SCOUT: "Jago! Jago! Jago, come along a choose a hat!" *Jumps up and down excitedly.*
JAGO: *Scratches head with paw.* "A hat, Scout? Why do I need a hat?"
PADDY: "Today it is a public holiday in Melbourne, where we live, because today is the day for the horserace that stops a nation the Melbourne Cup"
SCOUT: "It’s a horsey race! Hoorah!" *Jumps up and down excitedly.* "I like horseys! Giddy up horsey! Don't you stop. Just let your feet go clippity-clop!"
PADDY: "Daddy sometimes goes to the Melbourne Cup, but he isn’t this year, so we are unable to go either."
SCOUT: "I'm so disappointed Paddy. It would be my first Melbourne Cup." *Looks wistful.*
BOGART: "It would be mine too." *Looks wistful.*
JAGO: "I guess it would be mine too."
PADDY: "I know, Scout, Bogart and Jago. But don't worry, we can celebrate here at home!"
JAGO: *Perks up.* "How Paddy?"
PADDY: "We will have a Melbourne Cup luncheon. Daddy has made us a delicious broocoli and blue cheese quiche to eat and we will toast the Melbourne Cup with cups of tea!"
JAGO: "Oh! That does sound splendid, Paddy!"
SCOUT: "Yes it does, Jago! I have a grumbly tummy! Grumbly tummy, Jago! Grumbly tummy!" *Rubs tummy vigorously.*
BOGART: "Me too!"
COUSIN PADDINGTON: "And so do I!"
SCOUT: "And we want you to pick a hat, Jago, so that we can enter ‘fashions on the field’! Paddy and I will wear these beautiful hats that were made by milliner Lorna's Lovely Looks, just for us!"
BOGART: "I am going to wear a green and white hat in honour of Mama Kim whose favourite colour is green!"
SCOUT: "Then Mama Kim will love my hat, as it is all green! Why don’t you borrow some of the pretty parrot feathers Mama Kim sent me to make your hat extra special, Bogart?"
BOGART: "What a wonderful idea, Scout! Thank you!"
COUSIN PADDINGTON: "May I borrow some bigger ones to decorate my hat, Scout?"
SCOUT: "Of course you can, Cousin Paddington! You will look so beautiful!"
JAGO: "I am going to wear this nice grey hat. It matches my blue plush fur very nicely."
PADDY: "Oh yes, Jago! How splendid you look!"
JAGO: "Thank you, Paddy. Scout, what hat will Dolly wear?"
SCOUT: "Dolly already has her own hat because she is Little Red Riding Hood, so she will be wearing that for ‘fashions on the field, Jago."
JAGO: "Very good, Scout. Dolly does look very pretty in her red cap."
SCOUT: "Hoorah!" *Jumps up and down excitedly.* "What do I get when I win, Paddy?" *Preens.*
PADDY: "If you win, Scout!" *Looks disconcertedly at Scout.*
SCOUT: "Well Paddy, let's be honest: I wear this beautiful green hat so much better than you wear your beautiful blue one, and I am younger than you and take good care of myself" *Preens.*
PADDY: "Scout!" *Mortified.* "I'll have you know that I think I happen to look very fetching in this hat. And you are not the only entrant for ‘fashions on the field’!"
JAGO: "Who will be the judge of ‘fashions on the field’, Paddy?"
PADDY: *Ponders.* "Daddy can be the judge!"
BOGART: "Excellent choice of judge Paddy!"
PADDY: "Thank you, Bogart."
SCOUT: "Let's go find him and show off our finery!" *Preens more.*
PADDY: "Before we go, Scout, Cousin Paddington, Bogart, Jago, Daddy and I are wishing all our Flickr friends and followers a very happy Melbourne Cup! We are sending you lots of big little bear hugs and snuffly kisses!"
Paddy is right. Today is a public holiday in Victoria for the "race that stops a nation": the Melbourne Cup, which is run from the Flemington race track. Every year they have "fashions on the field" where women and men get to strut their most beautiful racewear. Dressed as they are, I think Paddy, Scout, Bogart, Cousin Paddington and Jago all have a fine chance of winning joint first prize. Don't you? I had better invest in some sweet treat prizes for everyone!
Paddy, Scout and Bogart’s's millinery has been kindly knitted by a close friend's mother-in-law especially for them. I even had to take head and ear measurements so that they would fit nicely. Based on a Jacobean Puss in Boots design, Paddy's blue and white hat is decorated with pearl hat pins and a grand ostrich feather, whilst Scout's green version is adorned with seagull and chicken feathers. Bogart’s white and green striped hat has been ornamented with some of Mama Kim’s parrot feathers, as has Cousin Paddington’s own red hat. Jago’s grey hat comes from Build a Bear, and I think he looks splendid in it.
This beautiful nursery tea set is made by the Shell China company in the 1920s. It features six cups, saucers and plates (not all the set is being used today) as well as a teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl, all gilt and featuring different nursery rhymes including: "The Queen of Hearts", "Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross", "Goosey-Goosey Gander" and "To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig" amongst others. The set was a gift to me from a close friend. There are also doll (bear) sized tea spoons which are sterling silver salt spoons, and the spoon in the "Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross" sugar bowl is an Eighteenth Century sterling silver mustard spoon.
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.
Jago is a recent addition to my ever-growing family. A gift from a dear friend in England, he is made of English mohair with suede paw pads and glass eyes. He is a gentle bear, kind and patient who carries an air of calm about him. He is already fitting in with everyone else very nicely.
Travelling all the way from London, Cousin Paddington was caught in transit thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic. After so long here he has decided to stop with us permanently. That makes me happy, as the more I look into his happy, smiling face, the more attached I am becoming to him.
Bogart has travelled all the way from Georgia, via Alabama as a gift to me from a friend. He has lovely Southern manners and seems to be a fun and gentle soul with an inquisitive nature.