Brave bears take flight at Long Clawson Teddy Bear Festival

If you went down to Long Clawson on Saturday and Sunday you were in for a big surprise as you would have witnessed teddies parachuting out of the sky.

Children’s beloved cuddly bears took a leap of faith off the top of St Remigius Church tower and were the duly the main attraction at the village’s weekend teddy bear festival.

Resident Sally-Ann Shouler said: “Some of the brave bears did more than one jump with their owners’ consent.

“Approximately three bears landed on the church roof and were rescued by a gallant member of the church with the aid of a long ladder.

“Both afternoons were busy with many folk enjoying the variety of displays put around the church by organisations within, or associated with, Long Clawson.

“Long Clawson Primary School had had a week working on the topic of teddy bears and produced a super display of pictures and prose.”

Activities for youngsters included decorating ginger bread teddy biscuits, colouring teddy pictures and going on a bear hunt to discover the names of 30 tagged teddies which had taken up residence in odd books and crannies around the church.

New St George Morris Dancers entertained people on Saturday afternoon with cream teas proving popular on both days.

The festival carried the theme ‘Celebrating the Lives of our Children and the Child in all of Us.’ Generous donations amounted to £166 which will be given to Macmillan, St Remigius’s chosen charity for 2018.