Truffle McFurry

Doggy Guitar

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By Miki de Goodaboom

The other day when I travelled back home from Benidorm on the Costa Blanca  (Spain), I had to stop at a petrol station by Murcia, as a storm was suddenly going on. Giant water drops were falling from the sky and the wind was becoming a hurricane, and I thought it was safer to stop and wait.

I entered the bar from the petrol station, and there I had the surprise to attend a jam session. A dog was playing the guitar and a beautiful white Teddy bear was sitting by him, enjoying the music.

Later they told me that they were together on their way to a rock music festival in Portugal. The dog was apparently a famous  musician called “Doggy Guitar”, based on the western character Johnny Guitar whom he loved. And the Bear was his Roadie. I am ashamed to say that I forgot to ask his name. I must have been under the spell of Doggy Guitar’s music, as I normally never forget to ask a Teddy Bear for his name!

Doggy Guitar S

The Doo Doo Bears

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By Miki de Goodaboom

 

Truffle Mcfurry and me  recently spent some days at my parents’ in Benidorm, on the Costa Blanca in Spain. And as we both love to see how Teddy Bears look like in the places we visit, we went on Teddy Bear photo safari. Also sometimes, we might find some who need to be rescued and adopted!

This is when I saw “The Doo Doo Bears”. To be completely honest they are called “Dou-Dou”, but I prefer the double “oo”, because it looks funnier and also to make sure that English people speak it the right way. It would be terrible if they called them Dou-Dou, like in “trout!!!

Truffle and me fell totally in love with the Doo Doo Bears, they are so immensely cute and cuddly! Truffle wanted one for himself, with his name embroidered on it. He said this would certainly help him falling asleep when he has got insomnia, and he would even share it with me when necessary. But he had been naughty with the Mime shortly before  and I did not get him one.

Well, I should have known better, I am upset now, I would love to have one in our bed!

PS: … and yes, you understood it correctly, Truffle sleeps with me…

Doo Doo Bears S

The Mime From Benidorm

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

 

My Mom Miki and me, we recently spent some days by my grandparents, in Benidorm, on the Costa Blanca in Spain. Miki wanted to go on Teddy Bear photo Safari down-town, and of course I went with her.

There I suddenly saw a statue on the middle of the street, wearing a beautiful pink long dress and a pink hat. I asked Miki about the statue. She explained to me that it was not a statue, that it was a real person. That such a person is called “A Mime”, and the aim is to stand or sit there, without moving at all , like a statue, looking beautiful and getting money for it. I observed it a while, and indeed people were stopping and putting money in the box.

Well, I thought, I can do that too! Teddy Bears are great at not moving, and Miki tells me all the time how beautiful I am. And anyway I was wearing blue clothes, I thought it would look pretty with the pink from the mime. Blue for the boy, pink for the girl! So I went and sat in front of the Mime, didn’t move at all, looked beautiful, and waited. I thought this way we could sure earn more money, and we could split it.

But then, after a little while Miki, busy somewhere else, noticed me there and screamed. The Mime  was looking at me with very angry eyes in the middle of her white face. She had just opened her eyes, more was she not allowed to move, you know… Miki grabbed me by my nose and put me back in her bag. I  heard her apologising by the Mime, who did not answer at all . Such an impolite creature! Miki was quite upset with me and explained to me that one does not do such things with Mimes!

Well, I have no idea why, and Miki said I am too young to understand! But many people had gathered there to look at us, I am sure they would have eventually thrown money into the box. But we were already gone, it is so unfair!

And you know what: when I look carefully at the Mime’s face, I think she was not a girl at all! So, on top of it, I think she was cheating! Miki often says that honesty does not always pay… I understand now what she means!

 

The Mime From Benidorm S

William

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By Ann La Mar, from the UK

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

William came to live with us in 1996. I remember this because he came with our new car,  a Vauxhall Corsa, which was a special edition for the Euro 96 Football Tournament.

William’s  name is after my grandfather who in 1996 celebrated his 100th birthday. He had a lovely party and received a telegram from Her Majesty The Queen.

William has lived in Spain since 2009 along with his brothers Churro and Benjamin..

PS: Miki hopes she won’t be put in jail for forging Queen’s signature in the painting!!!

 

William 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

Golliver’s Travel

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)

I am just a little Teddy Bear, and I don’t do politics and I don’t know much about PC. Well, I do already know a bit about Personal Computer, but not about Politic Correctness! And from what I have heard about it recently, it seems to be weird stuff.

Well, sometimes I have my strong opinions, but normally I don’t get public with them, because I am scared. They say, everybody is spying on you on the internet nowadays.

But now I feel  I have to speak out very loudly. The other day I met my wonderful Auntie Ann from the UK. She presented me my Teddy bear cousins, and then she presented me Golliver. Well, to tell the truth, this was not his real name. She said, his real name is not allowed, because of PC. And she said, Golliver was even banned from the world.  Because he is black!!!

Now I got worried. To start with, Golliver is so beautiful, and was loved by million of children and grown-ups around the world, so why did they ban him? Just because he is black? Is that PC? Why don’t they ban white dolls as well?

But what got me really worried, is that I am black too. All my Teddy bear brothers and sisters and cousins and mates have a light fur. I am the only dark one… does that mean that they will ban me too? That I won’t be able to have my own Facebook page and my website any more? Why not? Many people love me so much! My Mom Miki loves me so much, and my Dad, and my Auntie Ann, and my Auntie Pamaretto, and my Auntie Nelle… and my brothers and sisters and cousins…

Anyway, we all love Golliver and we are immensely happy that he travelled all the way down from the UK to  Mojacar, Andalucia. We love him so much, he is so beautiful and so funny, and he will never be banned from our lovely town!

Miki would be immensely to paint your own Golli! So please, if you have one, contact us, send us a photo and tell us his personal story and we will publish it here!

Please, protect us all!

Go Golliver, Go Teddy!!!

 

Gollivers Travel 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

 

Group Portrait With Auntie Nelle Teddy Bears

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By Miki de Goodaboom

(Illustration based on a photo by Auntie Nelle)

As Truffle’s Auntie Nelle, from the North of France, heard about “Go Teddy”, aour project to love and protect and paint all the teddy Bears from our world and beyond, she was so kind to send us a beautiful photograph of her 3 bear children.

We were so over the moon!

Then I asked her for the name of her bears, but she said they haven’t got any names! Now she must have her reasons for that, she is a very intelligent person, so she sure knows what she does!

But I could not help calling the little one in the middle, the one wearing the white hoodie, “Capuchino”.. simply because “capuche”, in French, means “hood”!

I had much pleasure painting these new cousins of Truffle, but it was tough. They have all three a very sophisticated fur, with colours difficult to render! And also, one is not so sure where one bear ends and the other begins, but it does not matter, Teddy bears are simply a big lovely family and are all united!

Auntie Nelle Bear Family S

 

A Birthday Clown For Miki De Goodaboom

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By Truffle McFurry

(Illustration by Miki de Goodaboom)
 
Today is my Mom’s birthday! She always loves a happy birthday, loaded with lovely presents and great food and kind birthday greetings, but today will be different. My Mom is so sad, it is breaking my heart…

So yesterday, all my sisters and brothers and mates, we have all broken our Piggy banks to buy a nice present for her. Even our house Minion gave an Euro to it… I do wonder though where it had the Euro from, had he perhaps stolen it and nobody noticed? Anyway, we all wanted to buy for Miki something which would made her laugh. Because as everybody else in this world, my Mom is never more beautiful than when she laughs!!!

And so we found that happy clown by the Chinese shop on the corner… You know, the Chinese are the cheapest, so luckily we could offer it. And then I put clothes on which I know Miki loves (me not that much, they are a bit too girly for a real boy like me…) and we all went to wake up her up today waving the clown at her face and singing “Happy Birthday”.

And it worked: she did laugh!

A Birthday Clown For Miki 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