Take a Step Inside the Fenwick Christmas Window 2016
The famous Fenwick Christmas Window was unveiled by children from The Great North Children’s Hospital to a swarm of onlookers last Friday afternoon. This can only mean one thing…Christmas is officially on its way!
This winter, the Fenwick Christmas Window commemorates 150 years of the famous botanist, artist and storyteller that is Beatrix Potter. So, we thought it only right that we revisit our childhoods by witnessing her timeless tales come to life on Northumberland Street.
Here are some of the highlights!
Undoubtedly Potter’s most popular tale and perhaps one of the most iconic children’s characters of all time, The Tale of Peter Rabbit takes pride of place at the beginning of this chronological adventure.
This mischievous bunny is favoured among children and adults alike and has even hopped into the 21st century with its own CGI animated series on CBeebies.
Who’s that waddling up the shopfront? It must be none other than Jemima Puddleduck. The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck is a story of naivety and misplaced trust. Watch out, he’s behind you! (It is panto season, after all.)
Potter’s background illustrations are all based on the surroundings of Hill Top farm in Cumbria, where she wrote the tale.
Alongside the Puddleducks (who also make an appearance in this tale), we find Mittens, Tom Kitten and Moppet peeping over the wall, while their mother hosts a tea party for her friends.
The Tale of Tom Kitten tells the tale of children learning – or rather, failing to learn – their good old-fashioned manners. On that note, no licking the window!
Another tale on our transparent travels is that of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, an accident-prone fisher-frog who sets out on his lily pad boat to catch dinner but runs into several obstacles along the way. None of which, surprisingly, involve standing on two legs or wearing a tailcoat. Ribet!
Moving on, we come across a character that isn’t perhaps quite as familiar. The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots was only rediscovered earlier this year and eventually published in September.
It was illustrated by Quentin Blake, who is famed for his collaborations with Roald Dahl. And the title certainly has a ring to it… We bet Antonio Banderas never saw this one coming! In all fairness, neither did we.
The journey comes to a reluctant end, as we set eyes upon Potter’s personal favourite: The Tailor of Gloucester, which quite appropriately involves a lot of tails. Tails of mice, that is, who help the tailor to complete his waistcoat and achieve great success.
The final window sees the mice front and centre, but much cuter and friendlier than your common dormouse!
Head to the Fenwick Christmas Window and take a walk down memory lane with Beatrix Potter and her furry friends. Find out more about shopping at Fenwick this Christmas on our website www.getintonewcastle.co.uk.
