All across the land little bears are tucked up in bed dreaming of a magical sleigh being pulled through a star filled sky by nine handsome reindeer while hoping with all their hearts that the driver of the sleigh will pause long enough to leave a treat or two on his way past. Even Bertie Button went to bed without argument !
Wishing all little bears everywhere a wonderful Christmas. May all your dreams come true. X
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Beatrice loves to go for walks in the Argyll countryside and especially in the autumn months when the colours of the bracken and deer grass explode with bright colours.
On many of these walks Beatrice ( because of her size ) sees many more of the flora on the ground and is the perfect mushroom hunter to accompany Liz. So many of our wonderful mushrooms can dye amazing colours and Liz teaches Beatrice what she knows about the mushrooms around Dalmally’s beautiful woodlands. Identification is so important as many of our delightful mushrooms can make a bear and a human tummy ill. Make sure you wash your hands well Beatrice but enjoy learning about the plant treasures in the Scottish Highlands. Next to the sound of children laughing there is nothing that warms the soul more than the joy of friendship. Recently we were lucky enough to share a lovely moment of friendship between two very new friends, Bertie Button and Miss Emily. As you may remember Emily joined the Book Cover Bears just two weeks ago. Being such a sweet bear she was readily accepted by the others and quickly made friends with everyone but, much to the disappointment of her new friends, Emily, having only just finished unpacking found herself having to repack and bid everyone goodbye as she left to travel to her new home in America ! However despite all of her excitement and preparations for her travels she made time to fulfil the wishes of one particular little bear and she gathered the necessary measurements for a new outfit for Bertie....... now all we have to do is to try and stop Bertie getting over excited while he waits for his surprise. Wish us luck ! Wishing Emily a safe journey to her new home.
Whispers of "me next," and " I want to see please " were the noises in the Bear Room today.
The Bears don't often get mail but todays post was one to remember. A postcard all the way from Tokyo in Japan. Halfway round the Bears world. Beatrice was a little tearful when she realised that Tokyo Bears paw had touched the card to post it in the letter box in Japan at the Paralympic Games. Smart little Bertie asked why it said 2020 on the front when this year was 2021. Thank you Rosemary for remembering your furry supporters who just adore you and Werona your horse. They are all so proud of you and all the Irish team. The Book Cover Bear room is a very noisy place to be this morning. Lots of our little bears are rushing around in a state of high excitement as the special day they have all been waiting for has finally arrived and in just a few hours time they will be watching the Irish Para Equestrian Team compete in the Olympics ! The bears have been preparing for today for most of the week with everyone lending a paw and doing whatever they could to make sure this big day will be a wonderful celebration.
![]() Oh my goodness what a wonderfully exciting day ! GOOD LUCK IRISH PARA EQUESTRIAN TEAM. On this beautiful late summer morning the Bear Room is not just filled with sunshine but with the wonderful sound of laughter, giggles and animated chatter. Anyone happening to wander into the room today would have been greeted by the most extraordinary sight of bears clambering out of cabinets, climbing on furniture and generally having lots of fun......although it would have been of no surprise to anyone familiar with our little bear family to see that a certain Bertie Button was right in the middle of all the activity ! It seems that the imminent start of the Tokyo Paralympics is causing quite a stir amongst our bears as they have been closely following the progress of the Irish Para Equestrian team ever since one of our family, Tokyo Bear and his horse Hope, went to join the team....... ...... and now that their Olympic debut is only three sleeps away it would appear that there may be a party on the cards. Miss Beatrice is keeping a careful eye on the preparations, making sure that bunting is hung properly and flags are all displayed correctly ! How exciting ! Book Cover Bears send the entire Irish Para Olympic team our love and admiration. GOOD LUCK ! What an exciting day it's been in the Book Cover Bear room . Our mystery visitor has been identified ! Meet Mouse . This sweet little bear has come to stay in the Bear Room in the hope that while she patiently waits to find a new home she can make some special friends....... she is obviously a clever little bear as what better way is there to make new friends than to turn up with a plate of freshly baked chocolate cakes ! We think it worked !
Beatrice bear has been helping Liz in the garden on these sunny summer days. She has her own little berry bag and collects all the berries she can reach. She enjoys helping and dreams of the lovely pies and cakes and juice Liz will make for all the bears to eat. When some berries stain her dress she is excited about the colour and would like them to stay on her dress but Liz explains about berries being “fugitive “ dyes. Beatrice didn’t know that word and asks lots of questions so she could explain to the other bears how berry dye washes out and preparation of the fabric with a “mordant” is very important to make the colour light and wash fast. To answer the many questions Beatrice asked, Liz decides to dye a favourite dress worn by her. They use Cochineal Beatles and grind them up to a powder and add water, the dress is soaked in Alum and then cooked in the Cochineal. Some indigo sprinkles were added to create the squished berry design. Beatrice stirred carefully until the dress was ready to be rinsed and dried. She was brimming with excitement when she modelled it in the bear room and explained the new words she had learned as they ate blackcurrant muffins. One new bear in particular was captivated and asked Beatrice many questions about the dyeing. Ohhh I wonder if that new bear keeps their fascination with natural dyeing. Beatrice’s new words Fugitive dye - disappears after washing with soap, not light or colourfast Mordant - A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to bind colour to fabrics Mordant red 19 |
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