Teddy

In the novel Brideshead Revisited, young Sebastian Flyte was accompanied to university by his teddy bear "Aloysius." This was considered rather odd. Not so, according to the Daily Mail, where it has been cited as an effective stress reliever ...

More than a third of us still hug a childhood soft toy while falling asleep, according to a survey of 6,000 British adults ... More than half of Britons still have a teddy bear from childhood and the average teddy bear is 27 years old."

... such that even Prince Charles takes his Teddy along with him when he travels.

I had a brown teddy bear and a black-and-white panda bear, both of which were quite dear to me as a pre-schooler. They were not quite as dear to my mother, however, who kept complaining about "those dumb animals." One day, they simply disappeared, and no one knew where they went. I have my suspicions, though. Closer to the present, I have for safe-keeping, the wind-up Paddington Bear that belonged to Paul. When he has my first grandchild, Paul and Paddington will be reunited.

Now, let's all march around the living room to Frank DeVol and his Orchestra, on the original 1949 Capitol 78rpm recording (CAS 3083), with music composed by John W Bratton and lyrics penned by Jimmy Kennedy. And when that's done, let's learn to play it on the ukulele.

Party on, Teddy.
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