Join us at St John’s Church on Friday 4^th July at 7pm as we celebrate the 250^th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, with Pugs and Prejudice, an entertaining talk about Austen’s life as well as the dogs and costumes of the Regency period. Admission is free.

The talk will be given by Jenny Colquhoun, a local Jane Austen expert and enthusiast. She will be assisted by her Maltese dog, Lilli (pictured above). The pair will be dressed in matching Regency outfits and there will be a selection of bonnets, top hats, waistcoats and cravats for you to try on, too.

To accompany the event, Margaret Emberson and Lesley and Bob Shatwell will play Regency music, and there will be refreshments, including homemade cakes. You will also have a chance to win some Maltesers from Lilli.

You may have visited Jane Austen’s home in Chawton, but did you know that her family also had a Farnham connection? Jane’s brother, Henry, became a curate in Farnham in 1819. This raises the question, did Jane ever visit her brother in Farnham? Henry has often been described as her favourite brother, so it seems hard to believe that she never travelled here. There is nothing in her letters to suggest that she did but, since some of her letters were burned by her sister, it is fun to imagine that perhaps Jane was familiar with our town too.

Join us on Friday, July 4th, at 7pm, at St John’s, Hale, for an entertaining evening of doggy tales and tails, bonnets and bows. Although admission is free, there will be the opportunity to make a donation towards restoring St John’s tower. Please let us know if you are coming as we need to know how many to cater for and Lilli wants to know how many packs of Maltesers to pop in her Regency reticule. Call 07842761919 or email admin@badshotleaandhale.org.

Pictured: Left: A Reticule bag. (Image from Look and Learn, Rijksmuseum).
Right: Jenny and Lilli at a recent Jane Austen event.