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Valentine’s Bears

/ Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

Text & Photo by Miki de Goodaboom

I live in Spain. Here is Teddy Bear culture, unfortunately, not developed at all. You can find some in the toy shops, of course, but even there, they are rather rare. In the meanwhile, due to the increasing number of English tourists and residents, you can see sometimes Teddy Bears appearing in charity shops.

And yet: in the town where I am right now, Benidorm, I have seen the most beautiful Teddy Bear setting ever! To compensate the economic effects and the sadness of Covid, the town hall has organised a context among shops, bars, hotels, etc, for the best Valentine decoration, under the motto “Benidorm Te Espera” (Benidorm is waiting for you). Even closed businesses can participate… what most of them are these days!

Each participant receives 500 euros, and the first 3 winners will win a nice amount too. 3000 businesses have subscribed, with the result that thousands and thousands of red hearts and love words are beating all around Benidorm. I have to say: you like Valentines or not, this is beautifully uplifting the mood.

I could not believe my eyes as I saw that cafe – Cafeteria Uliana, Avda Mediterraneo- decoration. At the 4 coloured tables by the window are sitting big Teddy bears, little ones too, all having coffee, tea, cava even, with all kind of yummy pastries, all served in beautiful dishes. It really looks like a cafe exclusively fir Teddy Bears, and the bears seem to have such fun and enjoying it so much!

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Charlie Bear Sylvia

/ Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Miki de Goodaboom (Text & Illustration)

My Teddy Truffle McFurry and me have been kindly invited by the international magazine “Teddy Bear Times” to write an article about our visit to the Charlie Bear Museum in Launceston (Cornwall, UK) in May 2018.

It was my birthday as we -Truffle, my partner the English Rocker Kev Moore and me- visited the museum. It couldn’t have been a better thing to do that day!

I had also the chance to be allowed to choose one of the Charlie Bears displayed in the shop there… a birthday gift from Kevin! As it is written on the wall of the museum

“THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE BEAR”

More accurately in this case: “… FOR ONE MOORE BEAR!”  🙂

I chose Sylvia… not a typical Charlie bear, I would say, without the long hair everywhere, but such a beautiful pink bear!

I won’t tell more about that visit for now, as it will be all said in the article, coming up at some point next year. I first need to paint all those amazing bears!

Sylvia Charlie Bear S

(Prints of all sorts are available. Click on the painting to go to Miki de Goodaboom’s shop online)

 

Wilfra Cakes For Bua And Truffle McFurry

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by Miki de Goodaboom

You saw it probably, Ann La Mar recently baked Wilfra cakes from Ripon and shared them with us here. They looked gorgeous!

Truffle wanted to try them and Ann was so kind to send him some. Under the pretext too of needing help by the quality control.

Truffy invited his cousin Bua to share them with him, as Bua was with us as we visited Ripon during our Tour Of Yorkshire in September 2016. We were delighted to see him again and to share Ann’s cakes and apple with him. Bua looks always a bit sad, but he is not sad. He is originally a German bear, and he tends to think too much, and always gets that expression on his face when he thinks…

You might wonder how we do it… but we, The Urso Majors, have invented another kind of internet, where we can send each other not only words, but also food, drinks, bears, etc… It works fantastically! But it is not a world wide web, it works only between Planet Goodaboom and Planet Boomerann’.

Wilfra Cakes For Bua And Truffle McFurry S

(Prints of all sorts are available. Click on the painting to go to Miki de Goodaboom’s shop online)

Toto Et Lolo

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By Miki de Goodaboom (Text and Illustration)

After introducing my Aristobears, Lord Albert/Duchess Alba and Lord Winston/Duchess Laila, here is another couple which we have adopted this year. They came from England, and arrived to us with Ann La Mar, our friend reporter here at GoTeddy,

I regularly go and spend time with my Mom, a wonderful 92 year old lady, who, like me, started loving teddy bears as we adopted our very first bear Truffle McFurry. Every time I go there, I take with me my new children, and introduce them to their grand-mother.

As she saw this couple, she laughed and said

“Toto et Lolo!”

In France we call “Toto et Lolo” a couple which has been together for ages, and can’t be without each other. In modern language, we would say “a fusional couple”.

So, here they are, my Toto et Lolo. For those who are not aware: Toto is the man, Lolo is the woman. And for those who know a bit more about teddy Bears, they are “Russ bears”.

Toto et Lolo S

PS: If you are interested in prints of that painting, they are available in many different sizes on paper, metal, canvas, wood, etc. Also on pillows, covers, phone cases, Tote bags, shower curtains, T-shirts, notebooks, towels etc.  Just click on the painting, it will bring you to my shop online.

Teddy Bear Ince

/ Miki de Goodaboom

By Teddy “Ince” and Miki de Goodaboom

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom, based on a photograph of The Pirate by Jo Du Nor)

Hello ! I am Teddy “Ince” Bear.
I play football and as you can guess, my hero is Tom Ince, the best midfielder in the world !
He belongs to a very, very good team : the Derby County FC.
You know what ? If I keep to be a good son (and a good pupil…) my father promised to get a complete supporter kit, just for me !
I love you, dad ! And Up the Rams !

PS: Miki de Goodaboom and her Teddy bear Truffle McFurry want to dedicate that post to their favourite football team, Derby County FC. Today is the last game of  the season 2016/2017, The Rams have not performed as well as we would have wished, but our love is unconditional, we will always support them! UP THE RAMS indeed, Teddy Ince and Jo Du Nor!

 

Ince Bear S

On The Little Train At Newby Hall

/ Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hallo everybody!

I haven’t written for a long long time, because we were very sad in the family and I could not come to the computer and Go Teddy, my paws could not write any more.
I am a bit better now, thank you!

When we were visiting all the famous Teddy bears in Yorkshire, we also went on the little train, Auntie Ann, my Mom Miki, my Teddy cousin Bua and me. It was wonderful!

I love trains, and I have been on 2 already before, in Portugal, and in the Pyrenees, my Mom’s big mountains in France. We all love trains in the family… we are even thinking on travelling one day from one side of Canada to the other in the train!

Love you all, take care!

Truffle McFurry

Newby Hall Little Train S

Truffle McFurry And Galway In Marsaxlokk

/ Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hello everybody, i’s me, Truffle! I hope you are all well and still loving and protecting us, Teddy Bears from around the world.

I am very fine, thank you:-)

We were on a long wonderful holiday on that island. It is called Malta. We took the plane there. My Mom even painted me at the airport in Valencia in Spain!

My Auntie from France, Mahe The Free, joined us there, and brought with her my cousin Galway. He is an Irish bear, you know, she found him and adopted him in Ireland in the summer. It was the first time I met him in person, it was so nice!

We went everywhere together and had a great time. the first day we went to that lovely town by the sea, there were many beautiful boats, in all colours of the rainbow. We loved it there, we had such fun on the boats and everybody was looking  and smiling at us. We were the only Teddy Bears around!

Love you all, take care!

xxx

Marsaxlokk Truffle And Galway S

 

 

The Diana’s Bears At Newby Hall

/ Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

By Miki de Goodaboom (Text and Illustration)

With “The Three Paddington Bears”, I started yesterday publishing a series of Teddy Bears from Gyles Brandreth’s collection.  Today it will be “The Diana’s Bears”

These are the ones who probably touched me the deepest… here is their story, written next to them at Newby Hall:

“This is a small collection of the bears left by members of the public at Kensington Palace in memory of Diana, Princess Of  Wales, who died in a car accident in Paris, alongside her friend, Dodi Fayed, in August 1997. Paul Burrell, Diana’s former butler, accepted the bears on behalf of the Brandreth Bear Collection in 2000. All the other bears were collected, cleaned and distributed among the children of war-torned former Yugoslavia.”

I habe nothing to add to that really, except perhaps that when i stood in front of them, tears came to my eyes and I had the feeling of witnessing an important and best moment of humanity’s history…

newby-hall-the-dianas-bears-s

Truffle McFurry On His Way To Malta

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

 

Hi everybody, I hope you are well and still love us, Teddy Bears!

I was just in holidays with my Mom Miki, the French painter, and my Dad, the English rocker. Well, my Mom was not in holiday because it was a painting trip. She was working.

It was our first holiday together again, for a long time, and it was so nice! We were in Malta, an island far away in the middle of the big blue sea. 2 weeks!

We took the plane in a new place, it is a city in Spain, it is called Valencia. I had never been there before. As always I was quite scared to go through the security, sitting in my tray and going into the tunnel, where they check if I have a bomb inside!

Look on the painting, we are waiting to go into the plane under the sign of the police. I tried to look cool, but the police is always scary. Even when you are innocent, you always feel that you have done something wrong and you think they will arrest you!

But they did not arrest us, and we could go on the plane! It was beautiful then, and sure I will tell you about Malta soon.  We have saved some lovely Teddy Bears in Malta, and I have even found my Grand-Da again. I will ask Miki to paint them all and we will show you.

Take care!

Love you all

Truffle

 

 

valencia-airport-truffle-s

 

 

Happy New Year from Teddy Vincent

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 2 Comments

By Jo Du Nor and Miki de Goodaboom

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom, based on a photograph by Jo Du Nor and Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “Cafe Terrrace At Night” )

On the first of January this year, my Teddy Bear Truffle McFurry and me received the sweetest New Year greetings ever. They arrived from France in my Facebook postbox. They came from Jo Du Nor, our reporter at “Go Teddy!”, and his new friend, teddy Vincent. Jo wrote:

“Miki, qui mieux que mon nouvel ami, Teddy “Vincent” Bear, peintre formé à l’école de Van Gogh lors de sa période arlésienne, pouvait m’accompagner pour te répondre et venir te présenter mes meilleurs vœux pour la nouvelle année… Je lui ai parlé de Kevin, de Truffle McFurry et de tous tes ami(e)s, il tient à leur souhaiter aussi une bonne année, riche de rencontres, de joies et d’amitié.”

For those who don’t understand French:

“Miki, who better than my new friend, Teddy “Vincent” Bear,  artist trained at the school of Van Gogh during his time in Arles, could accompany me to answer you and send you my best wishes for the new year… I told him about Kevin, Truffle McFurry and all your friends, and also he wants to wish them a happy new year, rich in new encounters,  joys and friendships”.

Truffle and me where really OVER THE MOON!

I could not resist to paint Teddy Vincent in front of that wonderful painting from Vincent Van Gogh, ‘Cafe Terrace At Night”my favourite ever. I thought it was the best tribute I could pay to Teddy Vincent and Man  Vincent. I hope they both like it!  🙂

vincent-s