Kew is beautiful! Unfortunately, that Friday was the coldest day we have experienced yet, and it rained all day. Yuck! Talk about spoiling a beautiful day! Despite this, we all did enjoy looking at everything and learning more about Beatrix Potter, who used Kew to research--and that is an interesting story in itself.
We first met one of the head librarians at Kew, Fiona, who was very kind and knowledgeable. She showed us a great deal of selected texts/materials from Kew's library and archive, and she took us around the archive itself.
She also showed us some Beatrix Potter material, and we learned a great deal about her. Most people only associate Beatrix with telling sweet little Peter Rabbit stories, but she was actually much more interesting than that. One of her main interests was botany, and she began coming to the Kew, before writing the Peter Rabbit stories, to research mushrooms and fungi in general. She had a theory about the way fungi reproduce, that the fungi release tiny spores that germinate into new plants. This theory ran counter to the commonly accepted theory (I was exhausted by that point of the week and had a cold, so I can't remember what she said the original idea was.) Beatrix came to this conclusion after researching heavily at Kew. Fiona showed us the sign-in sheets she used, calling herself "Beatrix Potter" at first and then signing as "H.B. Potter" later, which was probably an attempt at gender neutrality. To make a long story short, Beatrix tried desperately to get scientists, all of whom were male, to accept her theory. They all refused to help her or take her seriously, and one man shut down her research. Sadly, Beatrix was right! As Fiona said, if she had been taken seriously, there is no telling what she could have done or what we have remembered her for. As we were allowed to peruse the collection, Fiona told us, "Ladies, feel the pain, and men, feel the shame." We all laughed. I tried to take some pictures, but everything was behind glass and, as a result, my pictures look like nothing but a huge, shiny blob.
Later that day, we were treated to a lecture from Andrew Wiltshire, a true English gentleman (I mean that sincerely this time) if there ever was one. He was witty and engaging, and his story was fascinating, adding another element to Beatrix Potter's persona.
Mr. Wiltshire is related to the man who decoded Beatrix Potter's diary. Apparently, Beatrix kept a diary, but it was completely written in a code she made up. The family has had the diary for a long time, but no one knew what it was; it looked like gibberish. Here is a page from the diary I found online:
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| From: http://scienceblogs.de/klausis-krypto-kolumne/files/2013/12/00020-Beatrix-Potter-Diary.png |
As you can see, it is indecipherable...or so it would seem. Mr. Wiltshire's relative (again, I was so tired and sick that day, some of the details escape me now) got permission to view the diary, as Beatrix had been an interest of his. It took him several years, but one day, when he was about to give up, he found one name she forgot to decode! Four years later, he had deciphered Beatrix Potter's diary! You can now purchase the diary, if you are interested. Truly, a remarkable story!
After the lecture, we were able to have lunch at Kew and then explore the gardens. I took a good many pictures, coming out of my picture-taking fatigue. Here are some for you to enjoy!
Love,
Laura
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