What a lot of fun we had with teddy bear collector extraordinaire Mary Gray. We had a great turnout of members and their special bears. She explained how US President Theodore Roosevelt was out hunting and refused to shoot a small, black bear cub. A local woman then made a black bear toy and asked his permission to call it Teddy's Bear and that is how the present day teddy bear came about.  People really enjoyed bringing along their bears; some had been truly loved and looked quite worn, others looked quite dapper. I heard afterwards that the bears had a wonderful time and many made new friends. Like our popular meeting last year, when members brought along their antique toys, everyone thoroughly appreciated sharing their bears with one another. Do join us at our next meeting on Friday 7th September to talk about what you would grab from the house after your cat or dog and papers in a disaster scenario. We begin at 10am in our main room at 7 Beauchamp Street, Karori, all welcome and $2 entry please.