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Paddington and Scout Host a Tea Party for Aurora and Peter

Winter in Europe is coming to an end, and the door of the Magical Portal in Mummy Marian's garden is open again after being frozen over with ice and snow. Peter told Aurora (who has recently started living with Mummy Marian) about the Magical Portal and out of curiosity, she went looking for it and found it. Hoping that she could use the Magic Portal to visit her Uncle Nanuk, and Peter’s best friend Scout at daddy Jesse’s house in Australia, she carefully pulled on the door, which opened slowly and creakily. However, what she saw disappointed her. Rather than a welcoming garden all she could see was an area overgrown with dense branches and leaves, rather like Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Aurora called out to her Uncle Nanuk and Scout, thinking they might be hiding. Luckily, both Scout and Nanuk heard Aurora in the distance and ran to the magic Portal to see what was wrong. Because it has been summer in Australia, and nobear has been trampling the plants around the Magic Portal with their paws, it had become overgrown with creepers. With the help of everybear at Daddy Jesse’s house, the creepers were soon removed, and both Aurora and Peter could be the first to visit. Scout is hosting a tea party for them.

 

PADDY: “Welcome back to our house, dear Peter, and welcome for the first time to you, little Aurora.”

 

SCOUT: “Paddy! I am hosting the tea party. Welcoming the guests should be my job.”

 

PADDY: “Oh!” *Puts paw to mouth.* “I’m sorry Scout! I’m so used to doing it that I just forgot. Please go ahead.”

 

SCOUT: “Ahem!” *Clears throat.* “Welcome back to our house, mijn allerbeste vriend Peter, and welcome Aurora! You are going to have soooo much fun here!”

 

AURORA: “Oh thank you, Scout! I do love your cute little nose.”

 

SCOUT: “Err… thank you, Aurora.”

 

PETER: “Oh I love coming here to Daddy Jesse’s and seeing you, mijn allerbeste vriend Scout, and of course, mijn allerliefste Prinses Rosie!”

 

ROSIE: “Oh mijn prins! You are so handsome, charming and romantic! I cannot ait to give you 10,000 soft snuffly kisses! We are going to have the most wonderful time together!”

 

PETER: “Oh we are mijn allerliefste Prinses Rosie! I can’t wait to give you 10,000 soft snuffly kisses.”

 

SCOUT: “We are all going to have soooo much fun!” *Jumps up and down with excitement.*

 

PETER: “Is this your new Little Red Riding Hood tea set that you received from Father Christmas and the Christmas Bear, mijn beste vriend?”

 

SCOUT: “Yes it is, mijn beste vriend!” *Proud.* “Look how bright and beautiful it is! Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf are on the saucers, and Little Red Riding Hood’s face is on the bottom of every teacup!”

 

PETER: “Woooow! It’s soooo pretty!”

 

SCOUT: “Thank you!”

 

PADDY: “And I am offering my silver tea service that I received from Father Christmas and the Christmas Bear some years ago.”

 

PETER: *Whispering to Scout.* “Was that back in ancient times when the world was black and white?” *Giggles.*

 

SCOUT: *Giggles too.*

 

NANUK: “Oh I am so pleased that Scout and I heard your calls for help, dear Aurora! I would have hated not seeing you!” *Gives Aurora a snuffly kiss.* “I am so glad that you are here! You make me very happy!”

 

AURORA: “Oh I would have hated to miss you too, Uncle Nanuk! I so wanted to see you, and Scout too,” *Looks at Scout.* “And his cute little nose.”

 

NANUK: “We worked hard to clear away all the creepers away from the Magic Portal.”

 

AURORA: “Oh it was like the forest of thorns around Sleeping Beauty’s castle, Uncle Nanuk! It was dark, and there was no sign of you Uncle Nanuk, or Scout, or anybear! I thought at first that Peter had fooled me and told me a story!”

 

PETER: “I would never tell you a story, Aurora, unless it was a faerie tale, but Paddy is best at telling faerie tales.” *Nods enthusiastically as he looks at Paddy.*

 

SCOUT: “That’s because he knows all the old, old faerie tales from the olden days when the world was bla…”

 

PADDY: “Scout!” *Gives Scout a hard stare.*

 

SCOUT: “What?!?!”

 

PADDY: “Thank you for the compliment, Peter. I do enjoy reading faerie stories.”

 

SCOUT: “And we enjoy listening to them, Paddy! Especially Little Red Riding Hood, except the nasty version where she gets swallowed up by the wolf, and that’s the end of the story! That one isn’t nice!” *Shakes head.*

 

AURORA: “Can you read us a faerie story later, Paddy?”

 

PADDY: “Yes, if you’d like that, Aurora. Is there one that is your favourite?”

 

AURORA: “I don’t know if I know enough ones to know if I have a favourite. Maybe if you could read me one that is romantic, about snow.”

 

NANUK *Shivers.* “Not too cold a faerie tale, Paddy, or I shall freeze!” *Shivers again.*

 

AURORA: “Poor Uncle Nanuk, at least here in Australia it is nice and sunny and warm, so you don’t have to worry about being cold, and that makes me very happy!”

 

NANUK: “Thank you, dear Aurora.” *Gives Aurora another snuffly kiss.* “That is very sweet of you to say so.”

 

PADDY: “I could read you the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Aurora. It starts in winter time, but ends in summer time, so it shouldn’t be too cold a tale for you, Nanuk.”

 

NANUK: “And are you settled in comfortably at Mummy Marian’s now, Aurora?”

 

AURORA: “Oh yes, I am, thank you Uncle Nanuk. Mummy Marian has made me a nice little bed and gives me plenty of delicious treats for my grumbly tummy! Everybear is so nice and kind, especially Peter! We have great adventures together, don’t we Peter?”

 

PETER: “Oh yes Aurora! You are a tenacious bear, just like me and mijn beste vriend Scout! We have soooo much fun playing, Nanuk!”

 

AURORA: “Maybe we can play together here with Uncle Nanuk and Scout too,” *Looks at Scout.* “And his cute little nose.”

 

SCOUT: “We can play hide-and-seek in the garden if you like, Aurora.”

 

AURORA: “And maybe I could… play at kissing your cute little nose, Scout!” *Giggles.*

 

DADDY: “But there will be no playing of games before you all have some tea and some brightly coloured macarons for afternoon tea!” *Places Scout’s Little Red Riding Hood tray laden with macarons on the table.* “You need something to fill your grumbly tummies and give you plenty of energy!”

 

PADDY, SCOUT, NANUK, ROSIE, PETER and AURORA: “Macarons! Grumbly tummies, Daddy! Grumbly tummies!” *Rub tummies vigorously.*

 

My bears Paddy and Scout have made very good friends with two bears in Holland called Peter and Oleg (www.flickr.com/photos/40262251@N03/galleries/721577154558... and www.flickr.com/photos/40262251@N03/galleries/721577233464...) and their MummyMarian Kloon (on and off). Peter and Scout are very similar and have become best friends. Peter also loves Rosie and she loves him, so they have become prince and princess to one another. Aurora is Nanuk's niece and lives with Mummy Marian after being blown there on a cloud from the North Pole, as both she and Nanuk are Polar Bears.

 

It is true that out of curiosity, little Aurora did go and explore Mummy Marian's garden, to see whether there was a Magic Portal, and she found it, but it was all overgrown. You can see here: www.flickr.com/photos/66094586@N06/54360194570/in/datepos... or in the first comment below. Luckily, her Uncle Nanuk and Scout heard her calls and came to clear the Magic Portal, so that Aurora and Peter could visit and have tea with us all.

 

The lovely and bright tea set on the table was a gift to Scout from Father Christmas and the Christmas Bear. It is a 1960s tin children's tea set that consists of six cups, saucers and plates, plus a wonderful oblong tea tray. Little Red Riding Hood features with the wolf on all the plates, saucers and tray, and Little Red Riding Hood's face is on the underside of every teacup.

 

The beautiful nursery tea set comprising of a tea pot, milk jug and sugar bowl are very Art Deco, and were a gift to Paddy from Father Christmas and the Christmas Bear a few years ago. The set was obviously made originally for the child of a very wealthy family, as the set is made of very heavy sterling silver. The hallmarks on each piece (including on the inner lip of the teapot lid) indicates that it was made in Sheffield by the well known English silversmith James Dixon of James Dixon and Sons in 1921. The pot also features an ebonised finial and handle which are affixed with tiny sterling silver screws and wingnuts, just like a real teapot!

 

My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his mackintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.

 

He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.

 

Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.

 

Rosie is Scout's cousin, because like Scout, she is a free trade knitted bear from Africa. She was made in Kenya by one of the Kenana Knitters, Martha Wanjira. She is made from home spun and dyed wool. She was a gift to me from two very dear friends, including the one who gave Scout to Paddy.

 

Nanuk, who was hand crocheted for me as a gift by my friend Mummy Marian (Marian Kloon (on and off)). Sweet Nanuk was born with a rare disease: poor body temperature regulation. He's always cold! Thus Mummy Marian thought that the best place for him to live would be Australia where it never freezes, and I readily agreed for him to come and live with us!

 

Thank you very much to Marian Kloon (on and off) for the use of her photo of Peter and Aurora in my photo montage.

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Uploaded on March 3, 2025