Number 82: Summer 2012 2012 Annual Meeting Saturday 25th August in Warwick You often see lists of things everyone should do before they die. Something that should be on every Follower's list is to attend and enjoy the experience of a Followers' Annual Meeting. Those of you who have been along before know what I mean and many of you come along year after year to savour the delights on offer as well as meet up with old friends and like-minded people. Every year there are different things to see and do and also there are many traditional happenings, which are always very popular. The Origami demonstrations and folding workshops are regularly well attended and the Rupert play in the Theatre is another favourite feature. The Children’s Theatre Group put on a different play each year. Our talks are also well received and past speakers have included Rupert Editor Ian Robinson sand the expert on Children’s Literature Mary Cadogan. One past talk that is well remembered was when Art Historian, the late Brian Stewart, came along and gave an amusing and informative presentation on Rupert art and answered the interesting problem of how a lizard can ride a bicycle (a Mary Tourtel picture on a Monster Rupert cover). We always hoped to get Brian to return but unfortunately he tragically died before that could happen. Brian was responsible for the excellent Rupert Dossier and this year we are fortunate to have Howard Smith, his partner in the compilation of the book, and I can promise you his talk on his involvement with Brian and Rupert will contain some more amusing anecdotes. This year's John Hunt There are a number of other presentations being planned including a viewing in the model is of Podgy Theatre of the Terry Jones Channel 4 programme on Alfred Bestall which helped to inspire many to be interested again in Rupert. Of course there will be the usual Dealer Bourse with the opportunity to buy anything and everything Ruperty, plus many other distractions including a return of the North-West Group’s Conversation Corner where you can see images of many rare and scarce Rupert items and have a chat with fellow enthusiasts. Stuart Trotter, current Rupert artist will be in attendance and signing Annuals. He also likes to meet Rupert enthusiasts and spends time walking around and talking to members. Just to remind you that there will be the usual Friday and Saturday night special evening meals, (further details from Tony Griffin 01926 401707), and plenty of extra surprises, including a new John Hunt model. He manages to provide one year on year and this year's model is of Podgy. So, as I started off by saying, attending the Annual Meeting is a must for all Followers of Rupert, so make this year special for you by being there. Fill in the enclosed form and get it off early, particularly if you require on-site overnight accommodation, as this is limited to “first come, first served”. John Beck 2012 Followers' AGM – official notification This is formal notification that the 2012 AGM will take place at Warwick School at 12 noon on Saturday 25th August. It is proposed that Ben Griffin become the Membership Secretary and Pamela Stones become Assistant Newsletter Editor. All other Committee incumbents are proposed for re-election. It is proposed that a new level of Annual Membership be offered at £15 per annum as an option whereby Newsletters will be sent by e-mail. This will become available and operational when facilities are in place to offer this service. All other subscription levels to remain unchanged. Any other proposals must be lodged with the Secretary 30 days before the date of the meeting. John Beck (Secretary) NUTWOOD NEWSLETTER Number 82 Summer 2012 – Page 3 Contents New Website Progress 2012 Annual Meeting in Warwick ……..……..… 2 Notice of the 2012 AGM ......................................... 2 Work is proceeding on the setting up of our new Guest Editorial …............…...............….……......... 3 website RupertBear.co.uk and it is hoped we will Rupert Raffle ...................................................…… 4 have a presentation at the Annual Meeting whereby A little Rupert nostalgia .......................................... 5 all can see the facilities and content this will offer. Dogs in Rupert's Adventures by Ruth Sear ........ 6 It is hoped that it will encourage new members to Blackbird by Phil Toze ........................................... 11 join and also provide content access for members After Bestall by John Lester ................................. 12 only to view. Louise Hopkins and Pamela Stones Junior Club update ................................................. 16 are liaising with our website designers to ensure Sailor Sam by Ruth Sear ……..…….............…..... 17 the content will be accurate and topical. Rupert in the Daily and Sunday Express .............. 18 The Internet Elf Nutwood Postbox .................................................... 21 Guest Editorial Here we are again with the AGM close upon us- and of course Tony and his family will not need reminding of that as they have already put great efforts into getting the show on the road. It's easy to forget that as it all seems to go so smoothly on the day, but of course the reason it seems like that is all the meticulous preparatory work. So, I know that Tony has the usual mix of regular favourites and new attractions. Stuart Trotter will, I'm pleased to say, be with us again and as for dealers, I'm sure you'll agree that that was an area where there was a marked improvement last year and this is hoped to continue. As for new events, I'm really excited by the fact that Tony has arranged for an in-depth talk by Howard Smith, the designer of the estimable Rupert Bear Dossier. If you've never come to one of our events before, why not make this the year; you won't regret it I'm sure. The other great attraction for me is always the opportunity to renew those friendships we've built up over the years, so all you regulars, make sure you're with us again. The day will of course include the formal AGM itself (don't let that put you off, it rarely exceeds half an hour), when we will be informing you of our finances and membership levels. Again the efforts of Tony and his family, on sales, recruitment, and other initiatives, have helped a lot, but unfortunately membership does continue to decline, and of course we have been hit by the unprecedented rise in postal rates. Those initiatives I've mentioned include reduced rates for joining for 2 or 3 years, and an invitation to add a small donation when renewing. For those who have availed themselves of this, warmest thanks, and if you haven't yet, perhaps you would consider doing so. Another way you can assist the Society is by choosing a present or two from the Sales Catalogue, whether for yourself or someone else. I'm sure you'll agree that Tony's re-vamp of the Catalogue has made it a lot more tempting. Other areas of course are buying raffle tickets, and buying Annuals from us even though we know that you might be able to source them from elsewhere slightly more cheaply. Okay, enough! I'll put the begging bowl away now. My principal message to close with is - please do your very best to make it to the AGM. I so look forward to seeing you there. John Swan (Chairman) ! 2012 Rupert Annual We are pleased to hear that the next Rupert Annual is planned to be published in time for our Annual Meeting and remain the same price as last year with no reduction in pages. There will be a new Stuart Trotter story, Rupert and the Bosun’s Chair, and two others plus some original origami and new activity features. The print run will be only 40,000 so make sure you get your order in early as it will sell out quickly, something that has been apparent in the past few years when there have been no remaindered copies available after Christmas. Here's a picture of the cover, which is well up to Stuart’s usual form, and he will be coming along to our meeting to sign copies for members, so make sure you order your copies of the Rupert Annual when you register. We are also offering non-attending members a chance to purchase a signed copy. Please send Tony the enclosed form and your cheques early so that we can make sure you are not disappointed. John Beck NUTWOOD NEWSLETTER Number 82 Summer 2012 – Page 4 ! Rupert Raffle – fantastic prizes! As usual our Annual Raffle will contain over 50 prizes most of which are exclusive and not available for sale so the only way to get these are to buy some tickets. We are grateful to both Stuart Trotter and Raymond Briggs, who is a long time Rupert fan, for their artwork contributions. Stuart has produced a piece of original Rupert artwork and Raymond Briggs a picture of the Snowman, which is particularly desirable as original Snowman artwork seldom appears. We also have some delightful Gina Hart original artwork and a number of her colour art-cells produced for our Nutwood Specials, and these look Original$Stuart$Trotter$ delightful when mounted and framed on the wall. Rupert$artwork$ The$Raymond$Briggs$ Snowman$artwork$ We also will have a Rupert Letter Rack provided by our talented member Bob Whiter and some Rupert Annual proof cover pulls which will also frame up nicely and, if you are present at the draw and win one, I am sure Stuart will be pleased to sign it for you.