shows can be purchased through the Old Laundry Theatre's website.

In the US:

Enchantment Theatre's production, "Peter Rabbit Tales", will be performed:

April 1: Thousand Oaks, CA *There will be an Easter Egg Hunt at 1:00 and Dale Schafer of the BPS will be on hand to promote Beatrix Potter and her books. The performance begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Fred Kavli Theatre. Tickets are available through the box office or online.

April: May: Lancaster, CA; New York, NY: Prescott and Mesa, AZ; Concord, NH Albuquerque, NM; Amarillo, TX; Birmingham, AL; Lakeland, FL; Richmond, VA

See the Enchantment Theatre website for details on dates and tickets in the other cities mentioned.

For Crafters:

Available for download at peterrabbit.com: colouring pages, a gingerbread recipe, crosswords, and patterns for a Hunca Munca cross stitch, felt vegetables, and a child's Tiggy-winkle pullover.

Australian Michele Hill has just released a book, Stitching with Beatrix Potter. The quilts, cushion and smaller items featured are geared to all levels of ability.

If anyone does get the book, please write and say what you think of it - better still, send in photos of your finished works!

For more about Michele and the book, see her website. To purchase the book, go to C&T Publishing.

Tidbits:

The has a page to feature a different item from their Beatrix Potter collection every month. At the moment of sending, only January and February have items showing, but we hope March will have a feature soon.... For now, here's February's:

Image: National Trust

A pair of literary references have been spotted by Terry Hanstock (Nottingham):

In Paul Auster's recent novel, 4 3 2 1 (London: Faber, 2017) the first book that its central character, Archie Ferguson (then aged six), reads is , "...a story about a pair of housebound rodents named Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca who smash up a little girl's dollhouse because the food in there isn't real but made of plaster, and how thoroughly Ferguson savored the violence of their destructive fury, the rampage that followed the shock of their disappointed, unsatisfied hunger, and as he read the book out loud to his grandmother, he faltered over just a few words, difficult words whose meanings escaped him, such as perambulator, oil-cloth, hearth-rug, and cheesemonger. A good story, he said to his grandmother after he had finished, and very funny too. Yes, she agreed, a highly amusing story..." (pages 60-61).

On page 199 of his memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories From My Life (London: Viking, 2016), John Le Carre reveals that his 1996 novel, The Tailor of Panama, was thus called "...with tacit acknowledgement of Beatrix Potter's ."

Photo: Welwyn Hatfield Times

Willows Activity Farm, home to the Peter Rabbit Adventure Playground in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, has added a small flock of Herdwick sheep. Three have been named in honour of the Potter connections: Beatrix, Jem and Tiggy. (Camfield Place, onetime home to Beatrix's grandparents is in nearby Essendon.) More information about the Activity Farm and the Potter links to the area can be found in this Welwyn Hatfield Times article.

Historic England marked International Women's Day by releasing a list of twenty-eight groundbreaking . Yes, Beatrix is on it. They are fascinating women - most of the names are not widely known, so take the time to have a look.

Spotted in the Truro Daily News (Nova Scotia, Canada): As part of Freedom to Read Week (February 27 to March 4), the Truro branch of the Colchester East Hants Public Library invited people to have a mug shot taken with their favourite "banned book". Leah Benetti, who works at the library, chose The Tale of Peter Rabbit as her favourite. It was banned in London for only portraying middle class .

Photo: Jonathan Riley, Truro Daily News

In Closing: Thank you for reading, and for all the contributions. Please continue to send 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 end of April. Send submissions up to April 23.

Copyright 2017, The Beatrix Potter Society All rights reserved, UK Registered Charity No. 281198

The Beatrix Potter Society, c/o 9 Villiers Court, Helmsley, Yorkshire YO62 5AX United Kingdom

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