It's Bag Packing Time!

You've got to agree, it's been quite a while since we last went travelling. We've got rather itchy feet, so are about to do something about it.

We're about to head off for our next adventure and to research a new area of our planet for the Friendly Planet Guide. We're taking Eddie with us this time, which might provide a bit of a clue, or it might send you down completely the wrong track.


If you look closely at our picture, the map and brochure we're eagerly studying, might reveal our destination. If it doesn't, we're afraid you're going to have to wait a while to find out more. We plan to take lots of photos though as there should be some stunning sights, so hopefully the wait will be worthwhile.

See you soon, lots of love, George, Yorkie & Eddie xxx

A Mystery Spaceship?

You might think that doing Coast Watch in the winter might be a bit grim, and that it would be more fun to be tucked up at home by the fire, with a good book and a pint of Wherry.

However, there are compensations and in winter, far more than in summer, we never know what we are going to find on the beach, especially after a spell of stormy weather.


How about this for one of our finds on the local beach? We took lots of pictures of us on this yellow flying saucer so we could show them to the rest of the guys and consult them about what it was. It certainly didn't belong on that stretch of beach and had clearly escaped and travelled some distance, probably from a port such as Great Yarmouth.

Of course, the great thing about winter Coast watch is that when we finally get home and come in from the cold, that fire and pint of Wherry are appreciated so much more than usual.

Lots of love, all at the Norfolk Branch xxx

Burns Night 2008

Sorry we're too late with this post to wish you a happy Burns Night, but we hope those of you who partook had a good one.

You may remember from last year, that it is a Bears Unlimited tradition to celebrate Burns Night, as we do have some Scots members. This year, as the great day fell at the start of the weekend, and we didn't have to get up for work in the morning, we were able to make much more of the occasion and have a party.

We invited our bear friendly friends Wade & Birgit round to join us. These are the 2 who gave Chelmer & Rocko such a great holiday last year. It was lovely to see them again.

For those of us who are not Scots and cannnot recite the Address to a Haggis word perfectly, Scottie Dog, Jock, found us an order of the supper on the internet, and printed it out, so we could join in at the appropriate time.


Here you see us listening intently to Jock addressing the haggis. Kanga and Roo, being from Australia, just couldn't work out what was going on and said the printed orders of the supper weren't much use as most of it was in Scots and they needed a translation. Don't worry they did get one and there were soon smiles on their originally bemused faces.


Before we tucked in, Jock proposed a toast to Robbie Burns and to Chef Oakley who had once again done us proud with a wonderful meal.

While the non Scots of us quite like haggis, especially when topped with Oakley's wonderful mushroom sauce, his piece de resistance was the pudding course - raspberry crowdies with whisky ice cream. Simply delicious and they just go to prove that he really should be on Masterchef.

It was well after 1.00 a.m. when we finally rolled into bed, which just goes to show how much we had all enjoyed ourselves.

Lots of love Jock & all at Bears Unlimited xxx

More Toys for Boys

Bart and Russ were particularly lucky on their coast watch a few days ago. As they patrolled along the beach at Weybourne, they came across a fisherman who needed some help and recognised these guys as figures of authority.

The fisherman needed to get his boat into the sea to go fishing and needed someone to drive the tractor for him. Russ and Bart were only too happy to oblige.


In true 'Where's Bear' fashion, the challenge is to find them in our picture. They're not particularly big bears but they are both there. They reported that the tractor wasn't quite as modern as the Bears Unlimited fleet vehicles they're used to driving, but it was very powerful. Russ found he was able to reach all the controls o.k. but needed a few more cushions to be able to see out the cab, so Bart helped out by shouting instructions from a high view point on the boat.

We're pleased to report that they didn't mow down any other beach strollers in the drive to the water. As the fisherman said he'd be out for a few hours they decided not to hang around to wait for a free fish from his catch.

Anyway, in case you failed to find them in our first picture, try this one for a zoomed view.


Easy isn't it?

Lots of love, the Bears Unlimited Coast Watch team xxx

A Fish Out of Water

If you have a good memory you may remember us talking about our coastal watch duties in our post Guardians of the Coast last February.

Our winter duties are quite different to the summer ones. Many of them have to do with stormy weather. We'd like to take you through two of our winter duties today.


We make regular patrols along the tide line to see if any fish are stranded after being thrown out of a stormy sea. Where possible we gather them up and return them to the sea so they live to swim another day. Sometimes when we're taking a close look at the fish for signs of life, as in our photo, we get a bit of a surprise when they give a flip of the tail and bonk us on the nose.


While we're out patrolling, we also keep a look out for any lobster pots which have come ashore in stormy weather, to see if they contain any stranded occupants. The lobster pots are easier to spot than a well camouflaged fish, however, returning the occupants to the sea isn't quite so easy. We have to keep well clear of those big claws. However, once the lobsters realise that we are working for the Lobster Liberation Front (LLF) they usually become quite calm and stop fighting us, realising we are there to help.

It's exciting and vital work and we enjoy doing it.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

Holby City Comes to North Norfolk

We had a great party and ate so much of Oakley's huge '250 posts' cake that we all fell asleep, and it was only when we woke up that we remembered that we hadn't taken any photos. By then the cake was gone, so sorry, you'll just have to imagine it.

Anyway, back to more serious matters. The eagle eyed amongst you, may have noticed that Ungi has changed his appearance slightly in our new Bears Unlimited Board photo. He recently had to have a fur transplant to deal with a rather serious hemorrhage of the stuffing variety.


We are fortunate, that as there are so many bears gathered in one place, many of whom are now middle aged now, we can justify hospital facilities at our Norfolk home.

We are also lucky that one of our minders is quite a skilled bear surgeon, probably because she's had so much practice. Much of the experience has been gained by dealing with repairs to Randolph who appears in the picture with Ungi, about to wake up after his latest surgery. Although still a mere youngster, Randolph has the misfortune to make more visits to the operating theatre than most. We think this is something to do with the fact that he wasn't made in England (but we don't want to say where he came from, as we don't want to be done for slander).

Fortunately, us bears and reindeers stand up to surgery well and recover a lot faster than our human counterparts. We don't even have to have a general anaesthetic either. The combination of a pint of Wherry, a glass of wine and a shot of the Polish cherry vodka we brought back from Poland, knocks us out nicely, just long enough for surgery to be completed.

We think Ungi looks incredibly distinguished with his new fur sideburn, but we haven't persuaded him to have the other side done yet. He says it will only be a matter of time.

Have any of our readers got any surgery tales they'd like to share with us?

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

The Big 250!

Doesn't time pass quickly when you're having fun blogging. In fact our 250th post has crept up on us so quickly, that we haven't had time to arrange a party and take some photos of the celebrations.

Rest assured though that we will be having a party and it will be soon. Chef Oakley is currently studying his favourite cakes recipe book and the champagne is chilling in the fridge (the Wherry is ready already).

We just love a party as it lifts the spirits no end - especially when it is cold and wet outside as it is now.

It really does seem no time at all since we were having our party to celebrate 100 posts. We've just been checking the Bears Unlimited photographic archives and discovered it was in February 2007 so well short of a year ago.


We enjoyed that occasion so much that we thought we'd remind you of it (especially as we're short of a photo of the party we haven't yet had). We reckon though that as 250 is two and a half times bigger than 100, our cake will need to be two and a half times bigger than the last one. We can't wait!

Here's to the next 250 posts. Hopefully we'll continue to have lots of exciting news and pictures to share with you.

Thanks for reading.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

Happily Matched

In our last post we said that Saabrina was well polished and we weren't joking. As you can see from our next photo, which is a close up of us all with her, we were able to use the bonnet as a very effective mirror to check our wedding appearances.


It was nice to have this time together relaxing and chatting before the wedding got properly underway. Us Norfolk Branch bears knew that, come the afternoon, Moose and his friends would be very busy in their groom support roles, and unable to spend much time talking with us, so we made the most of the moment. We would have lingered longer if it wasn't for the wind which kept blowing the smaller bears off the bonnet.

All too soon it was time to make our way to the Church. As our minder was the officiating minister, we were there early which meant we could choose a seat which would give us a good view, very important when you're the size we are. Here we are reading the order of service, especially the rather nice piece at the start which explained what marriage was all about.


After the bride arrived we waited to find out what would be the music for the wedding march. We were rather surprised when we heard, what initially sounded like interference, coming from the speakers. We were even more surprised when we noticed that the bride had started coming up the aisle to it. All of a sudden the sound developed into some wonderful African drumming music. How unique we thought, and also how appropriate, as the bride had worked in Africa for 7 years.

After the happy couple were well and truly married, we enjoyed some mulled wine while photos were taken, then it was off to the reception. We thought our Uncle Tim gave the most romantic speech we had ever heard and gave him lots of applause at the end. After the speeches we had a great time taking to the floor for a spirited barn dance. Sadly we couldn't stay to the end as we had to drive back to Norfolk.

Lots of love from the wedding party xxx

The Morning of the Wedding

As the wedding wasn't until after lunch, and we hadn't been allocated any wedding morning duties (yes it was a very well organised wedding), we thought we'd have a bit of a lie in, but in the end, the temptation of seeing what was on offer at the Holiday Inn Express buffet breakfast proved too much, and down we all went.

We were pleased to find cellophane wrapped muffins, which made them perfect for sneaking away for a mid morning snack (don't tell anyone though!).


Our picture of Yorkie and myself (George), with our muffins, should explain why we needed a mid morning snack. We were a short drive from Epping Forest and we had a free morning, so what better way to spend the time than doing some research for The Friendly Planet Guide.

We enjoyed our stroll through Epping Forest, and because the paths are so well marked, it is a good place to go if you are just passing through the area and, like us, haven't got a map. From all the activity we saw, it is also a good place for running, cycling and horse riding, as we shall report in the Friendly Planet Guide.

When we got back to the hotel we were just in time to help our Uncle Tim decorate his car, Saabrina (being a Saab), which is his pride and joy. As it was the groom's car not the bride's car, there were no bonnet ribbons, but some very tasteful bows on the doors.


We were particularly proud of the bow on the rear windscreen wiper which we thought of. It takes a spark of bear genius to think up a decoration like that. Saabrina really was looking very best, and we could see that her car bears had put a lot of time and effort into cleaning and polishing.

More to come, so keep reading.

Lots of love from the wedding party xxx

Wedding Bells

The weekend after Christmas was a rather special one for us. We travelled down to London for the wedding of our Uncle Tim who is a good friend of Bears Unlimited and the minder of some of our good friends including Moose, Boulder and Grommit. They all came to visit us in February and you may remember our outing of the time (Visitors welcome) and also, more recently, Moose’s email to us all the way from Taiwan (an email for Bris).

As we were going to a wedding it was natural that the 2 sets of Bears Unlimited newly weds would want to attend so look out for them in our pictures.

Our own minder was conducting the wedding service, so we arrived on the Friday afternoon in time for the wedding rehearsal. While the wedding party were busy with the rehearsal, us bears were free to chat to Moose and to look round the church which was very big and fine – much bigger than the Norfolk village churches we are used to.


We took a closer look at a large nativity scene, set up at the back of the church. It was all protected by a sort of plastic curtain which is why our photo is not as clear as it might be. The figures and animals were very life-like and we soon felt as if we really were part of the scene, rather than outsiders.

We also took a closer look at the flowers which were perfect in their joint role of wedding and Christmas flowers. The wedding bears though they were very romantic.


After the rehearsal we went to the hall where the reception would be held and helped decorate the tables with leaves and other things that drop off trees. We all felt very artistic. Then we settled down to enjoy some pizzas and a few beers with Tim. It was great to see him again and he was clearly very excited about his wedding. We were also very excited and pleased for him as he is one of our favourite non bear friends.

We’ll report on the wedding day itself in our next post.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

A New Image for the New Year

We like our blog very much and secretly think it's rather good. However, there's one thing about it that has been nagging away at the back of our minds as being not quite right.

The problem is the photo of the Board members, which is linked to our profile and appears at the top of the blog. While we really like the photo, the problem with it, is that members of the 3 Bears Unlimited branches are not equally represented.

This is where we have to confess that the picture was taken a couple of Christmasses ago, after the Suffolk branch had been and gone. Most of the fine bears you see, are therefore, members of the Norfolk and Midlands branches. That's definitely not because there are no fine bears in the Suffolk branch - they're all the epitome of fine bears - it just reflects when the camera was to hand and we were in photographic mood.

Anyway, we made a conscious effort this year, at our three branch Christmas gathering, to commission a new team photo. We're revealing it to the world for the first time tonight so we hope you like it, and most importantly that the Suffolk and Midlands branches like it.


When we have the right technical expertise to hand we'll be updating our profile so you see this picture everytime you go into our blog.

In the meantime, we'd like to wish Uncle G of the Midlands branch a successful operation tomorrow and a speedy recovery.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

Boys with Big Toys

Oh dear, no-one's had a guess of what was in our lunchbox! We were only joking when we said it was hard. Either we scared you off saying that, or, perish the thought, no-one is reading our blog! Hope it's not the latter!

Anyway, what we had in our lunchbox were delicious turkey sandwiches. Just like sprouts, we can't get enough turkey, so turkey leftovers are a definite treat. We varied our turkey sandwiches by the addition of cranberry sauce in some, and Aunt Jessie's famous marrow chutney (remember Oakley making it recently with Tommy's marrows?) in others. Both sorts were wolfed down happily by hungry bears.

The Midland branch had saved up a real treat for the after lunch stretch of the walk. One minute we were walking down a muddy lane keeping a wary eye on the bull that we had to walk past, the next we were looking at something rather special.


Chelmer took off like a bolt of lightning when he saw this marvellous armoured vehicle, as he couldn't wait to see if he could start it up. Unfortunately, Chief Mechanic Blue Bear wasn't with us at this point, as he was still at the canal in Braunston talking diesel engines with a canal boat owner. Without his expertise, this tank was going no-where and was stuck fast in the mud. Still, we had a great time pretend driving with lots of war-like sound effects.


Chelmer was a little disappointed at the lack of guns until our minder pointed out that it was an armoured personnel carrier rather than a tank. That didn't stop Chelmer telling every he'd been tank driving when he got home, as he thought it sounded more adventurous than driving an APC.

Thanks Midlands Branch for arranging a walk with some much variety and a great surprise.

Lot of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

Out and About on Boxing Day

We hope we're not about to confuse you but, after reporting on our New Year activities, we're now going back in time to Boxing Day.

We're never too bothered about the weather on Christmas Day as it's essentially an indoor day. However, we always hope for fine weather on Boxing Day, so we can get out for a traditional Boxing Day walk.

On this occasion when we stuck our noses outside after getting up, we sniffed some mild and dry air and knew we were in for a good walk. As we were in the Midlands, the Midlands branch were our guides. They know our likes very well and included a walk along the canal, taking in the Braunston Locks, that we'd boated through last Easter, at the start of the walk.


We rather liked this diddy, working boat and thought it's name 'mouse' rather appropriate. We wondered whether we should take it with us on future canal holidays so we could dig ourselves out if we ended up 'on the putty'.

After leaving the canal we headed across some fields, and when we came across some sprout plants we realised the Midlands branch's motive for taking us this route. Being sprout lovers, we'd eaten so many on Christmas Day that supplies had run out and we needed to pick some to replenish stocks for our Boxing Day meal.


As you can see from our picture we were blessed by blue skies and mild weather. There were a couple of moments when we even needed our sunglasses.

Thanks to this fine weather we were even able to enjoy a picnic in the open air. We've got a really challenging 'What's in My Lunchbox' picture for you to guess what we were about to tuck in to!


In fact we're going to be really cruel and leave you in suspense and not tell you the answer until we next post.

We bet you'll never guess.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

Happy New Year!

A Happy New Year to all our readers. We hope your New Year has got off to as good a start as ours.

We enjoyed an Indian meal, and saw in the New Year in Suffolk, with Suffolk branch members and today, we've been out on the River Deben in our open canoe with canoe club friends. Some of you may remember our 'up the creek with a paddle' post from last year when we did the same thing.

We're now safely back home and once again admiring all the Christmas cards we have been very lucky to receive.

We thought we'd share our favourite 2 with you.


We received this card from Fred's Mum who, as you will know, is one of our regular correspondents. We just love it, and we think it is an excellent advertisement for the value of having a bear (or two) in the family. After all, who would want a gift of gold when you could have bear instead? We also think this bear looks a lot like Ungi. Perhaps he has been too modest to tell us that he modelled for the picture.

We also smiled a lot when we opened this card.


It really appealed to our bear sense of humour.

If, like us, you're going back to work tomorrow, we hope you have a stress free day.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx