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| There are some newer members of the Clerical Bear Collection needing to be added - see below |
Then after
Christmas, when orders for any
Coldham Cuddlies goods normally tail off, the orders for the
Tiger Arm Puppet took off skywards, and
Isobel got some unexpected custom orders from people who wanted arm puppets to look like other toys or, even, dogs.
So, as posts can't get written when
Isobel is sewing,
I've been sitting in my normal place on her bed, waiting to help her in this task, when the time was right. There didn't seem to be much point in telling you all about which
Puppet was being done - since you already know how they are made. Similarly the same can be said about telling you about the
Clerical Bears - the
Bear bodies are all made the same: it's only their "uniforms" that change, and you've been told about how they come to be made too. So, I'm afraid the blog has languished ..... but there are very good reasons now for resurrecting our weekly posts from now on. I'll tell you about that shortly, before I close this week's post.
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| The real "Pink Nuns" live and work in several US States. |
Now, the entire world has been affected by something called the
Covid19 Pandemic - which as a
Beaver Lamb Bear really hasn't affected me directly, but it has had quite an effect on
Isobel. No...she's not actually been ill, but because she will be
80 years old later this year, she was told to "self-isolate" so she didn't catch the virus. That has meant she's been under my feet ALL DAY, every day since the middle of
March. But while she's been very busy finding all sorts of other things to do on the computer,she hasn't had the time to properly sit down and write here either. Self isolation for her has meant that she's not been allowed out of our flat - not even to visit
Clare and her grandson, who live just 3 doors away since the "lock down" (
which is how it is referred to everywhere) started. She even has a stranger (
who is not allowed to come into the flat) to do her weekly shopping for her. She can go out once a day - for exercise, and get "essential supplies" like milk (
which is done at the local corner store at the end of the driveway to Old Chapel Close).
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| Our Poor Clare Nun is also not included in the picture of the Clerical Bears either. |
The way it works is:
Isobel writes out a shopping list for the week (
as she does every week anyway) and posts it (
via the computer) to the Volunteer (
as the helper is called) the evening before the shopping is needed. The Volunteer - a lovely lady called
MrsCN - does it (
or as much as she can if it's on the shop shelves), and when she's finished packing the items in her car, she rings to tell
Isobel how much she owes the organisation (
Age UK - a really terrific charity!) she works for. By the time
MrsCN arrives at our flat front door,
Isobel has a cheque written out to pay
Age UK, and hands it over while having a quick word - with at least a 2 metre (
6 ft plus) distance between the two ladies, as well as
Isobel handing over the previous weeks' empty shopping bags. Then
MrsCN goes off to deal with her next "isolated customer",
Isobel picks up the shopping bags, unpacks the goods and puts everything away. This has been going on for
11 weeks now - and looks like it will be repeated for several weeks, if not months, to come.
Until a week ago, it also meant that
I was perched on the window ledge of the living room window in our flat - bit of a change from my usual perch:
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| If Isobel had the time, this is the view she gets while she sews the Cuddlies |
Shortly after lock down began, all around
Kirkby in Ashfield, lots of
Teddy Bears and
Rainbows popped up in people's windows - in an effort to cheer everyone up as they were walking around the
Town. Even though not many people can see me (
as we live on the first floor) and the complex is not directly on a road, some of the
Carers who come to look after the other ladies and gentleman who live in
Old Chapel Close can see me. So
Isobel thought she would give me a change of view - from sitting on her bed all day, looking at a wall. It's been fun, but then
I've also been needed a lot for farewell photos, as each
Arm Puppet (be it a
Tiger, Rabbit, Blue Teddy or
Teddy Bear Dog - which you'll hear about in upcoming posts) is got ready to be dispatched to their new homes, almost without exception to somewhere in the
United States. Sitting in the window has meant that she hasn't had to carry me from the bedroom to the sitting room every time such a ceremony takes place. Now the orders have slowed down,
I am hoping
I can remain sitting in a comfortable armchair in the living room, as there's so much more happens for me to observe - than my usual spot in the bedroom!
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| Sister Breda, our "Blue Nun" whose community was started, and is still based, in Nottingham is missing too |
Meanwhile,
Isobel is exploring how to get help from the
UK Department of International Trade (
DIT) in publicising the Coldham Cuddlies Shop, using a new website (
whatever that is) that is being "built" for the Coldham Shop by an outfit called
Yell.com - which is known as https://www.coldhamcuddlies.co.uk. That has actually been in existence for some time, and initially was meant to publicise just the
Animal Toy Hospital and the
Patients being treated there. The website is being changed now so that not only the
Hospital is highlighted, but also the
Shop and this
Blog too. At least
I think that's what
Isobel is working towards.
I don't know about these things, and suspect
Isobel is busy finding out!
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| Newest addition to the Clerical Bear Collection: Fr Dunstan Bear, OP (a special order) |
It will be easier for the
Department of International Trade) when they become involved to help
Isobel in her task of getting us all better known globally. Which is why
Isobel has been so busy on the computer of late. They do the sort of thing she and
Peter tried to do when they lived in
Canada until
1987 when assisting small companies in
Alberta to export overseas - especially, the
Middle and
Far East. Both areas
Peter knew when he was a
International Business Journalist, before he and
Isobel got marred, and the family moved to
Alberta in
1975. Obviously exporting stuff from the
United Kingdom is very different from
Alberta the concept of knowing about the other countries etc is not, so
Isobel is keen to get "up to snuff" with what happens nowadays. After all most of the internet was still being invented when that was going in in the early
1980's!!
Isobel used a teleprinter to message
Peter and people overseas! They left
Canada to return to the
UK in
1987 - and a lot has happened and changed everywhere in the intervening years.
Apparently she's been watching/attending
Webinars all about exporting. Agreed, that's what we've been doing all along via the
Etsy website, but this way,
Isobel and
Coldham Cuddlies will be helped to do it with the the
DIT's international resources behind her. These are world-based via the
UK's embassies, high commissions etc, and likely to be helpful in a different way from what is currently available to us via
Etsy.com. The latter have enabled
Isobel to hone her selling skills to a mainly
United States audience, with some customers coming from
European and
UK since
2010 -the ten years that
ColdhamCuddlies has been in existence. Now, hopefully, with the help of people who do nothing else but try to help
UK businesses - even those as little as
ColdhamCuddlies - to sell their goods overseas,
Isobel can fulfill her "gypsy tendencies", and hopefully find more
Cuddlies homes in more overseas countries. Exciting prospect isn't it?
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| The "new Look" 2020 version of our Tiger Who Lost His Stripes - a story all it's own! |
You'll have to wait till next week to find out what more has gone on. It's so lovely to be back again chatting to you all.
Your Friend
Cy Bear
