When Tanya was doing some research into the things to do in the Lake District, this was the one that I really wanted to go to - The World of Beatrix Potter. I grew up reading her books and feel in love with the animal characters in her stories.
So I was super chuffed that were able to fit it in amongst all our rambling. And right at the front door to welcome us ..... Jemima herself!
Here is a little blurb about just some of Beatrix's friends:
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Peter's mother warns him not to go into Mr McGregor's garden, (his father was put into a pie by Mrs McGregor!) but mischievous Peter squeezes under the gate and eats an enormous feast of vegetables. Suddenly, Mr McGregor sees Peter and chases him furiously all around the garden! Peter finally manages to escape very frightened and without his blue coat and shoes.
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
but Nutkin taunts Mr Brown with riddles. Finally Mr Brown loses his temper and drags Nutkin into his house, intending to eat him. Nutkin escapes, but loses half his tail.
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
Benjamin Bunny goes to visit Peter Rabbit one day, and persuades him to sneak into Mr McGregor's garden, where Peter's clothes are being used as a scarecrow. They collect some onions for Mrs Rabbit, but before they can escape from the garden they see a cat and have to hide under a basket, which the cat sits on for five hours! Benjamin's father finally rescues the naughty pair.
The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle
A little girl named Lucie is always losing her pocket handkerchiefs. She sets out along the hillside to search for them and reaches a little door. Behind the door is a short, stout washerwoman named Mrs Tiggy-winkle, who shows Lucie all the clothes she has washed and ironed for the animals. And there in her basket are Lucie's pocket handkerchiefs!
The Tale of Jeremy Fisher
Mr Jeremy Fisher wants to catch some minnows for his dinner so he decides to go out fishing. He sits on his boat for nearly an hour but catches nothing! he finally feels a tug at the end of his fishing rod - but it isn't a minnow! Mr Jeremy Fisher is seized by a huge trout and pulled into the water! he manages to escape and invites his friends to dinner, vowing never to go fishing again.
The Tale of Tom Kitten
Tome Kitten and his sisters, Mittens and Moppet, are dressed up in their best clothes by their mother so they look smart for some guests. But the kittens get up to all sorts of mischief in the garden and Tom loses all his clothing, which is then stolen by the Puddle-duck family. Tom's mother is so annoyed, she sends the kittens to their room, where they get up to more mischief.
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
Jemima is a rather silly duck who lives on a farmyard and longs to hatch her own eggs, so she decides to build a nest away from the farm and sets off one day to a nearby wood. She meets a charming gentleman, who offers to let her build a nest in his comfortable woodshed. Jemima doesn't realise that this charming gentleman is really a cunning fox!
The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies
Benjamin Bunny and his children, the Flopsy Bunnies, visit a rubbish heap outside Mr McGregor's garden and eat an enormous quality of lettuces, which make them fall asleep. Mr McGregor sees the sleeping Flopsy Bunnies and puts them in his sack. But Mrs Tittlemouse nibbles a hole in the sack and sets the bunnies free.
Beatrix Potter was the author and illustrator of all her books. She first introduced her characters to her cousins in a letter. They loved reading her stories, and after several refusals from publishers, she printed The Tale of Peter Rabbit privately and all 250 copies sold out.
In 1902, Frederick Warne & Co published 8000 copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which sold out instantly. By 1905, Warne had published six of Beatrix Potter's books. With the profits, Beatrix bought Hill Top Farm in the Lake District village of Near Sawrey - a radical step for a young single woman in Victorian times. Here she wrote several of her most popular tales.
It has been suggested that Beatrix may have taken some of the names for her characters from tombstones in the Brompton Cemetery, near Earl's Court which is near where she grew up in London. Some of the names of people buried there were: Mr Nutkins, Mr McGregor, Mr Brock, Mr Tod, Jeremiah Fisher and even a Peter Rabbett.
During our "Living the Dream" tour back in 2012, Tanya and I hung out in this beautifully overgrown cemetery whilst waiting for the Olympic volleyball to finish at Earl's Court. If only I'd known this information back then, we could have wandered around looking for the names.... However, we did come across this man in the cemetery, so perhaps wandering wasn't the best idea!
Thank you for your fabulous imagination Beatrix.
Our new best friend
The funniest thing in the BP World was the French translation of The Tale of Mr Whiskers to L'Histoire de Samual Moustache!
And possibly the creepiest thing was these random, angry looking bunny heads that were just sitting there with no bodies.
No comments:
Post a Comment