Five on Potter

Hello, thank you for dropping in, it's lovely to see you here.  Today I am joining the lovely Amy at Love Made My Home for the last Five on Friday until September and I would like to share with you a very personal Five, one which I have been waiting for and I think some of you have, too.

 

Helen Beatrix Potter was born on 28th July 1866 and here in the UK, we are making a bit of a to-do about her this week: the Royal Mail has issued a set of commemorative stamps and the Royal Mint has been issuing commemorative coins.  Here in my Shropshire patch, I need no anniversary to remind me about her -

 

 

When I was a very small child in the 1960s, my Aunt Anne bought me these books, a few at a time for my birthdays and Christmases until I had the complete set, all twenty-three of them.

Can you see the price?  Five shillings, or 25p in decimal currency, and Aunt Anne bought me twenty-three of them.  I believe the current price is £5.99.   I was not the first niece for whom she did this and nor would I be the last, I think there are three of them in the family.  I LOVED these books: they are the perfect size to be held by little hands, there is a beautifully detailed picture on every other page and the stories themselves are full of excitement and adventure.  Don't let those delicate pictures beguile you into thinking that these are sweet, romantic little tales.  Oh no, they're not.  Have you ever read The Tale of Mr Tod?  It's SCARY.  The Tailor of Gloucester?  One of the creepiest Christmas stories ever - Simpkin is a cruel and nasty piece of work.  The Tale of a Fierce Bad Rabbit?  He gets his comeuppance in the end and it involves a shotgun.  My books are not in very good condition but I make no apologies for that because they have been read, over and over again, and surely that is the purpose of books, to be read, not just to sit on shelves and be admired/neglected.  However, some of my books do have little leaflets tucked inside them, as they did when they were purchased. 

 

For thirty-two shillings you could have bought a bookcase to house your books.  That's £1.60 in today's money.

So, in celebration of Miss Potter's 150th birthday, today I would like to show you five other things which live in my house.  The thing is, "in the house" didn't feel at all the right place to show them to you, so I have brought them out into the garden and we have sat in the sunshine, accompanied by the drone of bumble bees feasting on the nectar in the flowers, the fluttering of butterflies and a sleeping cat.  I think Miss Potter would have preferred that.

1.  Timmy Tiptoes

 

I was a teenager when Aunt Anne bought me this Beswick figurine.  Every autumn, when I am out in the woods and the squirrels are busy running around, burying their nuts and seeds, I am reminded of the greedy little chap in the red jacket and of how accurately Beatrix Potter captured the likeness of grey squirrel on the page.

2.  Peter Rabbit

 

This plate is not mine, it belongs to The Teacher, a gift for her first birthday and baptism and if she reads this, my 'phone will be red hot because she'll be demanding it back, but at the moment it's in my house, as it has been for almost all of her life.  It was bought for her by one of her doting aunts and given with strict instructions that it should be used daily, not simply admired from afar, which is why its sibling mug and bowl no longer exist. Many, many meals were taken from this plate by little hands.  

 

3.  Benjamin Bunny

Of course, this picture is of Peter Rabbit but the image comes from The Tale of Benjamin Bunny.  Both of my girls spent many happy hours putting this puzzle together on the living room carpet, learning to match and to fit and enjoying the story of how Peter and Benjamin retrieved Peter's jacket and shoes from Mr McGregor's garden.  One day, perhaps, their children might do the same.

4.  Mrs Tiggy-Winkle

 

I have very few ornaments in my garden but Mrs Tiggywinkle lives out there all year round, peeping out from behind the foliage.  After all, she is very shy.  The book is in poor condition now, it has been read it so very many times.  

 

 

5.  Ta-dah!

 

 

 

The bookcase!  Aunt Anne spent those thirty-two shillings on the perfect place to keep my books and I have been grateful ever since because it really is something special.  You can see now just how well-read my books are, but I can't regret it, my girls, their friends and I have gained so much pleasure from them.  I wonder if I will be able to squeeze in The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots when it's published later this year? 

 

 

Thank you for indulging me and allowing me to share this little lot with you.  I'm off now to raise a cup of tea to Beatrix Potter and wish her a happy birthday.  If you have time, please hop over to Love Made My Home and see what everyone else is sharing this weekend.

 

(And just in case you are thinking that Miss Potter's books are simply children's stories, there is a very interesting article here which may convince you otherwise.)

 

See you soon.

 

Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x