RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Marmalady on Thursday 12 November 15 14:28 GMT (UK)
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Update on the Rootschat Bear ( Topic Can Rootschat members help? - Lost Teddy Bear 'Seeks' Owner (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=648863.0) )
There is a short article in yesterday's Times to say the Bear is going to be auctioned as the elderly owner is unable to make the journey from Cyprus to collect him
To be sold by Special Auction Services in Newbury with an estimate of £1,200.
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I read that. I like the bit that states " They finally tracked the owner ....." No mention of Rootschatters doing all the work
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I read that. I like the bit that states " They finally tracked the owner ....." No mention of Rootschatters doing all the work
Probably the fault of the journalist / editor rather than info from Bristol Airport
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Mmm, re no mention of RC.
I know the owner is old but could have been posted back to him.
Annie
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Maybe he has memory problems and cannot feel the 'love' that the Poor old bear previously meant to him.
Hopefully he will gain something from the Money and the Bear will gain a loving new home somewhere for his next journey.
:D ;D
be nice to see what that may be... !!!!
xin
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Mmm, re no mention of RC.
I know the owner is old but could have been posted back to him.
Annie
Quite. It has all the hallmarks of a scam (not the original loss but this latest development), how long before we can buy the book or see the film of the bear's adventures ............... ::)
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It may not be fair to blame the journalist for not mentioning RC or the whole search for the bear's owner. Often parts of a story are edited out after the writer has submitted the copy.
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I feel I have a connection to this bear after all the searching....maybe Rootschatters should club together to by it and made the Rootschat Mascot ;D ;D ;D
Carol
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Quick! Before it sells and someone bags the copyright, get a good image of it, and embellish it with a roots T-shirt or something! And research its family tree(on a new thread, of course)
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Thank you for posting that - I wondered why I hadn't spotted it yesterday - I had a full-page Asda ad on page 22 ::) ;D
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I agree Annie , why can't it be posted to the owner, has he said that he doesn't want the bear ? Something doesn't seem right.
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The whole story hasn't seemed right to me from the start - too many unanswered questions. So many hard-working RC-ers (not me, I'm not clever enough, although I enjoyed following the chase!) spent a long time solving this mystery.
I would have thought that once the owner had been identified, (some time ago) the airport would have popped it on a plane going to Cyprus and at very little expense, returned it to its owner.
Call me cynical but..... :-X
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I'm afraid I'm cynical as well. Think what good advertising that would have been for the airport and airline to have reunited the bear and owner, as roopat said, easy to pop it on one of their flights. It sounds to me as if the owner didn't originally know what the bear was worth, otherwise, when he realised it was lost why didn't he contact the airport or the police? What a shame, after all the effort put in by people on here, that the bear will be sold out of the family.
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I feel quite sad at this outcome. As others have said surely the bear could have been sent on to him and he must have originally wanted it or he wouldn't have been carrying it home.
From an historical sense I believe both the bear and the picture to be very special. Especially after all we discovered about the father.
I just hope the owner gets all the money and that is nothing untoward going on. Also hope that the bear and picture end up in a Museum or some such place but I know that's highly unlikely :'(
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Maybe the shipping costs would have been too much for the owner to have to pay and that's why he let it go...and he may not have anyone to pass it on to...let's not be judgemental as we don't know the full circumstances.
Carol
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Agreed Carol. I wasn't meaning to judge the owner in any way. If it is his decision then that's fine and as I said I hope he gets all the money. :)
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Um, I also find this odd, specially as it's been so long since the search. My first thought is that they should have put the bear in the post immediately.
Maybe the owner said they didn't want the flea bitten old bear. :-\ Maybe that was omitted from the article as it's not the feelgood kind of story that people want to read.
Yes, sad that it will leave the family but maybe it will go to someone who will be more interested in it and take more care of it.
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Lost airport teddy bear sold at auction for £2,200
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-34993738
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Wow, that's wonderful for Mr Baker :)
Thank you for that information AngelFish.
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Thanks for the update AngelFish....We got a mention...Yeeeeeeeeeeeeah :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Carol
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Hi all,
I'm just reading this and it all sounds very odd. So what happened to the old gentleman's photos? Presumably they WERE able to post them back to him. And, why would an elderly man be carrying around an old teddy bear and family photos in a carrier bag (especially if he was on holiday), I mean you'd pack them right? Unless you were worried your bag would get lost and these items meant so much to you? This would be a great story to get a tatty old bear some publicity to get it sold for a good price right? Or am I too cynical :-X
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It seems as though the photo was included with the bear, as the article mentions provenance. :-\
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That's what I was about to say, Ruskie - I think they were auctioned as one lot. The poor bear looks in worse condition than I remembered it.
I agree, it was strange that it was just carried around in a carrier bag, if it was so precious and he was worried they would get lost if he packed them in the suitcase, why didn't he contact the airline as soon as he realised he'd lost the bear? It doesn't seem as if he made any attempt to find it.
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I thought someone stated that Mr Baker could not afford to come and collect the teddy, so it was being auctioned off. If that was so, why has the press anouncement stated "The teddy was finally reunited with Mr Baker after he was sent a newspaper cutting about the story."
If that is true, then he must have sold it.
Regards
Malky
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After I first posted a mention of Bear here on Rootschat in May 2013, I'm pleased he finally has a new home in time for Christmas.
I wonder who the buyer was? Hopefully a museum. If it was a member of Rootschat, please come forward and tell us!
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Oh that's wonderful news. We hope the new owners enjoy being the custodians of this wonderful bear that has brought many of of us on such an interesting journey of sleuthing to find the owners.
Trystan
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Is RootsChat on a finders commision ?
Regards
Malky
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Oh that's wonderful news. We hope the new owners enjoy being the custodians of this wonderful bear that has brought many of of us on such an interesting journey of sleuthing to find the owners.
Trystan
I hope the buyer picks up on the fact that the search started and ended here....If it were me...I would want the full story of the search printed off and kept with the bear and photo. I really enjoyed the thrill of the search...that's the power of Rootschat :D :D
Carol
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Perhaps the new owner would then be inspired to research their own family tree Carol, as we certainly discovered a great deal about out the history of the original family the bear belonged to.
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And Rootschat get a mention this time :)
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Great story (the hunt) for the owner & proves that genealogy can sometimes compare with forensics........
The small thread of "evidence" being the photo & 2 forenames.
The genius work of the RC's made the story so fascinating to follow & cracking it was painstaking work by those involved (much to our enjoyment).
The new owner may not know of the story on RC but all the newspaper cuttings, tv reports, the story of their father being killed in the war & the story of "the search" made into a little book would sure add much interesting reading/history in the future.
It would be great to know who bought him though?
I wonder whether "Bristol" had a name prior to his "adoptive name"?
Annie
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Trystan. :)
Did you buy the bear?
;)
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Mmm, re no mention of RC.
I know the owner is old but could have been posted back to him.
Annie
Quite. It has all the hallmarks of a scam (not the original loss but this latest development), how long before we can buy the book or see the film of the bear's adventures ............... ::)
No scam at all. Probably poor reporting or an editorial decision not to give credit where credit's due.
Aunty Beeb DOES give credit where it's due:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-34993738
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Lost airport teddy bear sold at auction for £2,200
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-34993738
Rootschat is mentioned here.... :D
Carol
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Trystan. :)
Did you buy the bear?
;)
No, I've got my own teddy :)
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What's her name, or is that a secret??
Regards
Malky
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:) :)
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How come you answered before Trystan did??
Regards
::) Malky ::)
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Sorry, couldn't help myself - a couple more :) :) - apologetic smilies for you!
Jeanne
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Trystan. :)
Did you buy the bear?
;)
No, I've got my own teddy :)
A man can never have too many teddies Trystan. ;)
(and I know several grown men who've kept theirs)
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I know this story is old news now and a couple of years or so have passed by but I was telling a friend about Bristol Bear yesterday and whilst googling I found where he now lives. :)
Thought some of you may be interested.......and some may even be able to visit :D
https://teddybears.co.uk/product/bristol/
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Thanks for the update, nice to know where he is living, long way for me to visit though :) Reminds me must dig out my teddy bear patterns :D
Cheers
KHP
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Aw! ;D Pleased that he has found a new home, thanks for the update.
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Sad that he's not got a 'real' owner :'(
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Sad that he's not got a 'real' owner :'(
You could become a 'real' owner, it appears that Teddy Bears of Witney (following the link from Hampshire Lass) is selling replicas for £195 each. ::)
In this sensitively made limited edition, we hope that others will enjoy his special magic, which certain much-loved vintage bears create. Made of aged, old gold mohair, he has one button eye, red felt showing through his ‘worn’ nose, a hole in his tummy (reinforced underneath) and coarse, printed linen foot pads. In addition, Bristol has a partly detached left ear and ‘repaired’ linen hand pads. He comes with a Lost Property label and a copy of the 1918 photograph showing the original bear.
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You could become a 'real' owner, it appears that Teddy Bears of Witney (following the link from Hampshire Lass) is selling replicas for £195 each. ::)
Didn't see that! Words fail me! >:(
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Didn't see that! Words fail me! >:(
Me too ::)
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First of all he was auctioned. Then it was 'a museum' which turned out to be a shop, which is now selling replicas. That's why I mentioned the 'real' home.
Nearly Paddington Bear :-\
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Thanks for the update HL...
I actually can't imagine anyone buying a replica but I'm sure some will ::)
Annie
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How utterly ridiculous , some people are unbelievable.