The three-year-old comes bounding excitedly out of pre-school. He is clutching Paddington Bear and a small brown suitcase. “We’ve got Paddington for the weekend,” he shrieks. His teacher hands me a book explaining that it is Paddington’s Diary and that each child takes it in turns to have him for a few days. “How lovely,” I remark, thinking to myself, “Help, not more responsibility.”
In the car my little boy busily straps Paddington into his car seat. At home he runs upstairs and unpacks his suitcase, which consists of a yellow toothbrush.
When the other children get home, they are equally excited at having a visitor for the weekend. He sits on his own chair at teatime, beside the bath at bath time and then snuggles up beside the three-year-old at bedtime.
Later I turn to the diary sitting on the side. It is full of entries from other families, accompanied by photos of smiling happy faces enjoying beach trips, visits to Father Christmas and other treats. I did not think our weekend would remotely live up to Paddington’s previous visits, particularly given tomorrow was our weekly supermarket shop. The next day, Paddington sits in the trolley being pushed up and down supermarket aisles. I am told that apparently he can only eat Penguins, Wotsits and Jaffa Cakes. My shop budget is blown by his visit.
During the weekend, Paddington joins us for a rugby match on Sunday. He cheers from the touchline alongside the other children. As we leave the pitch I realise he is missing. I am told he went to relieve himself earlier behind a nearby tree. I rummage behind the bushes and discover him staring up at me, still clutching his small brown brolly.
That night, Paddington once more decides to disappear. We launch a full scale Bear Hunt searching high and low for the small brown bear. I begin to hyperventilate at the thought of telling the teacher that Paddington is missing. Suddenly the biddable Labrador prods me with her nose. From the corner of her mouth, I spot something blue. We wrench her jaws open and there is Paddington nestled comfortably beside a large wet tongue. Thank goodness we have found him and all intact. Tomorrow it is back to pre-school and safely into the hands of another family.
