Vanity Bear

In the midst of all the flat hunting, the bears were having adventures of their own. After one night in the new hostel, G and C headed their separate ways: G to ballet, and C to view yet another house. The bears decided the time was ripe to put to test their latest invention: Bear-a-chuting.

With Fandango safely taken care of (she was in the suitcase as Jeremy had been on the lash the past few nights), and G and C absent, Jeremy led the other bears to the edge of the table (we can happily assume this was J's idea - Fred and Ginger are getting on a bit, and their adventurous days are far behind them). For days now they had been stealing bits of clothing and piecing them together to construct the 'chutes. They neatly concealed them in Fred's bum (he's a puppet), and put the keyboard on their laps to fool us into thinking they were studying.

What we thought the bears were doing

Jeremy was eager for the other bears to go first. (May we add that this is all known after coming back to the hostel to find a huge mess of clothes that neither of us could possibly have created. Jeremy still denies it, but Fred and Ginger broke after the first round of questioning.) Coercing Ginger into a 'chute made from a pair of old leggings, Jeremy pushed him to the edge and urged him to jump. As Ginger hesitated, J got bored, and pushed Ginger squealing down to the ground. Luckily Ginger landed safely at the bottom, although a bit dazed.

J looked at Fred, and Fred resigned himself to what was to happen. He was much more dignified, and jumped off the edge of the table, tartan 'chute in tow. Fred and Ginger started to help each other climb back up the table, but Jeremy yelled at them to stay there and take a picture of him. Even the prospect of jumping from such a great height could not dampen Jeremy's vanity.

Jeremy at the start of his jump

He hurtled through the air, as ungracefully as ever, Fred and Ginger dutifully snapping photos as he fell. As he landed, the bears heard the girls returning and hurriedly scrambled back up to the table top, doing their best to feign innocence.

Ginger trying to take a photo of Jeremy

Luckily for the bears, G and C were too distracted at the time to notice: G ranting about having been accosted by a militant vegan woman, and C freaked out by the fake lobster balls the girls had prepared for lunch (again from the Chinese supermarket). The bears breathed a collective sigh of relief, unknowing that they would soon be found out!