Been on a bear hunt lately?
Last week while doing my regular walk around the neighbourhood, talk-
ing to dogs and their friendly owners (and keeping a safe 1.5 metre
separation of course), I noticed a great collection of stuffed toys in our
neighbour’s window.
A day later it dawned on me that this was part of a growing trend hap-
pening since the required social distancing for CORVID19, of putting
teddy bears in windows to entertain young children as they walk around
with their parents. I went back for a closer look, to see a group of 10
teddy bears of various sizes and nationalities having a tea party.
Suitably inspired, Judy and I looked out two teddy bears that had been
neglected for about 40 years, and a couple of stuffed owls to keep them
company. Our first attempt was to place the large yellow teddy in our
bedroom window looking out on the garden, but the reflective foil on the
glass made him impossible to see from outside at all, let alone from the
street. Undaunted, we put the smaller blue teddy and his avian com-
panions in the side window panel beside our front door. The semi-
obscure glass was a bit of a problem, but with nose and beaks pressed
to the glass they were reasonably visible, to greet visitors if not passers
-by.
Apparently, the idea began on Facebook last week. It was reported on
3AW Melbourne on 24 March, and on 26 March Time Magazine report-
ed that “with families around the world abiding by social distancing to
curb the spread of coronavirus, neighbourhood “bear hunts” are becom-
ing all the rage in some areas’. Whether the idea started in Melbourne
or the US or UK who knows, but it has become a friendly way to enter-
tain kids around the world, including this septuagenarian kid in Bruce
who has now also spotted bears in trees.
Have you been on a bear hunt lately? Can you beat ten bears having a
tea party, or even two owls and a teddy bear?
- Keith Baker
(Photos on opposite page by Keith Baker)
St Margaret’s News
8
April 2020