I cannot understand the lunacy which drives grown women (and men) to cling onto their childhood friend – the teddy bear. Anyone who continues to "love" a teddy and becomes an obsessed collector into adulthood clearly should be treated for a mental condition. Simple as that really, teddy bear collectors are barmy. Now if they were penguin collectors…..

~~~ The Beginning ~~~
When I was a mere babe in arms I was given a penguin as a christening present. This penguin was named "Peter" and soon became my constant companion. A few years later (don't ask me how many I really cant remember!) Peters son, also named Peter came into my life and took over as my companion. The original Peter was renamed with the revered handle "old-one" and continued to live peacefully with the young Kathryn and her precious Peter. Over the years more and more penguins came to live with us.

~~~ Best Friends ~~~
My Peter, was always my closest friend, as an only child I had the companionship of Peter Penguin. Peter went everywhere with me, in fact I don't think I ever spent a night without Peter. As will happen with such close companions Peter became worn and his stuffing started to poke out. Mum (who hates sewing) performed many surgical procedures on him over the years, he was recovered from head to toe numerous times, underneath is the original Peter with only the eyes still being original. As the years passed Peter acquired many new friends and one special friend, his wife Freddie. Whenever I was lonely or sad Peter was there for me, many is the time I drenched him with tears and he always listened patiently and comfortingly.

~~~ Kidnapped! ~~~
I can still remember that dreadful day with clarity. I was about 23 years old at the time and Peter and I had spent the night at my boyfriends house (I told you he went everywhere). Later that day we met up with some friends for the afternoon and Peter was le
ft in my overnight bag in the car. The event we attended finished and we all left to head for Pizza hut. As we crossed the car park some of our friends were sitting in my boyfriends car, laughing at us because he hadn't locked it. Of course he had locked it, some scumbag had broken in (not hard in a Mark IV Cortina) and stolen my overnight bag.

I was inconsolable, Peter had been stolen! I was really upset, tears were pouring as my friends tried to comfort me. I was in a daze for the next hour as we sat in Pizza hut, someone said we should go to the police station in case my bag had been handed in I thought it was pointless. My friends persevered as they could see how upset I was and we headed for the police station. The policeman asked us to describe the missing bag and was asking lots of details when my boyfriend twigged and said "you're looking at it aren't you". The policeman was indeed looking at my bag and he handed it over asking me to check if there was anything missing. I ripped that bag open, grabbed Peter and hugged him and started crying and babbling thanks to the policeman. Looking back he must have thought I'd flipped! Peter has never been left with unattended baggage since that day.

~~~ They Take Over ~~~
The penguin collection has taken over my life. I have hundreds of cuddly penguins, each with individual personalities and every one named. Some live in my bedroom, the rest have a colony in the second bedroom, where Old-One is in charge. Peter, Freddie and their son Plonka all sleep with me. I still take them everywhere, my wedding night, honeymoon they were there. When I go away now my husband packs them!

~~~ Expansion ~~~
What started off as a collection of cuddly friends inevitably grew. I have all sorts of penguin things in my house. Every room contains penguin objects of some description, some decorative some functional. At work there is a teeny beanie penguin on top of my monitor
and a fluffy penguin pencil case on my desk. When my father died my colleagues bought me a lovely penguin shower radio to cheer me up. Birthdays and Christmas rarely pass without a new penguin addition to my collection. The little blighters even have their own website, and they love reading their guestbook! http://www.penguinweb.org.uk/penguins

~~~ The Bottom Line ~~~
Whether you collect bears or some other animal you can derive great pleasure from your collection. There are many collectors out there, each as barmy as the other you are not the only one. Children should be encouraged to love their toys, it shows a healthy imagination, which may carry on for life. Hopefully they will have friends and partners who understand.