Memory Keepers

Was struggling for a blip today, then I happened to find a programme on tv that trigged some powerful memories, which led me to think about objects that bring back memories. The photo is of my memory keepers sat on a chair in the bedroom.

The Dog on the left is a "build a bear" and was bought for me as a good luck present when I started my dog grooming and training - nothing special maybe. But it came from Moss's breeder who is the last person I would have expected to go into the Build a Bear shop......and he assures me he did it all on his own, even putting a barking noise in him!

In front is one of the many little keepsake/celebration bears that my lovely daughter has given me over the years.

The very old little bear on the left was given to me by an Aunt when I was a baby and he's been with me through everything

The bear on the right is a Boyd bear. I have about 15. I bought my first one in America when in Sacramento in the 80s. Most of the others were purchased from a market cart in the White Rose centre, Leeds when we called for lunch before going to the local football marches. I haven't bought one for about 10 yrs.

I always loved bears and cuddly toys, most have now been passed on, sent to charity shops or claimed by one of the spaniels as theirs.....(moss has 5!)

The middle plush is an Orangutan from Monkey World in Dorset. My dream is to see Orangs and Gorillas in the wild. I really love Primates and for a while I volunteered at a chimpanzee sanctuary near Girona in Spain - here these are some of the chimps here All the chimps had very bad starts in life, but were progressing well. It was a life changing experience having a huge male chimp stare straight into your eyes and make a connection.

The programme I saw tonight was "Monkey World"