Skip to main content

On the Paddington Trail...or stalking "The Bear" (part one)

I think everyone has heard of Paddington, the lost bear from Peru with his blue coat and red hat, who found himself  at Paddington Station in London. To celebrate the release of "Paddington Bear" the movie (which I intend to see soon) 50 plus Paddington Bear statues were cast and then designed by various famous personalities such as Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. They are all over London.  When I found out about this I decided it would be a fun way of revisiting my favourite places in  London and discovering new ones.  However the pressure is on as the bears will be gone the afternoon of December 30th.  They will then be auctioned off with the money going to a Children's Medical Charity   This is why this is Part 1 - Part 2 to come next month!!

Normally my first day in London I do the Westminster to Tower of London walk sanctioned by the British Walking Federation.  It is a wonderful 10 km walk that takes in all my favourite tourist sights. However I have decided to do that on January 1st instead.  (or as much as I can do...)

This time it was all about The Bear.  So come along and see this sweet little fellow in all his painted glory.  And I didn't have to kick too many children off statues to take these photos!


Golden Paws near Canada Gate in Green Park - designed by David Beckham.

Good News Bear - Parliament Square
Dapper Bear by Guy Ritchie - Notting Hill tube station
Taste of Peru - Borough Market

Fluttery by Emma Watson outside Harrods

Paddington the Explorer - Piccadilly Circus

Special Delivery - Covent Garden
Paddington Lloyd Webber - (designed by Andrew Lloyd Weber) Chinatown
Sherlock Bear designed by Benedict Cumberbatch (of course) - Museum of London

Shakesbear near the Globe, BANKSIDE

Good Morning London - Guildhall
The Journey of Marmalade - Hyde Park
Wonders of the World - London Bridge station
These are not all that I saw - just my favourites.  I think you have to be pretty hard hearted not to be touched by these sweet statues.  As of this writing I've seen 25 of them.  And before you think I am strange ..there are a few of us about...one couple I saw at the "Good Morning London"statue were at about 25 as well but were working on 17 that day...Hope you enjoyed seeing these bears as much as I did!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A walk along the coffin trail (and a couple of lakes) in the Lake District

While in the Lake District I wanted to do some light walking but not heavy duty hiking where I could easily get lost and my body not found for days partially eaten by hungry...sheep?  Anyway, you get the drift...not too grueling and safe for a solo walker.  I get a bit nervous when I am too far from civilization. There are lots of books about walking in the Lake District but they seem to be all about walking the fells in remote places...neither Thelma nor I fancied that.  While browsing in the post office/shop in Ambleside one day (if you are ever in Ambleside you must go there - a treasure!) I found a stand of walk descriptions on post cards.  And there I found my walk.  After all who could resist a stroll on the "coffin trail" in William Wordsworth country... I took a look and thought hmm...cafe along the route...that works for me. (with at least the security of knowing there was an available "loo" along the way.)  Okay, I may not have totally...
Post a Comment
Read more

Peeing on fish or a fish out of water

Well this morning we headed off by boat to Siem Reap.  Due to the low water on the Tonie Sap Lake (more like a river until near the end of the trip when it widened considerably) the trip would be an 8 hour one... It was supposed to be boring but ended up as anything but...in no certain order...let's see.... We had a rest stop (turned out to be the only one) along the way and the loo was just a hole over the lake and there were fish circling around underneath.  Yes it was just a hole in the floor...you definitely had someone watch your stuff while you went in or one false move and your camera/purse or whatever would be in the lake.  The fish either like the warm pee coming in or they are pervs and like to see ladies parts.  We were just a few minutes out when all of a sudden there was something flying over me and jumping all over the floor - a little fish!  Guess he wanted to join the tour.  Roger reached down and scooped him up while I hooted and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cowboys and Outlaws in the Big Muddy of Saskatchewan

One of the (very) few advantages of being stuck at home during this pandemic has been an opportunity to see more of my home province of Saskatchewan.  Last summer and fall not only did I do a couple of day trips with friends but I took four day tours with Engelheim transport, a local Regina company.   I have to admit my favourite day out was the "Big Muddy Valley and Outlaws" tour. While I had been to the Big Muddy previously many years back I was eager to revisit and learn more of its history.   So in early October, I hopped on board and off we went.  The bus is only booked to half capacity so it was easy to social distance, hand gel was a must each time we boarded the bus,  masks were required when you got on and off the bus and in any buildings we visited.  I felt totally safe and oh my, it was so good to have an adventure!!  Despite the name the Big Muddy isn't a big huge puddle of mud but a valley of badlands that were formed from a glac...
Post a Comment
Read more