A new resident arrived in York City Centre - Paddington Bear has moved onto a bench in Deans Park, on the north side of York Minster.
The man behind the marmalade-loving character, the late author Michael Bond, drew on his wartime memories of evacuees and refugees when he created the much-loved Paddington Bear books.
The original books were published in the 1950s / 1960s, but more have been published since the Millennium
Paddington has also appeared on TV and in films, with the most successful films being Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017). A third film in this series, Paddington in Peru, is due to be released in the UK on 8th November this year.
As part of the advanced publicity, over twenty of these bears on benches have been installed in cities across the UK, and the one in York was proving a very popular photo location when I was in the city centre after lunch last Friday. There were lots of parents and young children there for photos.
This is so cute and Paddington looks so real. You should have sat down next to him and asked someone to take your shot together. That would have been even more lovely.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It took a little while to get this shot - there were lots of people sitting with Paddington for their photos to be taken. I was quite surprised how busy it was. There had been a brief mention in the local newspaper, but I hadn't heard anything else about it, but others with young children obviously had.
This is deservedly on both the Popular and Trending page! There can't be many people in this world who wouldn't want to sit on this bench with dear Paddington! Fav
Lovely shot.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It took a little while to get this shot - there were lots of people sitting with Paddington for their photos to be taken. I was quite surprised how busy it was. There had been a brief mention in the local newspaper, but I hadn't heard anything else about it, but others with young children obviously had.
Ian
Thank you all, I think the artist has produced a great representation of Paddington, and it is already popular, with a lot of people there to see it.
Ian