Newsletter – January 9, 2026
Our daughter Lora had the wonderful opportunity to go to Scotland for a month last year, performing in a play called Faster in the Attic at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She and the production got several nice reviews. While she was there she stopped to have a chat with Paddington Bear.
She posted the photo above with these comments:
Today a statue of Paddington appeared at the park near our venue. (My sandwich was in my backpack, I would’ve eaten with him, but he had some other fans to take photos with.)
I’m sure the gentleman who offered to take this photo was confused by how emotional I got after he took it.
My Grandma and I used to read Paddington’s stories all the time (my favorite was when he got a driver’s license for his shopping cart.) And how serendipitous that I wore her necklace today.
Happy that she’s with me today even all the way in Scotland.
My mom read many books to me and my brothers when we were growing up and she was delighted to share the Paddington books with Lora. In fact, Debbie and I often sidled up to the bedside readings and enjoyed hearing the stories as well.
The stories are just right for children in elementary school because they can laugh at the way Paddington takes certain expressions literally, just as they themselves had done only a few years earlier:
“Are you pulling my leg?!”
“No. In fact I can’t even see your legs from this side of the desk.”
There are three Paddington movies and they’re all very warm-hearted with mild slapstick, humorous misunderstandings, and plenty of marmalade sandwiches. Those are his favorite.
Here’s an Easter Egg moment for you to enjoy in the first movie: Paddington is arriving in London for the first time and sees a friendly old gentleman raise a glass to him in salute. That man was Edward Bond, the man who wrote all of the Paddington books.
I love moments like that!
The books and the movies are all entertaining without the tiresome silliness that make parents dread hearing or seeing them over and over again. In fact, I borrowed a dialogue from Paddington’s visit with a psychologist and have used it repeatedly in giving acting classes. It always draws laughter from the other students and I always enjoy it myself.
I hope you have the chance to treat yourself and any children in your family to A Bear Called Paddington.
TTFN
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Eric Margerum 