Mr Ted of Brook Street – part 1

The Interview – part 1

Hello Mr Ted. Do you mind me asking how old you are?

I’m afraid bears never reveal their age. But that’s probably because most bears can’t remember how old they are! I do know that I went to live with my Human more than 20 years ago – I was a gift to her for taking care of somebody. So I must be more than 20 years old! Of course, that’s quite young in bear years.

A painted stone presented to Mr Ted and his family as a thank you.
Mr Ted receives a thank you gift

And who is your Human?

She is a lovely, lovely lady. Her name is… Mel, I think? Yes, definitely Mel. We live in Brook Street in Stourbridge – I do love my home. I get lots of hugs, every day. As my good friend Pooh once said – “A hug is always the right size.” Did I tell you; I like quoting Pooh – a very wise bear. I’m sorry, I got carried away. My Human was born in Dudley and has lived in Brook Street longer than I have!

How did you become so famous?

I haven’t finished talking about my Human, please let me as I need to tell you that, like many, many people across the world, she has had and continues to have her struggles. She was born in Dudley and has always worked with children and young people across the borough. When this horrible disease meant everyone had to stop going places to see their friends and family, my Human’s head was quite poorly – she felt she couldn’t do enough to help those she had been caring for. When the people in charge of the country said nobody could go out, my Human was a little bit relieved although very sad that she could not see her parents and 2-year old grandson. She did the shopping for her parents and for an elderly friend and tried to keep in touch with everyone as much as she could (she said something about social media, but I don’t know what that is). It wasn’t all bad and, to help lift her spirits, her partner Andy (he’s a bus driver – a very, very important job) put a Summer House in the garden and made it look like a pub! (I don’t why I got excited – I don’t know what one of those is either). My Human and her Human spent lots of time in the garden when the weather was nice and helped support the other Humans on Brook Street – people they hardly knew became good friends!

Mr Ted of Brook Street on his first day in the window
Mr Ted on his first day in the window, in his favourite shirt

So, how did you become so famous?

Little old me? Famous? I wouldn’t say so. Although, I HAVE had lots and lots of adventures, after living on a bedroom floor for a loooong time. I think my first adventure was shortly after people were told not to go out. My Human put me in her front window with some of my teddy friends and her Human dressed me up in a football shirt – Wolverhampton Wanderers. Good job too cos they’re my favourite football team! (I’m not sure why they can’t just pick the ball up and give it to each other, instead of kicking it. Humans do strange things.) It was an adventure because I could see outside, and see the people passing by. I waved to and smiled at all of them, especially the children. I wasn’t sure they could see me but lots of them waved back! My Human’s Human said that I should have a new adventure every day. I love adventures, love seeing outside and love meeting Humans – woohoo!

How many adventures did you go on?

My Human said a lot of people got bored, some got very lonely and some got very frightened. That made me quite sad but also made me very determined to help as many of them as I could. So I worked hard, every day for 125 days without a rest! That might seem like too much but I had a very important job to do – lift the spirits of as many Humans as I could! Of course, I had lots and lots of help from my Human and each day was definitely a new and exciting adventure. But I’ve gone a little tired now so, if it’s OK with you, I will have a rest. Next time, I will tell you about some of my favourite adventures, show you some pictures, and tell you about all the lovely Humans I have met and the nice things they have said to me. Hopefully we’ll also have time to talk about occasional adventures I still have – I’m getting a little older, but I still do as much as I can to help brighten the days of as many Humans as I can.

Thank you, Mr Ted. Can you give any more hints about what else you’ll tell us next time?

Yes I can. Let me think… I’ll tell you more about my AMAZING Human, about how much she helped me with all my adventures and how much that has helped her poorly head. I will tell you about some sad times too as it is very important to talk about all things – the good times and the bad times. Lots of Humans struggle to talk about their feelings and if they can’t talk, it only makes them feel more poorly. But remember that nobody can be happy all the time and it’s OK to have some bad days. As Pooh once told me, “When life throws you a rainy day, play in the puddles.”


To see all the adventures Mr Ted got up to, visit his Facebook page here. For now, we’ll let Mr Ted rest and catch up with him again at the beginning of April.

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