Tiniest Teddy Steals Charity Show
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday November 24, 2001
Wollongong shoppers could be forgiven for thinking they'd stumbled into the teddy bears' picnic yesterday.
But it was no picnic for judges of the Teddy Bear's Pageant at Wollongong City Mall.
Organisers of Australian Red Cross's Trauma Teddy Day had prizes for the cutest, cuddliest, scruffiest, smallest and largest teddies.
Teddies of all shapes, sizes and conditions turned up but it was Sid Martin's tiny teddy - carved into the centre of a walnut shell - who stole the show.
Mr Martin, 83, collects miniatures to display in his Lake Heights home.
``There's not a lot of room. That's why I collect the smallest things," he said.
He brought his tiny teddy along ``just to show them", but walked off with a prize.
Albion Park Rail's Barbara Street brought Bluey, hoping to win ``most loved" bear of the day. In the absence of any such category, she had to be content with scruffiest. Threadbare Bluey, now 36, belongs to Mrs Street's son Stuart, who left him in his mother's care when he moved to the United States.
© 2001 Illawarra Mercury
