Mari Jones

When I was little, Mummy Teddy (also known as Buster and Doggy Scotney) came to live with us.  He came with a little brother and they both wore beige fluffy body warmers. Sadly his little brother was eaten by a family dog; Ted lost his nose to the same dog too, but got off lightly […]

Teddy in the Edinburgh garden, c.1916 Teddy’s family, the Mackay’s, lived on a rubber plantation, Tebrau Estate (26 miles from Singapore) in what was then called Malaya and is now Malaysia.  In 1915 their first child Norman was born. He wasn’t a very healthy baby and wasn’t thriving in Singapore, so his mother took him

Teddy was a gift from my parents when I was a few months old. I had two precious toys: Teddy, and a doll called Minnie, who was made from pieces of cloth. She had been made by my grandmother who was a terrific dressmaker, and was passed down to me through the family. She had

I was given Ted when I was newly born, 56 years ago. He came from a Glasgow toy shop. I remember him lying in my small bed beside me when I was little. As a child, whenever I was sad I’d wind him up and listen to the music of Brahms Lullaby coming from Ted’s

I first got the idea for Leith Toy Hospital from my own childhood bear, Lovely Bear, who had numerous treatments from my Mum when I was a child. I asked her to tell his story. “I bought Lovely Bear from a school fair in Creigiau, Cardiff as a present for a friend’s child, but Mari

Elaine said “When I was three, I was given a doll for Christmas. I called her Angela: I don’t know why, as I didn’t know any Angelas. She was big, and had curly hair just like my mum’s. She came from Woolworths, in 1961. I took her to bed with me every night, so she

Ted: a 56-year-old bear belonging to Mary Gallacher Mary’s bear Ted visited the toy hospital in April 2020. Mary shared her memories of Ted. She said “Ted was given to me for a Christmas present when I was only four months old, so he has always been there for me. He has helped me through

Clare: a doll belonging to Julie Jones I never liked dolls much as a child (I much preferred marching my plastic farm animals up and down), but one little doll was close to my heart. I called her Clare. Clare before treatment Clare with her new eyes As a child, I always took part in

Champion – a 75-year-old leather horse belonging to Ali Moir Ali said “My grandfather served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Egypt in the 1940s, and in 1944/45 he brought home a little leather horse as a present for his five-year-old son (who grew up to be my dad). Dad remembers looking after Champion

Paddy: a ten-year-old owl belonging to Cathy Mungall-Baldwin Cathy said: “I bought Paddy from the Oxford University shop in Guildford Grove. I saw him in the window and realised I wasn’t moving on without him. He helped me get through my PhD thesis by looking cute and cuddling me in my flat.   I am a