Townes the bear

Townes, originally uploaded by unpop.

My attention got a bit diverted this morning by this photo posted by my friend Beth to her FriendFace page. Isn't it super? The story is even better. Take it away Beth:

I kept seeing this battered, dirty, teddy bear in the road. Three days go I moved him out of the road and propped him up hoping a child or a cleaner would take him. Last night I was looking out of the window and he was back in the road, in the gutter. This morning I saw the bear again... even more battered and dirty from the rain. When I came in after work I was in a proper state and I couldn't stand seeing the bear anymore so I came in the house with him in my hand and him indoors took him and said "we'll put him in the washing machine. He'll be OK". He's called Townes.

On seeing Townes I immediately thought of the four Hipstamatic snaps I'd taken of various bears in Binham Grange last week and thought "wouldn't it be a wheeze if there was a Flickr Group for Hipstamatic bears?" Perhaps unsurprisingly there wasn't. But there is now, and Townes is a proud member. He's even the group icon. There's stardom for you.

And before you say anything, making a group called 'Hipstamatic Bears' does NOT make me twee, okay? It just doesn't.

Seriously.

Comments

[rob]

maybe not twee,but maybe the great bear?

[Graham]

That reminds me of when I lived in New York we found an abandoned and rain dirty bear in the street. Big fellow he was. We called him Bastard for no great reason other than it began with B; but took him with us bar-hopping, making sure he had a seat at the bar along with us and at ringside when we played pool. I can't now remember what happened to Bastard The Bear; whether us three beer sodden idiots disgracefully left him in the last bar or someone made off with him when our backs were turned. It'd be nice to think he found a good home and he's living out his years in some comfort; but in unsentimental New York I'd very much doubt that. Wish there had been iPhones and hipstamatic filter apps back then because he would otherwise most certainly have been joining that most exclusive of (not twee at all) Flickr clubs.