PADDINGTON BEAR'S CREATOR LEAVES A LEGACY OF LOVE

I have a number of favourite writers and poets and sometimes I forget that they, like myself, are only human and that they do not live forever. Frank McCourt, Maeve Binchy, Elie Wiesel and Seamus Heaney. And lately Michael Bond who died at age 91 about a month ago on 27 June.

Michael who? Michael Bond, the creator of the marmalade loving Paddington Bear.  

I have unashamedly amassed a number of Paddington paraphernalia – an umbrella, a key holder, buttons, washi tape and an 18 inch bear complete with his signature duffle coat and wellies.  I saw the Paddington movie three times, (once on the big screen and twice over the television) because of the bear and because of Hugh Bonneville, who plays Mr Brown. When I went with my friends to see the movie, I brought along little tubs of marmalade for everyone, just to be in solidarity with the bear.

I even made a special trip to Paddington station. I was secretly hoping to see Paddington sitting on a small suitcase near the lost property office, wearing a hat.  I felt how the bear felt – lost - when he first arrived as a stowaway, sent by his Aunt Lucy who has gone to live in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima.  I could not resist standing beside the little statue of Paddington Bear at the station.

What makes Michael Bond’s creation so endearing?

Basically it is the connection.

When we attend a social event it is inevitable that we need to mingle. Imagine talking to a group of people who bore your socks off. The first reaction is to wish that the event will end quickly and you can go home. The same goes with the characters in a book – you either love them or hate them.

So I connect with Paddington.

He is honest and kind and has very good manners. It is hard not to love someone with good manners, even more so a bear!

It is also the sorry feeling for an unwanted toy. Michael Bond was searching for a gift for his wife on Christmas eve in 1956 when he came across a teddy bear all alone on a shelf. Clearly he was a last minute shopper and he ‘adopted’ Paddington. That was the humble beginnings of a famous bear.

Paddington came from a different land. Originally Bond wanted him to come from darkest Africa but he was informed by his agent that Africa does not have bears. The bear was a refugee seeking a new home on foreign soil. Because of his cross cultural background, Paddington was chosen in 1994, by English tunnellers as the first item to pass through the Channel Tunnel to their French counterparts when the two sides were linked up. There are over 35 million copies of Paddington books sold worldwide which have been translated into 40 languages. This bear has inspired pop bands, race horses, plays, hot air balloons, a television series and a movie.

According to Bond, Paddington’s universal appeal is due to the ‘Paddington-type situations’ that happen all over the world – the fun times and the mishaps.

I was first introduced to wellies by Paddington. There was no need for me to wear wellies in the city where I was born but I knew about them because of Paddington. Now I have three pairs of wellies of different designs and heights and I can identify with the bear when I trudge into puddles, mud and bog.

Then there is this label around Paddinton’s neck when he first arrived in London which read: ‘Please look after this bear.’ It reminds me of a visit to a school in 1970. It was Chefoo School in Brinchang in Cameron Highlands which functioned as a school for the children of missionaries and the curriculum was based on the British education system. The children were away on holidays at that time and on one of the bunk beds I saw a well-cuddled bear with the same label on its neck. That stopped me in my tracks and I wondered how the child would have felt living in a residential school and also having to leave her favourite toy behind when she went home for the holidays.

Bond’s first book was published in 1958 and his last in 2017, a span of 59 years. The next Paddington movie will be released at the end of this year. On the last day of the shooting, Michael Bond passed away. He left behind legions of fans, his family, his guinea pigs and most of all the much loved bear

from darkest Peru.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PRINTED IN THE NEW STRAITS TIMES MALAYSIA 
23 JULY 2017
https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2017/07/259876/paddington-bears-creator-leaves-legacy-love