Monday 16 April 2012

#Once upon a time - My Favourite Bear

Once upon a time .....

My favourite bear was blue.

He was christened Blue Teddy; a simple name for an honest bear.

Blue Teddy
He's the only bear or toy that's survived my childhood. I think he was given to me when I was about three years old but its hard to tell as I have no clear recollection. Old photos confirm the appearance of Blue Teddy at around this age of my life. I'm sure he was very fluffy and rotund once. Now he's all cuddled out and consequently a two dimensional ted. He sits on the end of my bed as threadbare as the moon with a gaping hole down his left side and small, discreet punctures around the neck. His right shoulder has stuffing missing so that the adjoining arm hangs loosely by his side. This must have been the arm I lovingly dragged him around by.

Blue Teddy - The two dimensional bear

Old wise Blue Teddy. He's borne witness to the entire passage of my life. Was he in my bedroom the day I lost my virginal innocence? Probably. Poor Blue Ted. The things he's seen. I remember Blue Teddy accompanying me everywhere; to my grandparents on quiet Sunday afternoons, annual family holidays on the sandy beaches of Southern Cornwall, and to the loo. Then somewhere in my teenage years I let go of childish things and Blue Teddy sat unnoticed, unloved, in a corner of my bedroom with my other discarded toys.

When I left home Blue Teddy was bagged up and stored with the rest of my history in the attic. He didn't reappear in my life until my late twenties, after HIM, the not so nice boyfriend. I wanted to reconnect with happier times and Blue Teddy was the dependable bridge to my past. Perched on my pillow, Blue Teddy has been a reassuringly silent presence ever since.

To carry on the tradition I gave Little A a blue bear of her own but she prefers mummy's teddy. I once found her attempting to fasten a nappy onto him. Blue Teddy didn't appreciate this judging by the displeased frown above his beady glass eyes. The other day I caught her throwing my geriatric ted around the lounge. She'd lobbed him about with his weakened, floppy arm, "Little A be gentle, he's an old, tired, grumpy bear not unlike your mummy". But most days Blue Teddy can be found securely squashed into Little A's pram, taken on shopping trips and sight seeing tours around our flat.

Another shopping trip 

Blue Teddy has almost been like a guardian angel, a steadying anchor, to the narrative of my life. He contains the whole story, marking the never ceasing passage of time; childhood, teenager, the first kiss, first boyfriend, O'level's, A level's, university, jobs, careers, moving to London, Younger Dad, the birth of Little A. The story goes on... Friends and family have come and gone but Blue Teddy remains like a stubborn flag pole, the one constant buoy, if a little frayed and threadbare, in an impermanent world.

Good ole' Blue Teddy.

A generation of Blue Teddies

So once upon a time, what did you enjoy (or dislike) doing, seeing or creating? It could be anything. What were you like many moons ago? Do you have a once upon a time story to tell or picture to share? It could be a happy, sad or humorous tale. The skies the limit. I've decided to turn this into a monthly meme blog hop thing. So do Link up below and grab the badge code ... and don't forget to tweet #onceuponatime.

Once Upon A Time
Grab the badge code ...

<a href="http://older-mum.blogspot.co.uk/p/once-upon-time.html" title="Once Upon A Time"><img alt="Once Upon A Time" height="170" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/6775563952_fdaee4eeff_m.jpg" width="150" /></a>

I am also linking up with A Mummy's Too's Favourite Childhood Toy Meme.

26 comments:

  1. I love your Blue Teddy! He may be 2D but he's well-loved and lovely :-)

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    1. He's fab isn't he? Yes, very well loved and worn!

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  2. What a gorgeous story. Your little blue bear still looks in good condition considering all that he has been through. I do find it intriguing that Little A prefers your blue bear to hers... maybe she can sense the history and wants to connect to that somehow?

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    1. Thats a very good point. I used to attach myself to my parents old bears aswell. Blue Teddy scrubs up well doesnt he given his old age!

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  3. He's beautiful - and how lovely he can be passed to Little A. I was thinking about this Meme today - I will get around to it. Lovely post X

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    1. Thank you, would be lovely if you could join in.

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  4. lovely lovely post. I do have a cat from my childhood, toy one of course & my Sindy doll with retro clothing! I also still have all my first child's toys from 2 decades ago & TC now plays (also lobs) poor Sindy & various soft toys from another childhood. I like that Little A & TC can give a toy another life....

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    1. Lovely comment, thank you. Would love to see your Sindy Doll in retro clothing - that would be funny. Toddlers love lobbing toys don't they?

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  5. Lovely post! I have a bear which was given to me when I was 6 weeks old, so you can imagine, he has no fur, no nose and his head and arms are stitched back on from where my mum washed him and put him in the spin dryer (yes, that's how old he is / I am)!). He's kicking around in the little man's bed now, cuddled at night again. Polly x

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    1. That's so sweet. I want to see your bear - he sounds like a character. Poor bear - he has no nose. Love the fact he's being cucddled by Little Man.

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  6. I love blue:) I'm a new follower:)

    http://oddparent.blogspot.com/

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    1. That's great! Thank you! Thank you for coming over - will pop over to your blog too!

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  7. Love this blog post, and has now made me think, what has my teddy witnessed :-S LOL

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    1. We should really blindfold them. They see too much!

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  8. I love your once upon a time posts. So wonderful you still have blue teddy after all these years. My mum still has her Teddy and he is very special too. When Little A's blue teddy is side by side, you can really see how much love blue teddy has had over the years!

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    1. Thank you Mummy Plum! Yes Blue Teddy has had alot of love and now he has alot of holes - he really needs stitching up! Your mums bear must be very old indeed!

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  9. Oh..so nice you have something left since you were a child! I have nothing left..i mean i have no toys..the only thing is a red dress i use to wear when i was little and then i dressed my daughter in it as well.
    Hm...maybe a i should write a post and link it here? What a fab idea :)

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    1. It would be great if you could join in. I bet that red dress is something special!

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  10. Oh wow! I have to send you a pic of my daughter's fave teddy, which used to be my brothers... I am sure that he must be the brother of your teddy! Such a lovely post... I think I have to do this Linky too, otherwise Ludovik the Lion will be feeling left out...

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    1. Your daughter has a blue teddy too? Wonderful! Would love to see Ludovik the Lion.

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  11. I have added to the Once Upon a Time list - I had been thinking about writing one for ages and suddenly thought 'Once Upon a Time ... I ran a Marathon' very fitting considering it is tomorrow! So I have linked that up, even though it is a slightly older post! Am in the process of writing a second too :-) I love this link up!

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    1. Wonderful that you linked up with such an inspiring story. Looking forward to the next installment.

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  12. He's in such good nick for a childhood bear. My childhood bear (Tessie) only has one eye, no nose and quite a few holes :(

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  13. This is lovely thanks so much for linking up. I don't have any of my childhood bears anymore :(

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    1. Great idea of yours - inspired me to write this post.

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