Look deep into Nature and you will understand everything better.

–  Albert Einstein

Friday, 10 May:  Beautiful day yesterday but wild and extremely windy today with rain forecast.

   A Katherine Mansfield sculpture has just been unveiled in Midland Park in Wellington. Words from her writing are etched into metal and I believe her hair is created from metal strips containing the shopping lists that appeared in her Notebooks. The sculptor is Virgina King. See www.katherinemansfieldsociety.org and Beattie’s Book Blog for photographs.

Salmon farms update
  
   The Ministry of Primary Industry granted $600,000 to the Salmon Improvement Group from the Sustainable Farming Fund to study deformities in king (chinook) salmon in New Zealand. The Marlborough District Council is going to have a close look at the latest monitoring results for NZ King Salmon fish farms in the Marlborough Sounds (Marlborough Express, 26 April, 2013, p.5).

World news
  
   Having just got over worrying about North Korea and its nuclear threat now we have Syria and the alleged use of the nerve gas Sarin and whether US President Barack Obama who says Syria has crossed ‘a red line’ will now be obliged to do something. Israel seems to think he should in case the weapons of mass destruction fall into the hands of terrorists. Fortunately as a distraction I am reading a lovely book about the White House garden and Michelle Obama. It’s very inspiring and yesterday I planted leeks and bok choy and added compost to one garden bed.

Queen Mary and Captain James Cook display [Spectrum 21 April 2013]

   Some of you know I am writing about Captain James Cook and the time he spent at Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound (over 100 days).  I heard an interview with Dame Anne Salmond on board the Queen Mary. Interestingly the captain said that a lot of New Zealand is best viewed from the sea like Auckland and Wellington Harbour and the Marlborough Sounds. The ship is circumnavigating New Zealand following the route that Cook took in the 18^th Century. When they were in the ballroom the captain said there were male escorts available on the Queen Mary for women who didn’t have a partner.
   An exhibition of Cook memorabilia from the Museum of New South Wales is currently on display on board the Queen Mary. There is very tight security. There are letters handwritten by Cook to John Walker, his mentor in Whitby. Also among the items is a handwritten account of Cook’s first days in New Zealand in Gisborne. Joseph Banks, the wealthy naturalist who helped fund the First Voyage thought they had discovered Terra Australis, the continent that was presumed to exist on this side of the world to balance the European continent. This was the secret mission of the First Voyage as outlined in written instructions to Cook. Generally it was thought the purpose was to observe the Transit of Venus. You can hear the interview on Radio New Zealand National’s website. Cook also wrote to his wife Elizabeth in England also but apparently she destroyed all the letters.

Katherine Mansfield Celebration Weekend  

   The programme outlined below makes me wonder if now I have the rights back I should look at having my book Katherine Mansfield in Picton published as an e-book. It’s out of print now. It was selected by the NZ Society of Authors to be on show at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year when New Zealand was the guest Country of Honour.

   I would like to add the photograph of Katherine Mansfield sitting in a deck chair in France as it seems to symbolise the more relaxed lifestyle in Marlborough. Also when Granny Dyer (nee Mansfield), Annie Beauchamp’s mother, brought the three children to Picton for Easter (c. April 1889), when Katherine Mansfield was only 6 months old, I stated in the book that the Beauchamp parents were in England. In actual fact they didn’t go to England until November. Also I would put all  the endnotes at the end of the book rather than at the end of each section.

Programme (to be confirmed), celebrating the 125th anniversary of Katherine Mansfield’s birth in Wellington, (born Sunday, 14 October 1888).
   Note the ferry trip from Wellington to Picton in the South Island on Saturday, 12 October to view places associated with her and her family that inspired her short story ‘The Voyage’. Very exciting.

Celebrating Katherine Mansfield

A long weekend of tours, events and performances celebrating the 125th anniversary of Katherine Mansfield’s birth in Wellington.
Friday 11 October – Monday 14 October 2013

Tentative Programme

Day One (Friday 11th) Registration, Concert & Cocktail Party 6.00–9.00pm
A cello and piano concert at St. John’s in the City followed by a cocktail Party at the Thistle Inn.

Day Two (Saturday 12th) The Voyage 8.00am–5.30pm
A return voyage on the Inter-Island Ferry to visit the homes of Katherine Mansfield’s paternal grandparents in Picton, view the sailing vessel Edwin Fox and visit other sites.

Day Three (Sunday 13th) Katherine Mansfield’s Wellington 10.00am–5.00pm
Morning Programme: Thorndon & Karori: commencing at Katherine Mansfield’s Birthplace and visiting the Zigzag, Katherine Mansfield Park and other nearby locations associated with KM and her stories. Travel by bus to Karori to visit Chesney Wold and Karori School, before proceeding to the Thistle Inn for Lunch. Afternoon Programme: At the Bay: Travel by bus to Eastbourne to visit the cottage at Days Bay once owned by KM’s family and the ‘At the Bay’ house at Muritai. Return to the Pavilion at Days Bay for afternoon tea and a reading of ‘At the Bay’, before returning by Harbour Ferry to Queens Wharf.

Day Four (Monday 14th) Katherine Mansfield’s Birthday 10.00am–2.00pm
Meet at the Sculpture of Katherine Mansfield in Midland Park. Proceed on a conducted tour of the Wellington Writers’ Walk, stopping for lunch on the waterfront.
(The afternoon is free for people to visit Te Papa Museum the shops, etc., before the Celebration Dinner)
Celebration Dinner 7.30 pm. Including readings and items relating to Katherine Mansfield.

To register interest or for further details please contact the organiser: k.boon@clear.net.nz or P.O. Box 22011, Wellington 6441, N.Z or (04)4793264

http://www.katherinemansfieldsociety.org/

[Note: above item copied from NZ Society of Authors e-newsletter, 10 May 2013 www.authors.org.nz]