Admiring the Saris

Catching up on more than a few years worth of news made us very hungry. Before we could go off for a celebratory meal though, there were two other pleasant tasks to perform. Firstly, Ted took us round the University to see all the old familiar sights and some new additions. It was strange driving round the campus as in our student days we didn't have a car and so walked everywhere.

Secondly we drove down to Leicester to pick up another of our minder's friends, again not seen for many years, from her workplace. Being in Leicester the pull of an authentic Indian restaurant was impossible to resist and boy were we spoiled for choice as we strolled alaong the delightfully Indian, Melton Road. We were particularly fascinated by the clothes shops whose windows were so full of exotic, colourful and glittering saris that we almost regretted being male bears and therefore denied the opportunity of trying one on! In the end we chose a Gujerati vegetarian restaurant to eat in.


We congratulated Ted on his excellent choice of restaurant as we tucked into a wonderful Thali meal. There were so many different dishes to try and it reminded us very much of our great Indian holiday.

The only sad part of the evening was saying goodbye to Ted and friends. We hope they will come and visit in the summer as we all agreed we mustn't leave it so long next time.

Lots of love Ungi, Dessie, Black Doggy, Chelmer, George & Yorkie xxx

A Happy Re-union

While on our Derbyshire holiday, some of us took the opportunity to have a trip down memory lane. We took advantage of our proximity to Loughborough, to visit the town and university where we spent a pleasant 3 years in the mid 1980s, accompanying one of our minders who was a student at the university.

As it was so long ago, it was before the formation of Bears Unlimited, and many of the present members were not even born. I, Ungi, together with Dessie and Black Doggy were the ones at Loughborough. We thought we remembered it well, but when it came to finding one of the houses we lived in, we found it wasn't so easy.


When it comes to sniffing things out, a dog comes into his own, and Black Doggy confidently took up position on the wall of the student house we used to live in.

The major event, however, was our re-union with our old friend Ted, whose minder studied with our minder. Amazingly, Ted still lives in Loughborough. It was fantastic to see Ted again and in honour of the occasion we had our picture taken with me showing off my Loughborough University t-shirt.


Please bear with us for a moment while we indulge Fred's Mum of the Suffolk Branch with a picture of Chelmer meeting Barney the cat. Fred's Mum has heard all about Barney but not seen him!


As you can imagine we had loads and loads of news to catch up on. We'll tell you more in our next blog entry.

Lots of Love Ungi, Dessie and Black Doggy xxx

Traditions Ancient and Modern.

Tonight we return to our Derbyshire adventure. Two of the travelling party had a rather perplexing experience in our cottage. The two in question are Randolph and Benji. You will have seen these two in earlier Bears Unlimited photos, but we don't believe they've been formally introduced.

Randolph is a reindeer who earns his living as a hot water bottle. Although born in colder climes he studied at reindeer training school in Yorkshire and, as a result, has picked up a rather charming Yorkshire accent. After specialising in heating studies he came top of his class. We'll tell you this as he is far to modest to ever mention it in public.

Benji is a Beddy Bear with a big tattoo over his chest saying 'warm me in a microwave' which is what we do. He tends to look very serious but he has a warm and friendly personality and is so supple he is a great gymnast. Not surpringly his hobby is visiting his sun bed (others call them microwaves).

Anyway, back to the story, our minders had a conversation about the bed warmer that was displayed on the wall. Randolph and Benji's ears pricked up when they heard the magic words 'bed warming'. They just could not believe that a round bit of metal with a long handle could be a relative of theirs, however, distant.


The picture reveals their incredulous expressions very well we think. After discussion between themselves, they concluded that they weren't surprised that evolution had selected against this branch of bedwarming articles, causing them to become extinct and simply museum pieces. After all, which would you prefer?

Love from all at Bears Unlimited xxx

Great Chieftain O' the Puddin' Race

We thought we'd open with a bit of culture tonight and give, as our title, a quote from the great bard himself. Yes, we're taking a quick break from our Peaks adventure reporting, to wish all our readers a happy Burns night and to share our own celebrations.

We carefully cooked our haggis and prepared for a photo shoot as we addressed it and read Robbie Burns poetry out aloud, but it managed to escape and bits splatted all over the clean washing up (literally - the lining split!) This does seem to lend support for some of the tales of haggises (haggai?) being alive, creatures with one leg shorter than the other.


Apologies therefore that our haggis looks more like dogs food than the fine haggis it was (in truth it was actually a bit greasy and it didn't come from Scotland, it came from Lindisfarne). We missed the presence of Hamish of the Suffolk branch to give us a tune on the pipes, but we played a C.D. of pipe music and the wee dram to accompany our meal went down very well.

While the cooks were preparing the meal the rest of us were checking out Burns night sites on the net and we found a great computer game that we just can't stop playing. It's called 'the Haggis Hurl' and it's great fun so checkout this link Hurl a Haggis to give it a go.

Lots of love, all at bears Unlimited xxx

Beer, Bears and Song

After a day spent enjoying the great outdoors it is always pleasant to enjoy a cosy night in, and us bears like to make our own entertainment as much as we can. When you are away from home, as we were in our Derbyshire cottage, there are often new activities to try out.

Before we could properly relax, we had to master the old fashioned range in the kitchen. It gave us a taste of what life was like before all the labour saving devices we now take for granted. There was a role for each of us. I, George, kept the grate supplied with wood; Dessie and Black Doggy checked the hob was hot enough for our kettle and that the soot box wasn't too full; Chelmer and Rocco prepared the iron; Ungi was in charge of toast making and Yorkie, we're not sure about - he appears to be supervising.


After tea Ungi revealed previously hidden talents as a pianist. He has a great repertoire and ran us through some classics, some songs from the shows and finally some rousing drinking songs - yes we did have the beer to go with it, but Wherry sadly wasn't one of the local brews. We were a fair distance from home though.


Lots of love George, Ungi and co xxx

Where are the Crowds?

The nice thing about going on holiday out of season is that you can escape the crowds and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. Here I, George, am enjoying a sit and think in a tourist free Dovedale.


Actually, I wasn't quite as relaxed as I look as it was very windy at the time and I was having to concentrate on gripping the branch with my buttocks to stop myself falling off. If I had fallen in the river it might have been the fastest game of pooh sticks ever recorded, as the river was racing along after all the rain.

My rest was quite well timed though as shortly after I came down from my branch I saw we'd got to climb up a big flight of steps.


As you can see we didn't get very far before we had to take a rest, or in bear speak a view stop. Very fine it was too!

Lots of love George & Co xxx

Have You Tried Peacock Riding?

How do we do it we ask ourselves? Whenever we go for a walk we manage to have a really interesting time and have some great encounters. Perhaps Bears Unlimited should offer promotional services to the Ramblers.

The day after our last adventure we were out walking near Carsington reservoir and who did we come across but this amazing peacock? We said ''hello'' and climbed aboard to try and hitch a lift but sadly the peacock didn't want to go anywhere. We weren't really suprised as he did live at a rather nice cottage as you can see from our picture.


The peacock looked as if he'd had rather a hard winter but we told him not to worry as spring would soon be here. While his colours might have faded, the whorls on his tail were something really special as you will see if you look closely or enlarge our picture.

Lots of love George & Yorkie xxxx

Lunch in the Dining Car

We got to the bottom of the railway incline a lot faster than our minders who were coming down at walking pace. It was an interesting place to wait for a bit as we were able to explore both the Cromford canal which runs at the bottom of the incline and a lot of old railway wagons that had been left behind. Our bikes had got a bit muddy so we gave them a wash in the canal taking care not to fall in. Sadly we didn't see the water voles that we'd met on our previous visit.

In our first picture if you look closely (you'll probably need to click on the picture to enlarge it) you will see us perched aboard one of the old carriages which we thought would make a good lunch stop.

Fully refreshed we then educated ourselves about the history of the High Peak Junction. As we were too short to read the information boards if we stood on the ground we had to perch on the top and read them upside down. This happens to us quite often so we're well practised at upside down reading.


Love from us all xxx

From Paw Power to Pedal Power

As you will have observed from our pictures, many of us Bears Unlimited travellers have very short legs, far shorter than those of our minders anyway.

When our paws get tired after a lot of walking we frequently like to change to two wheels to complete the day's outing.

The walk that we started telling you about yesterday, where we found that great settee, brought us to a disused railway, the High Peak Trail. We thought this would be the perfect place switch to pedal power. However, it wasn't long before we came across a really steep descent.


We sat on the sign asking us to dismount for quite a while, firstly because it provided and opportunity for another rest and secondly, because we trying to decide between being law abiding bears and obeying the notice, and being dare devil bears and experiencing the adrenaline rush of flying down the incline at top speed.

When our recce revealed that there was an escape pit, originally built for runaway trains, that we could use if we got out of control, we decided to go for it - after checking first, of course, that there were no pedestrians about who might get mown down.

We survived, and Chelmer is writing to the Guinness book of records to see if we set any records for a speedy descent.

Lots of love, the Peaks travelling posse xxx

We Encounter a Well Placed Settee

While the safari was a fun diversion on a wet morning, the real reason for visiting the Peak District was to be hearty outdoor bears and to view the wonderful Derbyshire countryside from on foot.

We therefore spent as much time as we could outdoors and we did some great walks. We hadn't reckoned on it being quite as muddy underfoot though as it was following a lot of recent rain. Slipping and sliding around and getting very messy was great fun for a bit, then as we hurried to catch up with our minders, we realised how much extra effort was needed to walk in mud and how tired we were getting.


We were therefore particularly pleased, when in the middle of nowhere, we came across this giant settee which just couldn't have been better placed to give us a much needed rest. There was loads of room, although our minders declined to join us as they didn't want to get wet bottoms - we'd nicked their sit-mat! All that remained for the perfect break was to persuade them to get out the coffee and biscuits, which they duly did. It doesn't take much to make a bear happy!

We shall definitely give this well placed settee a mention in the Derbyshire chapter of the Friendly Planet Guide.

Lots of love George, Yorkie, Chelmer & Rocco xxx

We go on Safari

With a title like that, we bet you're now thinking that our latest adventure took us off to Kenya, or similar. Far from it, we're actually back from an adventure in Derbyshire, but it's true we did get to go on safari.

We only had to go as far as the Peak Village outlet shopping centre at Rowsley. We were actually supposed to be looking for some walking boots for our male minder, but we found the 'Pollyanna Pickering..absolutely animals' shop far more interesting.


Our first close up encounter with one of the big 5 was, as you can see, with a giraffe who we found out was called Gerry. We wondered if he was a friend of Raffee. The great thing about this safari is that not only did you get to see the animals close up you could also ride them and have a chat.

While George and Chelmer were riding Gerry, I, Yorkie, had an especially brave moment and plucked up courage to get up close and personal with a tiger. I needn't have been scared though as he was just a big pussy cat. I guess I need to be careful when talking to tigers though as the next one I meet might not be quite so friendly.


Lots of love, Yorkie xxx

Reporting Back In

Well, us members of the Norfolk branch are safely back from our latest adventure, which we'll tell you all about soon. We have had great fun reading the Suffolk branch's postings and think we must go away more often as they have done such a great job of keeping the blog running while we've been away. We are sure there is lots more to hear about their N.Z. trip so hope they will continue to blog under the Suffolk branch signature tag, which will distinguish their adventures from ours.

We say this as, you may have noticed that there is quite a resemblance between George and his brother Isaiah and Yorkie and his brother Dale. Their skill at blog writing shows that this resemblance is more than skin deep.


To allow you to see them all together and note some of the differences we thought we'd include a photo from last year's canal boat holiday which shows all 4 together. Isaiah and Dale are on the left of the picture, George and Yorkie on the right. We bet you'll never guess where Yorkie and Dale were born?

Well you've got to agree, these are very exciting times for the blog with both the Norfolk and Suffolk branches sharing their news and adventures. Long may it continue this way and perhaps the Midlands branch might want to join the posting gang!

Love all at the Norfolk branch xxx

The wonders of nature!

The wet and wild weather of the last few days had got us bears pondering about the power and awe of nature - yes, we don't spend all day thinking about Nutella! We do hope our Norfolk branch bears haven't been blown away on their recent trip up north! On the subject of nature we'd like to introduce our new member Kiwi, who is, oddly enough, a kiwi who became such a good friend that he emigrated to Suffolk when we recently returned from New Zealand. He showed us some interesting natural phenomena in NZ and here are a couple of examples:-



Here we are resting after a strenuous climb to the top of NZ's tallest tree, which was even taller than 100 Blue Bears. Kiwi wished he had the power of flight at this point!




And what about this for a strange sight! Clearly the work of aliens from another planet, we thought, or ancient dinosaur eggs from prehistoric times. But on closer examination and a quick chat with Kiwi, we learnt these weird rocks had once been embedded in the cliffs down which we had earlier scrambled. We will be sure to include these boulders in the NZ chapter of our Friendly Planet guide.

What goes ha ha ha plonk?

A: Isaiah laughing his head off!

Thankfully a rare sight as we Bears Unlimited bears are a pretty hardy breed but after surgery and some physio I'm glad to say I am fully recovered. I think the problem arose when we Suffolk Branch bears tried to be as energetic and adventurous as the Norfolk Branch in carrying out research for the Friendly Planet Guide chapter on New Zealand in November 2006. I accompanied my minders to a jurassic looking hot and steamy geyser at Rotorua and I think some sulphury stuff - or is that sulfurry stuff - must have loosened up my joints. I did enjoy wallowing in the mud before soaking my paws in the hot springs but perhaps it relaxed me a bit too much.



It wasn't long after before I was strapping ice skates onto my paws and skating on a real live glacier, which was really cool (!) Sorry the photo is a bit blurry - I think my minder was shivering as he took the piccie!

Greetings from Suffolk branch chairman

The Norfolk branch's minders have asked me to introduce myself so here goes. I'm Fred, a very laid back sort of bear as my photo below shows.



I'm one of the oldest members of the Suffolk branch and am a bit of a legal eagle as I studied law at Warwick Uni with my minder, so I deal with all the legal stuff involved in Bears Unlimited. However, that can be a bit dull so I like to escape to the coast with my friends and Panda the cat for lots of swimming and beachside bbqs - not at this time of year though! It's a bit too cold when you are short of fur like me! I set up a special bear tourist office for bears visiting Suffolk and make it my business to know all the best places a bear can visit in Suffolk. I was recently left in charge of everything when my minders and some of the younger bears went to New Zealand; they had a nice time but I didn't fancy the 24 hours in the hold of a plane without nutella sandwiches so that's why I stayed behind and had lots of parties instead with Panda and the rest of the gang.

Goodbye Christmas

We have been busy bears this weekend taking down the Christmas decorations and cards. We couldn't believe how many cards we'd received, it just proves that bears touch a lot of people' lives. We will of course be recycling them all. As per a Bears Unlimited tradition, our tree will stay up with lights on for a long while yet, as he is far too lovely to put out already.

As it was Epiphany yesterday Woolly and I popped over to the church to see if the wise men had arrived. We're talking about the Christmas crib of course! We were pleased to see they had made it and you can see for yourselves in today's photo.


Some of the guys are preparing for a New Year adventure so there should be lots of new pictures coming up soon.

Lots of love, Bris xxx

A Bear is for Life not just for Christmas

We at Bears Unlimited firmly believe that Christmas is the season of goodwill and a time to think of others who might be less fortunate than us. We therefore step up our visits to charity shops for bear welfare checks at Christmas time.

We split up into small groups so we can visit all the charity shops In Norwich, Ipswich and other local East Anglian towns who have bears for sale on their shelves. We have a chat with each one to check they are being well looked after and to help with any concerns or problems they have. We also give out our Bears Unlimited emergency assistance cards which provide a number they can phone 24 hours a day to get some help, advice or just to have a friendly chat with a sympathetic bear, should they require it.

In today's photo you can see Oscar at work in a Norwich Oxfam shop where he was pleased to find all the bears happy and relaxed.


It's the least we can do as we always remember just how lucky we Bears Unlimited bears are. Some of us did come to Bears Unlimited via a charity shop so we fully appreciate what it is like to face the time of uncertainty that comes when a bear arrives at a charity shop.

Love from us all xxx

Up the Creek with a Paddle

How was your New Years Day? We had a lovely paddle on the River Deben with some canoeing friends. It was so windy that it did literally blow the cobwebs away but at least the sun was shining to lift our spirits and make the hard paddle worthwhile. It was a pity that Blue Bear wasn't with us as he is so strong he would have powered through the wind and waves, but he had stayed at home to work on the fleet vehicles.

At one point the wind was so strong that we literally got blown out of the water as you can see in our photo - in case you were wondering where the water was!


We had to get our minders to get in the boat with us to provide some weight to keep us in the water. After their Christmas indulgences they had no problem providing us with the required ballast (hope we won't get told off for being cheeky!) We do admit that their assistance with the paddling was very welcome and it gave us the chance to have a look around and take in the beautiful river sights.

At the end of the paddle everyone got together for a pot luck lunch. We had never seen so much food and all of it delicious. Then it was time to return to Norfolk ready to go back to work today.

Lots of love Chelmer, Rocko and the gang xxx

Happy New Year Scottish Style

After spending Christmas with the Midlands branch we, much travelled bears, headed for Suffolk to see in the New Year with the Suffolk branch.

The evening got off to a very good start with a curry at the local curry house. We did get soggy fur walking there, but a nice hot curry soon warmed us up and brought back happy memories of our Indian holiday.

Back at the house we found Bears Unlimited only Scottish member, Hamish, ready for us in full Highland dress and tuning his bagpipes. Thanks to Hamish we had the New Year piped in for us and our Auld Lang Syne was apparently so spirited it made Hamish very proud to be a Scot.

After all his piping Hamish celebrated with a wee dram and being sociable bears we decided to join him.


A very Happy New year to all our friends and readers.

Love from all at Bears Unlimited especially Hamish xxx