THE TALE OF THE UNLOVED
TROUSERS by Gladly Ball
Dedicated to Aunt Tish & Uncle Eddie
My brother Fred and I are two of
the very earliest members of our Hug, which since I was adopted
in 1981, now totals some 533 bears and other animals.
Fred and I, are the joint Chief Hug
Bears, and over the years we have been much loved and cuddled, so
much so that our fur began to get rather thin and worn in places.
So some years ago Dad kindly bought us some clothes, to protect
us from further wear. These include a tracksuit set, rugby shirt
and shorts for summer and our favourite winter outfit Arran
sweater and brown corduroy trousers. It was a sad day therefore,
when I suddenly found that my trousers kept slipping down and
realised that the elastic in the waistband had perished.
"Never mind", said Dad.
"When we go to Manchester later in the month, I will visit
the bear shop and try to get you a replacement pair".
This cheered me up and on the day I
waited with anticipation for Dad and Uncle Brian to arrive home.
"Did you have any luck",
I asked.
"Yes in a way, although they
did not have any in the dark brown colour, only a lighter fawn.
Also the waistband is different, so we will have to see whether
they are suitable", replied Dad.
"I'll try them now if you
dont mind", I said.
They looked fine, but as Dad had
thought with the waistband being different, they did not grip
properly, and in fact slipped down more than by existing trousers.
"Oh dear", I said, "but
thank you Dad for trying anyway.
So, the new trousers lay unwanted
and unloved, in a drawer in the bedroom.
I struggled on with mine into 2011,
but finally they slipped so much that I had to abandon them and
wear instead my tracksuit bottoms. I felt rather down in the paw,
as I was no longer coordinated with my brother Fred, but there
was seemingly nothing that could be done.
This year was my Dads 60th
birthday, and at the end of February, Aunt Tish and Uncle Eddie
came to visit. They went with Dad and Uncle Brian to their
favourite café, Elaines Tearooms at Feizor for lunch to
celebrate. A new Hug member was adopted here too, as Elaine and
her staff had bought Dad a Ringtons Tea teddy for his birthday.
He is named Nigel, after the Ringtons Tea gentleman who brings
tea to Aunt Tish & Uncle Eddie. He is smartly dressed in
black trousers and shirt with the Ringtons logo, and he has his
leather bag for the monies collected.
Although I did not go along with
them to Elaines, Aunt Tish noticed that I was wearing my
tracksuit bottoms, and Dad explained about the problem with my
trousers.
"Thats easily remedied",
said Aunt Tish, popping them in her bag to take home.
One morning a couple of weeks later,
the post dropped through the door, which included a package from
Uncle Eddie.
"Whatever can this be",
said Uncle Brian, with a quizzical look on his face.
Dad immediately opened the package
and exclaimed, "they are your trousers Gladly, all repaired.
There is a letter too."
In it Aunt Tish, explained that
Uncle Eddie had been despatched to the local haberdashery shop,
where a metre of elastic had been purchased for the princely sum
of 20p. Aunt Tish cut a suitable length, and it was soon inserted
and the repair completed. She then went in to explain that she
had been determined to get them done and posted back in good time,
in view of the impending visit to the luxury hotel of Armathwaite
Hall in the Lake District. Fred and I were to be among our Hug
pal Fletchers guests, and as she said going to such a posh
establishment, Fred and I had to have coordinated clothing.
I immediately tried them on and to
my joy they fitted snugly, and do not slip down at all.
Later in the day I rang Aunt Tish
to thank her, and I say again here in the tale, "Thank you!"
Here is Fred and I in our favourite
clothes. This photo was taken, some time ago, soon after they
were bought.
So now finally I come to the nub of
this tale concerning the unloved trousers.
Early in April, just a few days
after our return from Armathwaite Hall, some important post
arrived through the door. The envelope contained some cheques
that Dad had been eagerly awaiting, which then needed to be
immediately paid into Dads bank. So off he went to
Lancaster. From the car park he then strolled along Church Street
to his bank branch that is on the corner with New Street. It was
quiet, so the cheques were soon paid in.
Uncle Brian had also asked Dad to
get something from Boots. To get there, he cut up one of the
passages that links Church Street with Market Street. Now, it
just so happened that it was a Wednesday, and there is always a
street market on that day, so as Dad walked along he looked at
the stalls. One was a bookstall, but it was not books that caught
Dads attention, rather the teddy bears that were sitting on
the floor looking rather forlorn. One in particular attracted Dad,
wearing an Arran sweater, just like Freds and mine. He
picked him up, and really fell in love with him, noting too that
he was just £1.50. The problem was that Dad is not supposed to
be adding to the Hug, as space is very much at a premium. So the
poor bear was placed back on the ground and Dad walked on to
Boots.
His hopes of rescue raised then
suddenly dashed, caused him to start to cry, making his sweater
wet. Meanwhile Dad had completed the purchase in Boots. He was
just a few yards from the back door that would lead him towards
the car, but sensing that the poor little bear was in such
distress, he instead returned along Market Street, to the
bookstall.
Seeing Dad, a thrill ran through
his body and a smile broke out on his face as Dad picked him up,
saying to the stallholder, "I just cannot resist adopting
him."
To eventually adopt him Dad had
twice walked through the shopping area called St Nicholas Arcade,
and so it was instantly decided that he should be called Nicholas,
a name our new pal is very proud of.
On closer examination, Dad noted
that Nicholas originally came from the Bear Factory, now called
Build a Bear Workshop, where indeed the unloved trousers were
purchased.
Dad said to Uncle Brian, "he
just needs a pair of trousers to complete his outfit, and I think
I have just the thing in the drawer."
"Oh yes", Uncle Brian
replied. "You mean those you bought for Gladly, that did not
fit."
"Thats right", said
Dad.
They were soon retrieved from the
drawer, and Nicholas tried them on to find that they were an
absolute perfect fit, as you can see from the picture.
And so it was that the unloved
trousers became much loved, and are worn with pride by Nicholas.
Nigel has taken him under his paw too, and they have become best
friends and inseparable.