Winnie the Pooh at the V & A

Gwion and I got down to the V & A this week for their exhibition on Winnie the Pooh. We enjoyed seeing it. It's on until April 8. More info here.

Goodbye Christopher Robin

The three of us (as we are now) went off to the cinema this week to see Goodbye Christopher Robin. I thought it was very good, with no objectionable scenes (the PG certificate is because the footage includes war scenes). Having a soft spot, like so many others, for Winnie the Pooh (the books rather than the Disney film not that I dislike that at all) it was good to get the background story, which I presume is accurate.

Not wanting to spoil it for others, I particularly enjoyed a scene where Christopher Robin's parent send him a special musical present. (I'd like to do the same for my grandsons but could never afford such an extravagance). I also thought the scenes near the end gave a real insight into the English way of doing things - very buttoned up. The Milnes were at the same time, I guess, quite eccentric yet very ordinary. I thought the piece of information about Christopher Robin supplied at the end was absolutely fascinating.

So, a really good film, well worth seeing.

10 popular children's writers & their illustrators

1. A.A. Milne & Ernest Shepherd
2. Lewis Carroll & John Tenniel
3. Roald Dahl & Quentin Blake
4. Kay Thompson & Hilary Knight (Eloise)
5. E B White & Garth Williams
6. C S Lewis & Pauline Baynes
7. Washington Irving & Arthur Rackham
8. Christian Brand & Edward Ardizzone (Nurse Matilda)
9. Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
10. Allan and Janet Ahlberg

Reconstructing the Pooh Community

Some may enjoy this fun with a point piece by Richard Bauckham here as pointed out by Justin Taylor on his blog.