I.A.T.C. - International Adventurers & Travelling Companions
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My original International Travelling Companion - Tough Ted - was given to me as a Christmas present back in 1985. Whilst for some years he didn't show his adventurous nature, around 1993 he started to accompany me on my adventures as I travelled around the world. He also joined me on many Scout camps. Sadly he decided that he wanted to undertake his own solo adventure and he left me in 2008 at Sandbanks, Poole, UK. The pictures on the right below document some of the adventures that we had. I did read that the author of the Tough Ted book, Simon Bond, said that the original Tough Ted had retired to the South Coast to run a beachside cafe; this seems to fit neatly with where I parted company with my Tough Ted; I hope he is successful in his business venture! |
I decided that having a travelling companion was quite fun; so after Tough Ted and I parted company I found further companions. This web page is dedicated to their travels.
The New Adventures
After Ted had decided to head off, I endeavoured to find him - apart from a few emails from other Tough Ted owners I found that the bear was an incredibly rare find - and I couldn't track anyone on the web who had one for sale. Fortunately in March 2011, I discovered that Ted's Bigger brother was available through Ebay; although it was incredibly indulgent, I bid and won - and I now have his brother to join me on my travels!
Of course as Ted is 18" tall he's not an insignificant item to carry around, so I will be continuing to use two other International Adventurers for many of my travels:
- Granger Evermore - A scary looking bear from the "Teddy Scares"range produced by the Applehead Factory. Technically dead, Granger has a scar running across his right eye and wears a prison jumpsuit. I met Granger whilst on holiday in Key West
- Whitby - a black hand puppet who joined us when we were at the Whitby Gothic Weekend in ... Whitby. He mostly joins us on the Gothic Weekends due to his colour and love of all things gothic.
Original Adventurer
About Tough Ted
The original "Tough Ted" range was based on a series of books written by Simon Bond. The bears themselves were created by Golden Bear in 1985 and were available in two sizes; the larger bear having a "secret" compartment in his back. These bears were discontinued and are very difficult to find.
What made these bears unusual were their appearance - a "nicked" ear, a stubbly goaty beard, an anchor tattoo on their arm and a vest with "TOUGH TED" on it.
The background story of Tough Ted is a rough, weathered, retired Merchant Seabear, and he certainly looks the part (although we know he is much gentler than he seems!)! The original paperwork that came with the bears told this story - although Tough Teds (and their young owners) rarely looked after their packing materials!