Billie Marten “Flora Fauna”- lovely folky music, just wonderful, and what a voice.
Wolf Alice “Blue Weekend”- their strongest album yet, which is saying something.
Self Esteem “Prioritise Pleasure”- really good solo album from the Slow Club singer.
Little Simz “Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert”- even the album title is amazing, I’ve been a big fan of hers for a while. Point and Kill is such an ear worm!
The Weather Station “Ignorance”- very Stevie Nicks, and very bloody good!
Dry Cleaning “New Long Leg”- too kool for skool, outstanding.
Cassandra Jenkins “An Overview On Phenomenal Nature”- “We’re gonna put your heart back together”, enough said.
Since hearing the terrible news on Wednesday night of Dr. Kevin’s passing, a minute hasn’t gone by where I haven’t thought of this sad news and shed the occasional tears as well. In fact I start typing this now through leaky eyes.
I wanted to put down my memories of him so you could all understand what a loss it is to me, and others who he reached out to and the lives he touched, on both social media and indeed in real life. It’s true that others on twitter may have known him a little better than me, but simply put, he was a constant in my life since from when I first joined twitter back in 2013. In fact, there are a few constants on twitter for us anipals, those that seek to unite us, those that we rally around and have the comfort of knowing that they are always there for company, advice, or just a bit of fun. For me these are #FurryTails (previously #TeddyBearEmbassy and #TeddyEmbassy), Zombie Squad, The Aviators, and Henry and friends. There are others too, such as #BTPosse, #NipClub, #TeddyBearScouts, #PalsPorch etc.
I created this blog originally to review chocolates, and I am ashamed to say I have let it lapse for one reason or another. I do remember joking with Toddy once about how lucky i was people were sending me chocolates from around the world to taste and review, and he said perhaps my next one should be reviewing flat screen TVs or Bentleys!
Of course he was a dab hand at making pictures for pals on twitter (for special occasions, Twitter clubs or just for fun), so I also wanted to share the brilliant, and sometimes hilarious pics he made for me over the many years. He even told me recently which ones his favourites were:
When I first joined Twitter back in January 2013, I must admit my human did it principally as a silly prank to mock my original owner (and mummy), Phillipa, from whom he “borrowed” me. He also wanted to take me on an imminent adventure to Barbados, and tweet those pictures back home to mummy and… well who else? Surely no one else was interested in seeing pictures of a teddy bear on a beach or in a cave or on a boat or interesting building somewhere? Would they?
But suddenly, out of nowhere, I got follows from other teds! Also adventurers, be it to other sides of the world or just to the end of their beds. Some comforted their chronically ill humans, so well loved that they had little or no fur left after a lifetime of cuddling. Some were on screen avatars for shy or private individuals who wanted to interact with people on social media, but didn’t want the minutiae of their private lives shared with every Tom, Dick or Harry. I suspect Toddy fell in that camp.
One of my first friends in those early pioneering days for stuffed toys on Twitter was Toddy, and I was intrigued to be invited to a virtual club he had co-formed with Chalky and Cuddles called Teddy Bear Embassy. Phillipa and I were amused at first, but we soon found it to be a great place to virtually meet up and chat with teds, anipals and honorary humans (as we initially called them) who lived as far afield as Australia, to chat about our adventures or simply just have a laugh.
Eventually, things even got to the stage where addresses were swapped for sending each other cards and gifts. Year on year, my Christmas card list gets longer and longer, and it gives me great joy to send cards around the globe every December, especially to friends who’s mantel pieces might otherwise be empty (including mine!)
And then, even “tweetups” were arranged! Who could imagine such a thing? The undisputed king of ted tweetups is Tourguide Ted, although my first ever tweetup was with Mumbas Gabig, who sadly left Twitter many years ago. Many people and furs were having meetups since the invention of the internet I’m sure, but nowadays the teddy tweetups can be quite a huge affair.
But one fur who hadn’t been to the early tweetups as far as I was aware was Toddy. But that changed later on, and when the opportunity arose to meet Diesel Bear, who was coming all the way from Kansas, AND Toddy Furrington at a tweetup at Cadbury World in June 2017, how could I possibly say no?
It was a nerve wracking occasion because it was to be a very large gathering of twitter friends, some I had met before and some I hadn’t. And for a few, it was their first of many subsequent tweetups around the country. I was glad to meet Sir Scamp too, who came all the way from Glasgow to be there.
And on that lovely day, I met the great man himself, Dr. Kevin. (I don’t want to call him just Kevin, it doesn’t sound right). And what a presence he was. Tall, well spoken, every bit the man I imagined he’d be and more. Full of interesting anecdotes, charismatic, a true gentleman. I already knew how smart he was because we were both members of Snuffy Norton’s Canbesocial site, a kind of Facebook for anipals with a charming creekiness to it which just adds to the fun. (Toddy was a big fan of Canbesocial and posted on there on an almost daily basis. He had a connection with Snuffy, who made him a lovely paw snitched “Bearmarni” wardrobe for nearly all of his hug including many wonderful outfits for Toddy himself, and they were both Bengal cat owners. Kindred spirits separated by the Atlantic Ocean.) Angel Lexie posts a monthly quiz on CBS, a highlight for many of us who join in, and nearly every single month Toddy got 100% correct. Not surprising to those who knew or ever interacted with him.
There’s a weekly Brain Teaser on CBS too, and Toddy would ask the most clever questions accompanied by another of his charming pictures as a clue. Answers would be DM’d and those who got them correct were dubbed Brain Boxes.
Anyone who knows me knows I can be a cheeky bear, and sometimes emotional too. Toddy had little patience for my rare emotional outbursts, and I must admit we did fall out a couple of times over the years. But all was forgiven and forgotten and we settled into a happy groove over the final years, with me being careful to show him the respect he deserved. As he once wisely said ” No one knows what’s going on in a chap’s private life”. I wish I had gone on more Aviators adventures, or just popped into the Furry Tails bar more often to say hello. But all those wishes won’t bring him back. One of the last conversations I had with him was about my lavender plants which were about to go into full bloom. I wanted to show him a picture of the many varieties of bees and insects that are enjoying the flowers, but alas I just never got round to it. This morning I made a small donation to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in his memory.
So many things I haven’t even told you yet. Like how generous he was when donating to charities, or how he was a great supporter of small enterprise such as Kirby Bears, CBS and Dinker bears. Dee, the creator of Dinkers and Twecckkes, has even immortalised Toddy in a Twecckle short story, one of a series, available on Amazon. She and Biddy BT’s mum probably knew Dr. Keven better than anyone on Twitter. Or those lovely early days when he’d regale us with his stories of travelling around the world, or the gripping story of the mythical “crocasaurus”. I think I’ve left out a lot actually, but I’ll stop now. I just hope he’s up there somewhere looking down on us, perhaps at the rainbow bridge, and knows how much he meant to us. Rest in peace dear friend. A toast to you Dr. Kevin, I know you were fond of a whiskey.
And finally I wanted to share just a few of the many wonderful pictures he made for me over the years:
Thanks to our pal Chomper on twitter me and Marmaduke the marmot (note to self, must google what a marmot is) were recommended a British chocolatier based in Lancashire by the name of Beech’s Fine Chocolates. This company was established in 1920 (which I think is around the time that Uncle Bear was stitched) and uses ethically sourced all natural products, most of which are also suitable for vegans (and bears).
This wonderful company were very kind to send me some chocolates to review, but first I paw you over to Marmie who very kindly took time out to write this very special review for my blog:
Supplies arrive!
“Hello,
Marmie Megève here. I love chocolate – particularly dark chocolate and chocolates with centres that have a high crunchy nibble factor – so was very pleased when my twitter pal @Chomper_TC recommended I try Beech’s Fine Chocolates. The company is based in Preston and offers a wide variety of products, all made using only natural ingredients. The texture of the chocolate bars is firm, so you can manoeuvre each segment in your mouth for the slow-melt, full-flavour pleasure. As a bit of a ginger nut, my favourite of the chocolate bars is the dark chocolate ginger, the rich, aromatic flavour flooding your mouth as you roll it around. We marmots are keen on roots and shoots, so I count the luxury stem ginger chocolates as practically a dietary requirement. You can go for the combined flavour, chew-it-all-together experience or, because of the firmness and texture of the chocolate, you can nibble that off and then enjoy the crunch of the crystallised ginger separately, if that is your preference.”
Thanks Marmie. And now back to me, where I will review three different types of boxed chocolates, all of which will make great gifts for friends, loved ones (or just yourself):
OOH!!
OOH!! What do we have here?
1. Teddy Bears’ Picnic: delicious milk chocolates with soft caramel centres, shaped in a bear family!! How lovely. I really enjoyed these as i’m quite the fan of soft centres. 5 paws out of 5
Bears!!
2. Anglesey Sea Salted Truffles and Marc de Champagne Truffles: delicious, decadent, bold flavoured, firm textured, soft-ish creamy centred- all words I would use to describe my human. Also applicable to these milk truffle chocolates, each box emblazoned with the sentence “All you need is love and chocolate”. The sea salted truffles are deliciously salty and sweet and complex. Delicious. The champagne truffles are rich and fruity and toasty, just like real champagne. A wonderful accompaniment to a bottle of bubbly on a special occasion I reckon. 5 paws out of 5
My good friend Angel Honey Dog tells me her mum was quite the chocolate tasting expert in her time, so they have helped me to write better reviews by sending me this magnificent journal in hardback-form, to record all my future observations. And what a magnificent production it is:
Discover the Ultimate
The book has detailed a Forward, an author bio of both myself and Honey, introduction, beautiful images and illustrations designed by Honey, and a hundred tasting pages to be filled in by me each time I trial a chocolate (are you sure 100 is enough Honey?)
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And now to baptise my new book with its first review- an intriguing chocolate bar by Fenwick’s and The Chocolate Smiths entitled “Beer”. This was kindly sent to me by Kenny Koala- model, chef, singer, dancer, bear. If you haven’t purchased his marvellous vegetarian cook book with profits going to the RSPCA, why the devil not? Go now! I can wait………… Done? Okay, let’s continue.
This is billed as creamy milk chocolate with the taste of Irish stout (think Caffreys), and whilst I agree with the first part, the second I’m not so sure about. This chocolate has somewhat of a yeasty aftertaste, which puts me in mind of the Marmite chocolate I tried previously. Something that my friend Tourguide Ted agrees with. Not terrible, but not stunning either, this gets 3.5 paws out of 5.
Christmas is over, and the January blues are sinking in. By now, most of us have broken our New Year’s resolutions, pay day is still a long ways away, the nights are long and cold, and Springtime is still just a glint in Mother Nature’s eye. On top of all that, we have Trump’s inauguration and the triggering of Article 50 to look forward to. So I would like to look back with fond memories to the many generous gifts and cards I received from my lovely Anipal friends on twitter- when all is going wrong, they are there to remind me that the world hasn’t quite gone to hell yet.
So please enjoy my slideshow, and thank you again to all my pals for making my Christmas very special. See if you can spot your card in there, and shout out in the comments if you do!
Today we have a special edition of #JezzerChecksChocs. Thanks to Zara Chocolates (and my twitter furiend and #Caykclub hostess Mogsbear who introduced me to them), I obtained free tickets to The Chocolate Show at the Olympia in London. Armed with knowledge on how to “taste” chocolate handed down to me by my other twitter furiend Honey Dog‘s mom, herself once a world travelling chocolate expert, I giddily skipped to Kensington (as much as I could skip on The Tube without get strange looks at any rate) and as a result here are some snaps from the day:
Waiting outside in the rain
First one inside!
Lots of stalls
Still quiet as I got in very early
Duffy’s chocolates are bean to bar
Best tree EVER
Thank you Zara’s for inviting me!
#chocolateroses selfie
Nice hat
Booze!
Cumby!!
Must taste the booze
*bows*
I’d date this stall
Pigeons! (Just because)
Sexy chocolate dresses
Time to buy chocs!!
Cocoa and sausage rolls!
Mmmm… (not the bloke)
I also enjoyed a lecture on the history of chocolate and how to “taste” chocolate like wine tasting. A great day out! So I guess the diet starts tomorrow *kicks jezzdad*.
Our awesome ted-mate and fellow blogger Jeremy Bear from Jezzer Checks Chocs has asked us to do a review of some choccie we came across the other day that isn’t available where he lives. Needless to say my brother and I jumped at the chance to eat Chocolate in the name of helping a friend out!!
The chocolate we’re reviewing for Jeremy is Cadbury’s Apple Crumble and Cadbury’s Lamington Chocolate Blocks…we had to force Mummy to go to two supermarkets for these as the Apple Crumble Block was only available through Coles and the Lamington was only available through Woolworths.
We decided to give the Apple Crumble a try first. Opening it up it sure looks good…smells okay too…our resident baker bear Benaud has stepped up to investigate this one closely. We were expecting a bit more “bits” of apple crumble.
It’s Olympics time again, and what better way to celebrate these feats of stamina, strength, athleticism and patriotism than with…. beer!! Let us all be inspired.
So first it’s time to find out if Ade Adepitan (paralympic athlete, TV presenter, journalist, world traveler and all round nice guy) likes chocolate:
So there you go chaps. Depends on what type. I think you will agree that never have truer words been spoken. Thank you Ade.
1. The White Hag “Oatmeal Chocolate Milk Stout” 5.2%alc
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This was kindly given to me by Tourguide Ted at our last tweetup in Greenwich earlier this year. When I say given, I meant it had to be forced from his brofur Theo’s clutches, but eventually I won. The White Hag is an Irish brewery and is named after a witch/ creature/ Mother Nature (delete as appropriate) who shaped the form of the land and is present in everything through the water of the earth. I think the brewers need to stop inhaling the fumes of their own brewery.
This stout was very smooth and full-bodied, with no hint of smokiness. Couldn’t taste any chocolate though, so it loses a paw point. 3 paws out of 5
Austmann Brewery is a small Norwegian craft beer company based in Trondheim. My friend Camilla very kindly brought me a bottle on her last visit to London, and I have previously tried their “Three Old Ladies” pale ale and enjoyed it very much. That beer was named in honour of three ladies who financially backed the company when no banks were able to give them a loan! Cheers to that!! Stupid banks.
Austmann were recently at the Bryggeri beer festival and I am sure they made a great success there.
Oh dear, all the label blurb is written in Norwegian. I may actually have to rely on my tastebuds *gulp*.
Words that come to mine as I sip this lovely porter are… smooth, well-balanced, tasty, strong, so very strong… did I mention it was 7.5%abv? I enjoyed this beer very much, but I think I might need a little lay down now… zzzzzzzz. 5 snoring beers out of 5
Slightly late this year. Coming in at number 5, pop pickers….
5. Michael Kiwanuka- “Love and Hate”
Only out for a week, this is a very good album with Marvin Gaye-esque soul and R&B influences. I was initially put off with its lead single “Black Man In A White World”, which suffered from the twin misfortunes of mediocrity and being played to death on national radio. However, give the album a chance and you’ll find some very strong song writing and great production. Unfortunately, I suspect Love and Hate is destined to be played only as backing music to middle-class dinner parties across suburbia, which is a shame.
4. Kendrick Lamar- “Untitled Unmastered”
Kendrick Lamar is a Californian rapper who is rightly causing established popular artists such as Kanye West some sleepless nights. This compilation of unreleased demos and outtakes is short and has some rough around the edges recordings (as is to be expected). However, seek out the diamonds in the rough, such as the almost jazzy number below, and you will be greatly rewarded.
3. David Bowie- “Blackstar”
What can I say that hasn’t already been said?
2. Bat For Lashes- “The Bride”
For me, Natasha Khan is way up there among artists such as Kate Bush, Bjork, Peter Gabriel and David Bowie, as a singer who’s creativity stretches beyond just the musical art form. Her latest album is (dare I say it) a concept album which follows the story of a bride who’s fiancé dies on the way to their wedding. That simple sentence hasn’t really sold it well, but listen to the album (as a whole) and a beautiful piece about love, loss and overcoming trauma will emerge. Really wonderful.
1. Radiohead- “A Moon Shaped Pool”
Continuing to march to beat of their own drum, Radiohead turn out an album of mainly ethereal ballads. In this humble bear’s opinion, beautifully constructed songs with lovely melodies that only reward the most patient listeners (as it should be). Interestingly, they have finally recorded a studio version of True Love Waits, a song that has been knocking around since the 90s, and which they use here as the closing track. Worth the wait.
Lingering in my chocolate cupboard (under lock and key at all times, naturally) for a long time has been a bar of chocolate sent to me courtesy of Kenny Koala bear. Manufactured by Fenwick’s, they of 19th century department store fame; and The Chocolate Smiths, which I assume are a chocolatey version of the eighties band, this bar is named “Chip Shop Special”.
Now I have tried Curry Sauce flavoured chocolate before, and the results weren’t as bad as I thought it would be. This, however, looks to be another level. So I bravely donned my Boba Fett helmet for protection, poured myself a beer (well known to be the only way to kill a bad curry) and opened her up.
The 35% Belgian milk chocolate looked surprisingly nice and shiny, and had a lovely snap to it. The embedded “chips” were not too salty. And the overall taste wasn’t actually too bad at all- like a background hint of mild korma. All in all, I would say it was pretty good. Certainly a wonderful gift for the curry lover in your life. I give it 3.5 paws out of 5.
Thank you Kenny! And now a humble request- please take a look at Kenny’s human’s fund raising page. She hopes to volunteer on a children’s project in Peru and is getting closer and closer to her target every day. Please dig deep and sponsor her and Kenny for such a worthy cause if you can. Big big thanks.
On a final note, you’re probably wondering about the Flake reference in the title to this post. Well, the beer I chose to wash my “curry and chips” down with was an “Ice cream pale ale” by Northern Monk Brew Company. Its creaminess put me in mind of a Boddington’s beer, which in turn reminded me of this:
But one fur who hadn’t been to the early tweetups as far as I was aware was Toddy. But that changed later on, and when the opportunity arose to meet Diesel Bear, who was coming all the way from Kansas, AND Toddy Furrington at a tweetup at Cadbury World in June 2017, how could I possibly say no?
And on that lovely day, I met the great man himself, Dr. Kevin. (I don’t want to call him just Kevin, it doesn’t sound right). And what a presence he was. Tall, well spoken, every bit the man I imagined he’d be and more. Full of interesting anecdotes, charismatic, a true gentleman. I already knew how smart he was because we were both members of Snuffy Norton’s 
Cheers till next time!
Jezzer Checks Chocs 