Oh! I just can't wait to tell you my VERY very exciting news!! No, I can't even wait a minute I just have to tell you this very second! I was made "honorary police-teddy" for one whole day!! Yes, and I even got to wear a special gold badge, and a blue police-teddy's  shirt, jacket and shorts! I was going to wear a special peaked police hat, but my ears were a big too big for the hat! It just wouldn't sit straight. I wasn't allowed to carry a gun, but I didn't want to anyway. It would be too heavy for a little bear like me to carry or wear, and anyway, I got given something MUCH better than that! Do you want to know what it was? It was a whistle! I got to "toot" and blow my whistle very loudly! But not too loudly though, because I am a very considerate little Kiosk teddy bear, and I wouldn't want to wake up any sleeping Strathalan Residents or give them a fright! That wouldn't be at all nice! They may be having a little  afternoon nap…then they hear my whistle noise…and they would get such a shock that their little human hearts would start to go all fluttery and go bumpity-bump-bump , then an ambulance would be called and off they would go to the hospital, and it would all be my fault!! No, no, I definitely would not want that to happen! Strathalan Residents (and a couple of other nice people called Heather and David too!!) are my friends, and you don't startle your friends do you?! I only gave some friendly little happy toots on my whistle …and it was really great fun!!

Oh, I forgot to tell you just why I actually was made honorary police-teddy for the day. Well, it's a long story…but if you've got some time, I would be delighted if you sit in a comfy seat, put your legs up on a nearby stool and let me tell you all the exciting details!!

It all happened one Saturday morning. The Kiosk had closed, and I was just taking it easy in my favourite seating spot in the Kiosk, after enjoying the company of many happy Kiosk shoppers that day. I don't know what made me do it, but I decided to pull back the Kiosk blinds and have a little peek at what was happening outside.  All of a sudden I saw a man on a bike speeding past the Kiosk window…and my little teddy brain instantly jumped into action and thought to itself: "I recognise that bike! I've seen that here before! And I know that the person who rode it was definitely not that man!" Think! Think! Who is the owner of that bike? This calls for teddy bear thinking music…the latest number one bear hit is:" I still call the  Kiosk home." It is the teddies version of "I still call Australia home." It has really rocketed up the song charts! I'll tell you some of the lyrics:

  I've been to Melaleuca and the Nursing Home too

   Enjoyed visiting Hibiscus, Darwinia and into Banksia I flew.

But whether I march up to the McKittrick Centre or stomp down to lower Boronia roads

I still call the Kiosk home!

All the Strathalan Residents, spinning around the Strathalan Grounds,

They are never far away from friends.

But as the days get older and colder ( in the Wintertinme)

It's good to know where my journey ends (at the Kiosk of course!)

Soon (each day at 10 a.m. when the Kiosk opens to customers) we will be together once more

When shoppers and walkers are queued up outside the Kiosk door.

But no matter how far or how wide I roam

I will always call the Kiosk home!!

 

Isn't it a great song!! It's got such a snazzy catchy beat to it! It is the number one most requested song to be played at Teddy bear disco nights!!

Aha! The thinking music did it! I know who owns that bike. It belongs to the FOS Secretary! She must have rode her bike to Strathalan to have a browse at the Oppe Shop, left it outside…and now someone has  "pinched" it!

Right, this called for immediate attention and without another thought, I burst opened the Kiosk door and off I went pursuing this man on the bike as fast as my little teddy paw feet would take me!! I was huffing and puffing and I didn't have any sneakers on and it was a hot day, and the pavement was quite blistery to my paws…but I was determined to do my duty and catch the thief!! I imagined that I was wearing a super-teddy cape and the goodies always win over the baddies you know!! Well, I kept on and on chasing the "man on the bike" and then he made an "unwise decision" ! Because it was such a hot day, he stopped to have a drink from the unopened water bottle that was attached to the bike.  He got off the bike to open the bottle up. Hmm…I seized the moment and as quick as you could say "Go get it Kiosk Ted Strath" I had jumped onto the seat of the bike and was whizzing my way back to Strathalan, pedalling as fast as my paws could pedal!! I did get a few friendly horn honks from some cars as I sped pass them on the adjoining  footpath.  Eventually I got the bike back to Strathalan and to its position where it had been left outside the Oppe Shop. And…I am very glad that the FOS Secretary Margaret didn't even now that it had gone missing. She would have been soooo worried about the missing bike and having it stolen. There was no need to tell her of my rescue mission…it would just have upset her to know how close she was to ending up being "bike less". (I do though wonder if she thought that it was a bit odd that she didn't have a water bottle anymore attached to her bike!)

But…my "good deed for the day" did get seen by many other people and they secretly let the Police know about it. (I suppose it was quite a funny sight of little me, Kiosk Ted, running after this man on a bike along the streets of Macleod! You don't always see a teddy bear doing this each day! But then bikes don't get stolen each day from Strathalan!!)  Then one day, there was a knock on the Kiosk door, and at the door was 2 nice policeman who informed me that I was going to be given the fine honour of becoming honorary police-teddy for a day!

So….now you know the story behind my Police honour!!

What an eventful day that Saturday was! I did sleep very well that night, because I was sooo tired!

Well, I better be off now for a little snooze. It's nice to be known as a "bike rescuing -teddy bear hero- and -police teddy for a day- bear! The name has a nice ring to it I think!

Until next time,

           Mr. Kiosk-Ted Strath

                       Also simply known as "Ted"!!