Teddy bear stories

Teddy Cinco – Part 1

/ Miki de Goodaboom / Leave a comment

Yorkshire.Teddy.Rescue

Text & Photo by Ann La Mar.

We Urso Majors follow Tinkers amazing teddy bear page. She helps all poor bears who have been abandoned and broken by lovingly mending them and helping them find happy new homes. All proceeds made rehoming the bears goes to Asthma UK.

A few weeks ago Tinker announced a competition, it said

‘’enter the pretty knitty teddy bear competition. Knitted or crocheted teddy bears’’.

This was our competition entry.

“Hello teddy bear friends, I am Fluffle telling the story and Typo my little brother working the big computer (See our picture).We would like to enter our beary special brother Cinco into the knitted/crochet bear competition. One day during lockdown a box arrived from the supermarket with our weekly honey. It had on it a picture of this cute little bear but in the box was just wool and instructions.

We watched and waited as our mum started to work with the wool and funny sticks, this bear began to appear and disappear and appear and disappear, 5 times this happened, (along with some naughty words) until finally we saw a bear, hence when we were telling Auntie Miki in Spain he became our Cinco.

Cinco now complete and looks nothing like the bear on the box, lives ‘on the commode’ with many brothers and sisters in Auntie Miki’s bedroom. We thought this was hilarious when she first said it, one of those things lost in translation! We embrace diversity in our family and our Cinco is loved so much by us all.

Find out what happened later!

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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

A Bibliophile Teddy Bear In Great Ayton

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hallo everybody!

My Mom Miki and me have just come back from an exploring and painting trip through North Yorkshire in England. We had been invited by our amazing “Go Teddy!”‘s reporter Ann La Mar. She was the best guide ever, she knew every little corner and road, and she showed us so many beautiful things!

It was so exciting that Miki, Ann and Me have decided to write a book together about our adventures there. I cannot tell you much now, because if I did, you would not want to buy the book, and you need to buy it, because I want it to become a best-seller” I need serious pocket money, but I cannot tell you why now!

I saw that funny bear with the golden glasses in a shop in Great Ayton, where Captain Cook went to school. That bear was a “bibliophile” (Miki told me!), somebody who loves books. I love that word, and I will use it very often, because it is the best way to learn it for ever! I am a bibliophile too, I love books, but I don’t really love reading, I prefer when my Mom reads out loud for me!

Love you all, take care! xx

great-ayton-teddy-bear-s

Ursus Arctos

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 2 Comments

By Ursus Arctos

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom based on photographs by “Go  Teddys!” s new reporter “Jo du Nor”)

I am Ursus Arctos, from Balkans… Many years ago, as I was a young orphan baby due to this terrible period , I met Joël (alias Jo du Nor), a PeaceKeeper in Sarajevo and we became closed friends. One day, he said to me that he really missed his wife. As I did not know France, I proposed to him to make a surprise to her wife by bringing her a message.
I remember how she cried when I knocked on her door…

It was a very long trip and as you can see on the photo, I damaged my left foot and his lovely wife, having looked after me, decided not to let me going back home and she adopted me !

Now, I lived in France with my new family and I love them so much that they love me…

 

PS (by Miki de Goodaboom): I have very recently learnt that a person who is very fond of and is usually a collector of Teddy Bears is called “an arctophile” (from Greek “arktos”, bear)

and…

I want to thank Jo du Nor, from the bottom of mu heart, for sharing that wonderful bear and his so special story with us…

ursus-arctos-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

Dingle

/ Miki de Goodaboom / 1 Comment

By Truffle McFurry and Mahé The Free

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

Hallo Everybody, Truffle writing here, with great news front the front!

While I was on a painting and football trip in Portugal with my parents, our new reporter at “Go Teddy!”, Mahé The Free, from France, was herself on a mission in Ireland. In the town of Dingle she met an Irish beautiful girl bear. They spoke a lot with each other and Mahé told her about me, and showed her images of me. Dingle was so excited that she said:

“I want to go and live with Truffle on Planet Goodaboom!”

So Mahé took her back to France, and from there sent her to us. She arrived 2 days ago. We were not expecting her so soon, it was such a wonderful surprise!

As she saw me, she got so excited that she hugged me all the time, and kissed me, and did not sop saying “Oh Truffle, oh my little Truffle!”. She has got a very lovely girly voice, and a funny Irish accent. She is a bit smaller than me, and very cute, and wears a beautiful green dress and a green bow on her head. She has got such a lovely little face!

I was a bit embarrassed though, with all these cuddles and hugs and admiration, and also it was very hot! But Dingle didn’t care, she kept hugging me and cuddling me the whole day. Then Miki put us in front of the air con and everything was ok.

At some point she noticed that I was wearing a football T-Shirt and she asked me if I loved footie, and I said yes, of course, and she told me that she loves it too. And we came into a deep discussion because she even knew some of my heroes, the Rams, who play for the national team of Ireland: Jeff Hendrick,  Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie! It was so wonderful, I had never thought that such a fine elegant girl could know so much about football!

Yesterday Mahé sent us an email to tell us about Dingle’s departure from France.

“… I had installed Dingle comfortably in a shoebox, not very wide,  with much bubble wrap and I had made loads of small holes on the top of the box so that she could breathe all along her journey! I had closed laterally and in the middle and write your address in the half lower part of the shoe box.

I arrived at the post office and gave my pretty box to the postmistress. I know her well. She looked at me and asked gently:

“What is in there?”

I said the truth:

“A little Teddy bear”.

And here she told me:
“I do not advise you to make her leave like that, in a box with all these holes! Customs will open the box and think that it is about illegal animal traffic, something like that! In any case, they will open it!”
So I got Dingle out of her beautiful travel box travel and put her it into the  thick mailing envelope. I got a real pinch in the heart, I was afraid that she chokes!
I saw the look of people who lined up… one can imagine

 

I was really looking forward to hear that she has well-arrived. She is so endearing, so fragile! Truffle’s shoulders will surely protect her.  I wish them both much  happiness! 😘😵😘
.. .and please, take car that nobody hurts her, I do not trust guys!

 

Big kisses, tell her that I love her and please give me some news from time to time..  and tell her that her friends send kisses and hugs.
Mahé”
Isn’t it a an amazing story? I love it!
See you again soon, I hope, with other exciting news from The Teddy Bear World!
Dingle And Truffle McFurry 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