As a child I collected these. I’m glad to see that one bear survived all this time. One of my relatives threw away (or lost) most of them because they said a little girl should collect something prettier. They thought these bears were tacky. The local tourist junk shop sold them.

I’ve just returned from a three day family visit. I found the bear while searching a basement. I was looking for a favourite toy from my youth. I didn’t find it and I’m sure I’ll never discover the make or name. I think it might have been an import. I don’t know why I went searching, I think I’ve just grown curious after two decades of not knowing.

I was also looking for my old Bobby & Kate stationery. Even in the 80s I had an eye for car boot sale bargains.

I didn’t find anything of interest in the basement. Just the bear, which I didn’t think was still around. I think it’s interesting that I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I found something I’d thought was long gone. Back in the late eighties I had a shelf full of these tiny bears on metal furniture. I used to fantasise about shrinking and hiding alongside them – invisible to the outside world.

After returning to Kent I went to visit a flat for sale. It was a good price, but a fixer-upper. Since then I’ve had a swollen sore throat. Kinda like the one I had after cleaning. Or maybe I just get holiday lurgy. Either way, I put all thoughts of getting a mortgage on the backburner.

I’ve been asked if I would like to talk about my freelance writing in the media. The money’s good and I’d like to see if it opens other doors for me. But my regular readers will know that my freelance writing is about s e x. So I’m not sure if it would close future job opportunities. I’ve been thinking about it for a month. I can’t decide.