When your sun no longer shines on your face,
When your heart feels to heavy for your body to bare,
When you need love but there is no-one there,
When walking this planet makes you weary,
And the sound of the earth is no longer a melody,
When you need love more than food and water,
When all around you turns to stone,
Cling on tightly to your Old Teddy Bear
Always true and always there.
……………………………………………….Lorraine Hitchings
Today was a beautiful Spring morning. The sun shone down on the daffodils who held their heads up high and for me everything seemed right in my world. I took my friend Harry for a walk to the local Churchyard, where we both sat and contemplated life for a while. Harry’s original owner died last year, when he came to live with me and Gino. Always room for one more Teddy Bear !!!
Never be embarrassed about showing the world that you care about your Teddy Bear.
This is Jason….a Steiff Bear who visited Gibraltar on his holidays. He decided to take a boat trip to see the dolphins.
Described as the world’s most popular toy. More than 60 per cent of all British households have one and, at a conservative estimate there are more than 140 million of them living in the United States.
Richard Steiff. The man who designed and created the very first Teddy Bear way back in 1902.
On 7 February 1908, Richard Steiff celebrated his 31st birthday. A week later Steiff sent out invitations to the Leipzig Trade Fair. These invitations are the first indication that Steiff had adopted the name ‘Teddy Bear’ for their toys.
Did you know that more than 60 per cent of all British households have one and, at a conservative estimate, there are probably more than 140million of them in the United States? Did you also know that 35 per cent of British people still sleep with them?
The Teddy Bear goes back to 1902. He was created by Richard Steiff, nephew of the now famous Margarete Steiff. Everyone seems to know the name Steiff when you mention a Teddy Bear, if not by the name then by the famous button in ear that Steiff Teddy Bears have. Many people are disbelieving when I give them this fact, as they believe that the Teddy has been with us for much longer. His impact on society is tremendous and I am often asked if I know why.
In 1907, a Boston journalist called Caroline Tickner, writing in New England Magazine, with prescience saw it all she wrote:
“The Teddy Bear has come to stay, so perfectly is his grizzly exterior adapted to fitting into the many chubby arms which are extended to him. He is not only bear like enough to lift him above juvenile criticism but he is possessed of those semi-human attributes which fit him eminently for youthful companionship. He is every inch a bear and yet he certainly embodies exactly the doll qualities which are demanded by the child of today. He is well made and set up. His head really turns round and his legs are nicely adjustable. He has moreover that precious gift of true adaptability; he can be made to crawl, climb, stand and sit in each pose he is not only delightful himself but he also suggests to the imaginative owner whatever special being his fancy would have his teddy personify.”
Psychologists have seen the Teddy Bear as a Father figure, representing goodness, benevolence and kindness.
When a child grows into an adult, with his Teddy Bear besides him, that Teddy is also a reminder of days gone by, of trips to the seaside, of Christmas mornings and that first day at school when he accompanied you.
When all other toys have been sent to the Charity Shop, it is your Old Teddy that stays behind, forever your friend.
Ginos Bears 