Bear With Fame

Three Paddingtons At Newby Hall

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By Miki de Goodaboom (Illustration and Text)

In September 2016 my Teddy Bear Truffle McFurry and me travelled to the UK to make a Tour of Yorkshire with “Go Teddy!”‘s reporter Ann La Mar.

One of our most expected events there was the visit of TV celebrity Gyles Brandreth ‘s Bear House at Newby Hall, exhibiting many  bears from his huge and famous collection.

Ann, Truffle and me will tell you all the details about that exciting day in our illustrated book “The Little Tour Of Yorkshire”, to be published at some point in 2018.

Before the trip, I had contacted Gyles to ask him for the permission of painting some of his bears. He had accepted, writing a charming email to Truffle and me, ending with the words

“With bear hugs and best wishes”

We loved that so much!

The first bears I painted are the first ones we saw as we entered the Bear House: the Paddington Bears. Having one Paddington at home (you can read about him in the post “Paddington Arrived To Spain”), we both were very emotional to see this famous brothers…

Once more I would like to thank Gyles to give all Teddy Bear lovers the opportunity to visit his wonderful bears!

newby-hall-the-three-paddingtons-s

Truffle McFurry Reading The Teddy Bear Hall Of Fame

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

 

Hi Everybody!

Some days ago I had a big surprise: I received a book! Yes, me, Truffle, got that book addressed to me on Planet Goodaboom. It was a gift from my Mom, she had ordered it on the Internet and it came all way from England. I was over the moon! It is my first book ever, and I know it will be my favourite book for ever.

It is an amazing book. It is called “The Teddy Bear Hall Of Fame:”, and it is written by a wonderful lady called Michele Brown. She is the wife of Gyles Brandreth,  and they have the most beautiful collection of Teddy Bears in the world. We hope we will visit it soon in England, perhaps even this summer already.

The book is full of beautiful images of their bears, and Michele tells stories about them. They are all famous bears, you know. Not like me. Really famous bears, like Paddington bear, Winnie-The-Pooh, Rupert bear, François, etc.

And then there is that amazing one, called William Shakesbeare. Michele writes:

“… this is a bear of very great brain…”

and he has written fine plays like “Macbear”, “The Merry Bears of Windsor” and “Two Gentlebears of Verona”.

I am a writer too, you know. I am writing a book right now. And if I do meet William one day, I will speak to him, from writer to writer. Perhaps he can then give me some tips how to write a bearseller!

And do you know what? Gyles did William! Gyles is my big hero now, he has even sent us an email saying that he is looking forward to meet me! You don’t believe it? Well, it is true!

The Teddy Bear Hall Of Fame S

 

His Bearness

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By Miki De Goodaboom

(Illustration based on a photograph by “Pete”, from the UK)

I can’t tell much about this motif, except that a certain “Pete”, from the UK, sent me a photograph of his Teddy bear, dressed as a basketball player from the Chicago Bulls.

Pete only told me that he is a fan of the Chicago Bulls, of Michael Jordan and that he is somehow related to one of the players from an earlier time.

I personally don’t know much about basketball, but I do know from the legendary Michael Jordan, of course, and that one of his nickname was “His Airness”. Which is why I allowed myself that wordplay and called Pete’s  Teddy Bear “His Bearness”!  🙂

His Bearness S

An UnBEARable Journey

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By Kev Le Chat

{Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Kev le Chat here everybody, with another teddy bear tale…As you may know, I travel the world performing, and when I’m not performing, I look for Teddy Bears for “Go Teddy!”

Well, some weeks ago, I was beginning a very long journey back to Spain. It began with a train. The first of several. Now, this train was a local train, and wasn’t late at all. It got me into Swindon station perfectly on time, late at night.

Swindon station at night normally has hardly any staff, so I was surprised to find an usually large amount, milling around the help desk and the platforms.  I asked one of them if he knew if the late service to Paddington ( yes, Paddington!) had a buffet car onboard, where I could get a coffee. He immediately apologised and went and fetched me two bottles of water. When I offered to pay,  he said “Oh no, it’s been a terrible day, and you’ve had a lot of inconvenience”.

Now, I was very happy to get the free drinks, but rather confused. I hadn’t had a terrible day at all!  I sat down in the waiting room and well, waited. I suppose that’s what they’re for.

I looked up at the screen that tells you about all the trains, and noticed that virtually every one heading in the direction of Wales, was delayed, and some by a large amount. I decided that the man who gave me the water thought I was heading in that direction. Funny really, I don’t look Welsh. Well, except for my pet dragon.

I’m kidding I don’t have a pet dragon.

Yet.

Anyway, MY train looked like it was going to be on time. But then the screen changed, and a horrible message appeared:

DUE TO SOMEONE JUMPING IN FRONT OF A TRAIN MANY SERVICES WILL BE DELAYED

This was terrible! I now understood why there was so many staff at the station – to deal with the chaos a sad incident like this causes.  I looked at the screen again. This time, there was a slight delay to my train, about 5 minutes.

Now, I was quite excited about going via Paddington, because  I had a mission. I had heard that there was a ‘Paddington trail’ there, with wonderful statues, celebrating one of the most famous bears in the world! I could almost taste the marmalade sandwiches, as I imagined taking lots of photos for GoTeddy!

I looks at the screen again. Now it was 17 minutes late….oh dear. It was now around 22.30.. Eventually, it arrived, as promised, 17 minutes late. Also, as promised, the buffet car was closed.

As we hurtled through the night towards London, I sat back and relaxed. Plenty of time to wander around Paddington station and take photos, I thought, before I have to head to Victoria for my train to Gatwick airport.

Then, the train slowed….and stopped. Near Didcot Parkway. An announcement revealed that this was in fact where the poor person had been hit by a train.

We didn’t move for some time, and eventually, after long delays, I arrived in Paddington station more than an hour late, and with barely minutes to catch the night bus to Victoria. I sprinted out if the station without seeing neither hide nor hair of a bear!

Also, I missed the bus. Then it started raining. Eventually, a bus arrived and I got on. It dropped me somewhere near Victoria station, which seemed to be surrounded by workmen and barriers. So much so, that I couldn’t find a way in! After about 15 minutes of circumnavigating it,  I found an entrance! I had already missed my train, so was in panic mode. I started to walk in…and was stopped by two rather stern-looking security officers.
” The station is closed, Sir”
“What!?” I exclaimed, “but it’s a main railway station in the capital city, and it’s raining out here!”
They were unmoved.
“It’s closed for cleaning.”
“Well, can’t you clean around me?”
But they were having none of it.

So there I was, no Paddington photos, cold and wet outside Victoria station, hoping they would open early enough to get the next train.

In the event, they did. At a quarter to three in the morning, fifteen minutes before my next possible train. I ran towards the platform barriers, and inserted my ticket. The machine spat it out.  Of course, my ticket was specifically for the earlier train! Nightmare!

I was determined however…I decided on a different tack, and went to the manned barrier instead, gambling on the possibility that the guy was as tired at that time of day as I was, and I vaguely waved my ticket at him. He let me through!

So it came to pass that my final train did in fact deliver me to the airport in time. But as I wandered through the terminal, I was a bit down that I hadn’t managed to get any photos of the fabulous Paddington trail.

But then suddenly, I came upon the Harrods store, and there, in front of me, dressed as a Harrods doorman, was the biggest Teddy Bear I’d ever seen!  He was delightful, and I immediately took his picture. However, my delight didn’t end there, they sold LEMON CURD! Well,  everyone knows that bears and Kev le Chat LOVE lemon curd, so I bought two jars to take back to Planet Goodaboom. As I wandered through the shop, I also found…a HUGE pile of Paddington Bears!  What a lovely surprise after such a stressful day!

Harrods Big Bear S

Rupert And Rupert

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By Miki de Goodaboom

(Illustration based on photos sent by a Go Teddy’s Follower from the UK)

I recently had the immense surprise to receive 2 photos from somebody in the UK who has started following Go Teddy. Both photos were featuring “Rupert”, in very different forms.

Now, I said it before, I was introduced to Teddy Bears very late in my life, and consequently my Teddy bear culture is quite poor. But I am working at it, and I hope that Teddy Bear lovers around the world will help me knowing as much as possible about Teddy Bears. Some are already doing, and my  Truffle McFurry and Me  are very thankful to them…

I did not know Rupert, and I had to research him. Wikipedia told me many interesting things about him. Basically, Rupert Bear is a children’s comic strip character created by the English artist Mary Tourel and first appearing in the Daily Express newspaper on 8 November 1920. Interesting is that originally, Rupert is depicted as a brown bear, but his colour soon changed to white to save on printing costs!

Now this person from the UK sent me a photo of his Rupert Teddy Bear, a white Bear. And he sent me a photo of a very special brown Rupert, to be found in Linford Park Wood, Milton Keynes.

So I decided to paint them both together in that beautiful wood… and here they are!

Rupert And Rupert S

I Want To Lay You Down In A Bed Of Roses

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By Miki de Goodaboom

I was recently watching a  dramatic German TV film, about a young girl surviving a car accident in which she lost her mother. As she never knew her father, she was first taken in by her grand-parents, but the girl was too much trouble and the grand-parents could not deal with it. So the best friend of the girl’s mother, a married man, decided to take her home. But the troubles went on, even worse as the girl was jealous of the man’s wife.  At some point, no more knowing what to do with her, he went to her old house and got her beloved Teddy Tear, which had been left behind in the whole chaos following the accident. He brought Teddy to the girl, hoping that he at least could help her.

But some hours later, as  he entered her room, he saw the bear lying there, abandoned as if dead, and she  totally disconnected, lost in her thoughts from another world where there was no place any more for her Teddy bear.

Well, this image hurt me immensely, so much more than any of the tough scenes I had seen in the film. It just broke my heart. To me it was the strongest symbol of the girl’s despair. When Teddy can’t help any more, then nothing else can help… I know exactly that if the day comes when I won’t be bothered any more about my dear Truffle McFurry , then my life will stop.

I know it is a heavy subject, but I had to paint it and to write about it. And as it often happens when I paint, Teddy was suddenly lying on a red surface and Bon Jovi’s song came instantaneously to my head. For the next few days I could not stop hearing it haunting my inner space:

“…
I want to lay you down in a bed of roses
For tonight I sleep on a bed of nails
I want to be just as close as the Holy Ghost is
And lay you down on a bed of roses …”

I Want To Lay You Down On A Bed Of Roses Bis S

Paddington Arrived To Spain

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By Miki de Goodaboom

I don’t really know how that happened, but Paddington has just arrived to my town in Turre, Andalucia, Spain. And to be honest, until he arrived, I had no idea who he was! I said it before, my Teddy bear culture is very poor, but it is something I am working hard to better. And in the meanwhile I have done some research and found out that Paddington has been incredibly famous for many many  years, all around the world!

Anyway… he told us that somebody put him in a direct train to Turre at Paddington station, in England, with that suitcase in his hand, and telling him to ask for Miki de Goodaboom when he arrives in Turre. That he was a birthday gift for her, and that he should live with her and Truffle McFurry and all his brothers and sisters and mates on Planet Goodaboom. And in his little suitcase, there were not his usual marmalade sandwiches, but 8 wonderful little books telling some of his life stories.

You can imagine my surprise as he stood there at the entrance of our town, waving the Spanish flag! I have no idea though which kind of train he took, as we don’t have a railways station here in Turre, despite that mega train track running through Andalucia… a building ruin in the meanwhile… It must be a magic train then, like the one Harry Potter is taking to go back to school…

So far our Paddington speaks only some sentences in English:

“I’m a very rare sort of bear”

Marmalade sandwiches are my favourite”

“It’s nice being a bear, especially a bear called Paddington”

Well, we are immensely thankful to welcome Paddington on Planet Goodaboom, and we hope he will live here happy until the end of times… which, I hope, will never happen! In the meanwhile we will send Paddington to Spanish classes…

Paddington Arrival In Spain S

 

Captain Abearica

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By Miki de Goodaboom

As we drove up to the South of France some weeks ago, we stopped at a highway store to buy some water and discovered very unusual, very cute 33cl bottles from the famous make Fontvella (Danone). They are shaped and brilliantly designed like some kids favourites Marvel Avengers Characters (Thor, Ironman, Captain America) and also the Frozen characters (Elsa, Anna and Olaf).

They are meant for kids aged between 4 and 11, but I can tell you, big kids -such as us- love them too and we bought all of them!

As I came back to Spain, I told a friend in the UK about these bottles. And last week, I had the immense surprise to receive a photo of a Captain America Teddy Bear: my friend has got friends who have a child who received that bear for his birthday recently!

I was over the moon, such a wonderful subject for my “Go Teddy” site, I thought. And of course,  I had to paint that new bear with the Captain America bottle in his hand.

I called the bear “Captain Abearica”.. I hope you get it! If you don’t, wait until you have got a big cold and speak out loud “Captain America”… then you will understand!

Captain Abearica S

 

Bear With Hard Rock Cafe

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By Miki de Goodaboom

For many years, Truffle’s Dad – Kev Moore, The English Rocker- and me have always visited the local Hard Rock Cafes, whenever there was one where we travelled. We enjoyed looking at all the Memorabilia exhibited in these places, enjoyed the food, and, last but not least, before leaving, the obligatory visit to the shop, in search of some nice commemorative T-Shirt for Kev who is collecting them.
 
And me, from the moment Truffle entered my life, my eyes were only attracted by the Hard Rock Cafe bears… unfortunately, at the beginning, Truffle was very jealous and scared that another Teddy could take his place in my heart, so I never dared getting one. Yes, these jealousy things are so tough to handle, and Teddy bears are no different in that matter! Instead, I tried persuading the shop attendants to sell me the hoodies or shirts they Teddies wore, but they never did: they were only available with the bears.

And now, Truffle has understood that he does not need to be jealous.. but… I doubt I will ever visit a Hard Rock Cafe again! I would love though to paint a series of these bears, so I am asking you all, who have such a Hard Rock Cafe Teddy, and would like to share him and his story with me and Truffle and the world: PLEASE contact us, or leave a photo and the connected story in the comment thread. I would love that so much!

Here is an example of A French Teddy bear from the Hard Rock Cafe in Paris, France…

 

Paris Hard Rock Cafe Bear S

 

Bearnadette In The Salon Rue Des Moulins

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By Miki de Goodaboom

Once Truffle McFurry, my very first Teddy Bear, had entered my life, there was no stop any more: I wanted many more bears in my life!

And as my favourite colour is pink, I got “Bearnadette”, a fluffy 30 cm Teddy bear with pink fur! First she only wore a  pink bow around her neck. But Bearnadette is very fashionable and loves to dress up, so I bought her many girl clothes.

Bearnadette loves art too. So the other day, as I came back from a painting trip in Albi, France, I showed her paintings from Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as he was born in Albi and I had visited his museum. She loved the one with all the pretty Madames in The salon Rue des Moulins and said:

“I want to be there too, it is so beautiful!

I told her that it is a very special place… not really for Teddy Bears… but Bearnadette insisted, and this is when I got a great idea for our new project “Go Teddy!”:

I will paint Teddy bears in famous paintings, photographs or film scenes. You know, like a Teddy Bear instead of Mona Lisa, things like that. Human like to do it sometimes, then why not Teddy bears?

So I painted Bearnadette in the salon, very dressed up, with a hat almost reaching to the roof! She wanted to be painted very tall, as she felt a bit shy among the Madames! I hope you like it!

Bearnadette In The Salon In The Rue Des Moulins S