Parliament wants Winnie home
British requesting return of Pooh, Piglet and gang
NEW YORK (AP) - Oh bother.
The British want Winnie the
ft>Oh and his four friends to come
home.
A member of Parliament says
the original stuffed animals on
which A.A. Milne’s beloved stories
are based should be taken from a
display case at the New York Public
Library and returned to England.
“I saw them recently and they
look very unhappy indeed,” Labor
Minister Gwyneth Dunwoody said.
“I am not surprised, considering
they have been incarcerated in a
glass case in a foreign country for
all these years.”
Pooh, Tigger, Kanga, Eeyore
and Piglet - lovingly tattered and
faded - could be in for another
adventure, and this one wouldn’t
be in the Hundred-Acre Wood. “Oh
bother,” Pooh might say of this
tempest in a honey pot. “Oh dear,
oh dear,” Piglet would add.
Mrs. Dunwoodv is asking what
plans Britain’s culture secretary
has to arrange for the stuffed ani
mals’ repatriation after half a cen
tury.
“Just like the Greeks want their
Elgin Marbles back - so we want
our Winnie the Pooh back, along
with all his splendid friends,” Mrs.
Dunwoody said.
The New York Public Library is
treating the sticky issue very cau
tiously. “Until we get a specific
request, we’re not commenting,”
spokeswoman Caroline Oyama
said.
But a more combative Diane
Powers, associate chief librarian at
the Donnell Library Center, the
branch where the stuffed toys are
on display, said Wednesday: “If
England Teturns die Elgin Marbles
to Greece, we might consider
returning Pooh.”
Mrs. Dunwoody’s comments -
a day before Prime Minister Tony
Blair’s visit to Washington on
Wednesday - posed no threat to
relations between the two coun
tries. The British Consulate in New
York called The Associated Press
to insist the prime minister’s office
knew nothing about Mrs.
Dunwoody’s proposal.
The Winnie the Pooh Five,
along with early editions of their
books, have resided in a large dis
play case in the Children’s Room
of the Donnell Library Center
since 1987.
Their sojourn to the United
States began in 1947 when
American publisher E.P. Dutton
ana co. mvitea tnem tor a national
tour to promote Milne’s books,
said Tim Moses, publicity director
at Dutton Children’s Books, an
imprint of Penguin, Putnam Inc.
Insured for $50,000, Pooh and
friends toured the United States for
about 10 years, Moses said. The
publisher then held onto the ani
mals, turning them over to the
library in 1987.
Moses said Milne had given the
toys to Dutton permanently as a
gift.
“There isn’t any question about
the legal ownership of Winnie and
his friends,” Moses said.
The hugely successful books
center on the adventures of Pooh,
the honey-loving bear of little
brain, and his friends: the gloomy
donkey Eeyore, the excitable
Piglet, bouncy Tigger and maternal
Kanga (with her baby, Roo). Milne
began the series in 1926 for his
son, Christopher Robin, who fig
ures prominently in the stories.
The stuffed animals, which
Milne bought for his son at
Harrods, were the basis for the
books* original line drawings, by
Ernest Howard Shepard.
“They are part of our heritage
and they want to come home,” Mrs.
Dunwoody said. “And it is about
time we got them back. This is
where they belong. They plainly
want to come home.”
Matt.Haney/DN
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Celebration
to showcase
traditional
black music
By Barb Churchill
Assignment Reporter
After 28 years of performing,
many music groups would be histo
ry.
But the Albert McNeil Jubilee
Singers aren’t one of those groups.
Instead, they will be in Lincoln this
week to help celebrate history -
Black History Month, that is.
The Albert McNeil Jubilee
Singers will perform Thursday at
First-Plymouth Congregational
Church, 20th and D streets. The
Jubilee Singers will both entertain
and educate with their unique blend
of Negro spirituals, gospel, folk
songs, calypsos, Afro-Caribbean
and other African vocal forms.
The Jubilee Singers have been
around for 28 years, but aren’t let
ting any moss grow under their feet.
After this brief stop in Lincoln, they
travel to Columbus, Ohio, Friday
ana loronio ouuuay. ine group is
made up of 114 singers, along with
the dynamic presence of Albert
McNeil* choral director.
This performance by the Jubilee
Singers will include traditional and
contemporary spirituals, contempo
rary black gospel music, South
African music and musical tributes
to George Gershwin and Harry
Belafonte.
Sue Buss, executive director ofr,,
Abendmusik, said her organization
was looking forward to the Jubilee
Singers’ performance.
“Lincoln isn’t as culturally
diverse as other cities,” Buss said,
“so this concert is more important
because this may be one of the few
opportunities in 1998 to hear
African-American music.”
One important aspect of the
Jubilee Singers is that they perform
many selections by distinguished
black composers and arrangers,
Buss said. Not everyone in Lincoln
has heard a Negro spiritual, nor
have they realized the great extent
to which African-Americans have
defined and altered all forms of
music in the 20th century, she said.
“This concert is more than just a
concert; it’s an educational experi
ence,” Buss said.
McNeil’s approach to perfor
mance also enhances the music’s
educational value, she said.
“Albert talks directly to the audi
ence, and he explains everything
that the singers are doing,” Buss
said. “He takes them right through
the process. He explains it as a jour
ney through the black heritage.”
nr__!ti _i _aL _
lUUlgm Will Ut U1L LllUVI L1111W LU^
Jubilee Singers have been featured
in the Abendmusik series. Buss
attributed their repeat performances
to the group’s talent.
“We’ve looked around for a
choir that’s as good as them, but we
haven’t found one yet,” Buss said.
“They are just phenomenal.”
> The Jubilee Singers have
received praise from critics and
audiences alike. Recent invitations
to perform in Los Angeles and
Hawaii have provided testimony to
the group’s widespread appeal.
“We are very pleased to offer
them again to Lincoln, especially as
a part of Black History Month,”
Buss said
The performance by the Jubilee
Singers will take place tonight at
7:30. Tickets are still available and
may be purchased at the door. Prices
are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors
(over 60) and $ 10 for students.
