toys

Dr Bear And Dr Bear

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By Urso Arctos and Jo Du Nor

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

Hello ! Do you remember me, Ursus Arctos, from Sarajevo ?
When I arrived to France, I was not in a very good shape…
I would like to present to you the so nice doctors who took care of me : Jo and El Bear, 2 brothers who worked together in the hospital where my parents confided me for my care.
In this period of joy and love for Christmas, I have so much pleasure to thank them for what they made for me ! And I wanted to say it to everybody.
I give big hugs to all of you.

dr-bear-and-dr-bear-s

 

Noel and His Christmas Friends

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By Ann La Mar

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom, based on photographs by Ann La Mar)

As usual every few weeks I meet my friend for tea. This evening was just the same I set off early to avoid the rush hour traffic as it is normally gridlocked at this hour. To my surprise there was little traffic and plenty of parking spaces. I was now fifteen minutes early and my friend was sure to be five minutes late. I decided to go for a walk in the high street and headed towards the town Christmas  tree, it was all blue and sparkly and looked  lovely against the dark sky. I knew Miki would like it and we are having a sort of virtual Christmas so I took a picture to send her. It has become a favourite pastime of mine to find festive things she would like. The Christmas tree was on the cobbles outside the Oxfam shop. I have discovered that charity shops are a great place to find Teddy bears, although it is a bit sad because they are all there to find new homes.
This evening I was not disappointed, the window had three festive teddy bears displayed all sitting looking out at the Christmas tree. I just had to take pictures of them to send Miki later.
The next morning I was telling MIki about my evening and sent her the pictures. A few minutes later I heard my phone beep, it was miki saying how gorgeous the bears were and a message:

“Ann, is there a chance for me to get this one? But only if it does not mean too much work for you to go back there. I want a Christmas bear, Christmas is so special this year with you sharing everything with me…”

I needed to go to town so I set of on a mission to buy the Christmas bear, hoping he would still be there. If so it was meant to be and Miki would have her bear. As I parked another message arrived…the bear already had a name…

“If I get the bear, I will call him Noel… this is Bernard’s second name… always loved it…”

Now I must get Noel…I didn’t have a plan B if he wasn’t there and Miki would be devastated now he had a name. I got to Oxfam I hardly dare look in the window….what a relief he was sitting waiting for me. I went inside and asked the man if he would take him from the window for me…he was so gentle with him and said:

“ Isn’t he a lovely chap!”

I could tell he was a bear lover so I told him he was going to live in Spain with my friend who is an artist and paints teddy bears. He was genuinely interested and he said:

“Well he is dressed and ready to travel, he will have a lovely time”.

I payed and he gently handed him over. I was and am so happy to get him. I cannot begin to explain my feelings as I know how much Noel means to Miki.
I was now carrying Noel in his fine Christmas outfit in the high street…lots of people smiled at us…I’m sure it cheered them up on such a dreary day. I got him back to the car and took his picture to send to Miki with a message..

“Merry Christmas …get ready to welcome Noel!”

Not long after she replied:

“OH MON DIEU!!!! HE IS GORGEOUS!!! Even more from front! I adore him! And a robin!!! and he is going on a drive with Audrey and Ann!!! I am so happy Ann!!!! SO HAPPY! Can’t take my eyes from him, he symbolises so well that special Christmas for me...”

I had to go and visit my dad so Noel came with me in the car (Audrey).
He looked so cute sitting by my side..I wanted to hug him.
As soon as we were home we went to see all my bears and take some pictures for Miki…I’m sure by now Truffle will have seen pictures of Noel his new family member..
It was decided that he will spend Christmas in the UK with his cousins before travelling to Spain in January. We are all delighted to have him stay with us and we will give him a lovely Christmas. Miki and Truffle will get many pictures. Noel is quite happy with Fluffle and Travis…he will sleep in ‘Miki’s room’.

noel-and-his-christmas-friends-s

The Truffle From Whitby

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hallo everybody!

Something incredible happened to me while I was touring The North of Yorkshire: I met another Truffle!

I can’t tell you more, I will be writing it for our book and I am not allowed to tell more now. It is a big secret!

But my Mom allows me to show you the images. So here is the other Truffle. I think he had had a bad accident, don’t you think?

Take care!

Truffle

 

whitby-truffle-s

A Bear In A Bag

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hallo everybody!

It’s me, your friend Truffle! I told you before, my Mom Miki, Ann la Mar and me we are very busy writing a book about our travel together in Yorkshire. It will be a great book, with many images done by Miki.

We will show you the images before the book is published, but we won’t tell anything about them. If we did, there would be no surprise then, when the book comes out. It would not be fun!

Here it’s me, stuck in my travelling bag in which Miki carries me around when we travel. In the book I will tell you about my thoughts and adventures in that bag!

Take care, love you all!

runswick-bay-truffle-in-the-bag-s

 

 

 

Petipa, Capuchon and Clopin-Clopan

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Truffle McFurry and Nelle La Belle

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hi , Teddy Bear friends, Truffle here back online with some new bears from “Nelle La Belle” family!

Last time it was Effiloche and Petichourose. Today Nelle asked me to present you:

  • Petitpa (“Little Step”)
  • Capuchon (“Little Hoodie”)
  • Clopin-Clopan (“Hobbly”)

I have translated as good as I can, but really, the French names are so much prettier!

 

Here what Nelle wrote to me about their story:

“… Petipa lived in the same English shop as Effiloche. She seemed bored and above all, she was lost in the middle of trinkets. She reached out to me..

… Capuchon: his story is sad… He was in a huge display case, all alone… impossible to leave him there! …

… Clopin–clopan was offered to me in a store. I saved him through several moves, but he lost a foot on the way.…”

They are all so pretty and touching, but here, on planet Goodaboom, we have a very special feeling for poor Clopin-Clopan… we just adore him, he is so funny, and we hope he does not suffer too much without his foot. But I am sure that Nelle and her family are taking much care of him!

Petipa And Capucho And Clopin Clopan S

Effiloche And Petichourose

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Truffle McFurry and Nelle La Belle

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

 

Hallo, Truffle here, introducing you to new couisns from France!

The other day Nelle La Belle -By the way, it is my who invented her pen name for “Go Teddy!”, I find it beautiful and she loves it too!- sent me photographs of some of her bears.

On one of them are these two amazing bears, called “Effiloché” (The big one) and “Petichourose”(the little pink one). It sounds so poetic and so funny! I know a bit of French, but I had to ask my Mom what “éffiloché” and “Petichourose” means. She said:

“Effiloché means something like fluffly… and Petichourose something like little pink cutie…”

Now this is good. “Fluffly” is a very nice word. My Auntie Ann has even got a bear called “Fluffle”! And Little Pink Cutie is a great name for the little one.

Nelle la Belle told me the story:

“… Effiloché was abandoned in an English boutique type store (hard to describe the style, I think it‘s English. He gave me a look so full of kindness that he melt my heart.  And as soon as I touched him, it was over, he had to come back with me :).  As well as being beautiful, he is o soft! As he is the biggest of the entire family, it’s almost natural that he takes care of Petichourose, which is the smallest of the family…”

Welcome to our family, Effiloché and Petichourose,  we already love you so much!

Effiloche Et Petichourose S

Bears And Babies From Benidorm

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Miki de Goodaboom

 

I always paint with deep enthusiasm the Teddy Bears which our 2 reporters from “Go Teddy!”, Ann La Mar et Kev Le Chat, meet during their missions. Unfortunately I often forget that my Truffle McFurry and me always go on bear photo safari when we are visiting my parents in Benidorm, on the Costa Blanca in Spain. And it is not fair: Benidorm Teddies also want to be loved and protected, and the best way I can help doing that, is to paint them and making the whole world aware of their existence by showing them on the internet…

Last time I was on a bear photo safari in Benidorm, 2 weeks ago, I could not find any. I guess they were all hiding in the caves of the surrounding mountains as it was very hot.

But the time before, I did meet some beautiful and special ones. I adored the motif of that big bear girl with her own little Teddy, sitting in the middle of baby dolls. That motif was weird, somehow, almost spooky. The baby dolls looked like an army of little soldiers wanted to take over the stage again, having been superseded by the Teddies… The funny thing was that they all had these giant  white dummies in their mouths, and it made them look like as if they had a snout like Teddy Bears! A typical case of genetic mutation due to forced adaptation to the environment … or of mimicry!  🙂

Benidorm Bears And Babies S

 

 

Heather For The Ones We Love

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By Miki de Goodaboom

(based on a photograph by “Go Teddy!”‘s reporter Ann La Mar)

Yesterday Ann La Mar went on a walk through her beautiful North Yorkshire Moor and picked up some heather for Truffle McFurry and me. She knows how much I love the heather, and as far as I remember, I have never seen some “live”.

Then she went home and had three of her lovely Teddy Bears sending the heather to Truffle and me. From right to left they are:

Marlon, Fluffle & Travis

What a heart-warming gesture!

I have already introduced you to Marlon, – his full name being Marlon Blanco-, from Spain but living with Ann in the UK now. I have painted him at different occasions, last time being at the Tour de Yorkshire.

But it is the first time I have painted Travis… he has a touching story, told by Ann:

“… He is small and cute his little patches are made of something like rain coat material and were going all hard and crinkly in Spain so I brought him back they feel better now.
A little back ground on Travis…..I went to my dentist one day and was sitting in the waiting area and in the corner of the room was an open box all I could see was two dark eyes staring at me. I went to look and there was a little bear starring at me with several others. My name was called so I went for my check up and came back to pay. I looked round and this little bear was still looking at me…..I had to have him…the receptionist said they were being sold for a local charity so that was it I bought him. In the back ground was music it was ‘why does it always rain on me! By Travis…..outside it was raining so he became Travis…..”

Travis is immensely lucky to have been adopted by Ann!

As for Fluffle, the big fluffy one in the middle, I will paint him again one day, and tell you his story then.

For now Truffle and me just want to add:

THANK YOU SO MUCH, ANN, MARLON, TRAVIS & FLUFFLE!

Heather For The Ones We Love S

 

The Bears From The Yorkshire Moor 05

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom  based on a photograph by “Go Teddy!” s reporter Ann La Mar)

Hallo everybody, it’s me, Truffle, writing again about the Teddy Bears from The Yorkshire Moor!

Now, I have never seen in my life such sad Teddy Bears!!! It breaks my heart only looking at them.

I don’t know exactly why they are so sad. If I had been there I would have asked them. But it is Ann La Mar who sent me the photo, and I think she forgot to ask them. Well, I think they are so sad because they are stuck in a suitcase. I don’t know why so many people put Teddy Bears in suit cases to sell them. Oh yes, it kind of looks cute, with their heads popping out of the suitcases, and normally the suitcases are beautiful, but have these people ever thought how we Teddy Bears feel about it? It is like when you put people in a drawer… you know, people don’t like that either!

Well, these two they do look as if they need to be rescued. I hope they will soon find their adoptive house! Who ever you are out there, please write to me if you have adopted one of them. And how you have called him. I say “him”, but I am not sure they are boys. The one on the right is perhaps a girl. I will tell you something which I am a bit ashamed of: I don’t know how to recognise if a Teddy Bear is a boy or a girl when he/she does not wear clothes! I know that by human, it is almost the contrary: you can recognise it better when they are naked!

My Mom Miki puts a bit of heather in the background, to make the painting look happier… she so much loves all that heathering stuff!

The Bears From The Moor 05 S

Teddy Bear Day Out In Sweden

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By Miki de Goodaboom

(Illustration based on photos sent by “Go Teddy!”‘s reporter Ann La Mar)

I mentioned it in my last post, our wonderful reporter Ann la Mar, from the UK, is actually on a mission in Sweden and sent us  photos of beautiful Teddy Bears she met there.

The big one stood at the entrance of a toy shop, welcoming the clients I suppose, and was incredibly tall, taller than Ann. As for the little ones, they were sitting on shelves inside the shop and immensely bored. They seemed to have sat there for ages! Ann noticed that many of the children hardly paid attention to them, their interest mostly taken by the Frozen Characters and Superheroes dolls. What a sad world, she thought. And so do I!

Not that I don’t like all these modern toys. In fact I even drink my water everyday out of wonderful little bottles shaped as  Frozen and Superheroes characters!  But a Teddy Bear is, and will always be something else, timeless, irreplaceable. Would a child or event an adult grasp hold of  Superman or a Frozen princess when he needs comfort? I doubt it!

There they were, these wonderful little bears on their shelves, forgotten, unseen, nameless. So the Big Bear decided to take them out on a ride for the day in his beautiful wooden carriage and the little bears were over the moon!

And I decided to give them a name:

The white one in the carriage is called “Snowflake”.

The red one behind him is called “Redmoon”.

And the orange one, in the arms of the big one, is called “Gingerly”

 

Teddy Bear Day Out In Sweden S