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Bear making in South Africa is rather strange as it is a country where Lions, Elephants, Rhino Buffalo and Leopard roam, referred to the Big 5, which has recently being changed to the Big 6, as the Great White Shark has been added to the list.

However this has not prevented the country from being in the "bear world" and many talented artists from South Africa travel the world exhibiting at various teddy bear exhibitions. I also share in this world of "bear travel" and have exhibited my work both in the East and the West. I have been involved with teddy bears for the past 12 years, have an online web store and will soon be opening up a new teddy bear and friends shop in a mall. Several winning bears have been created by me, and I am honored to be the International Representative for the Taiwan Teddy Bear Association.

Besides my "human family"- 2 children and 3 grand children, I also have 5 dogs, and I have to be careful that an arm or leg belonging to a bear in production, does not find its way into the "dog box" being chewed on. My four leg family are all the strays and waifs that find their way to my front door and when hosting an event, I donate a certain percentage to animals in distress. The "Moon Bear Rescue Plan in China" which is run by Jill Robinson does so much for these burly animals that get abused by humans, and this organization needs all the help they can get to be able to provide protection for these animals.

Live Bears are the ones that gave Richard Steiff the inspiration to design our friend the "teddy bear" In 1902 Steifff spent many hours at the Nill Zoo, Germany, where he sat and drew bear sketches and these were used to design the first Steiff Bear 55PB. 100 years later, bears are still inspiring artists to carry on creating "teddy bears" With the warm climate, outdoor sports have a strong following. My husband Denis has completed 20 "comrade's marathons- a distance of 90 kilometers, my son Dale, has both provincial and national colors for mountain biking, and both have national colors in tri athlon. My daughter is a spinning instructor and swimmer and also participates in national events. With having such an active family, mother prefers spending time with needles and thread, creating teddy bears and other crafts.

From the 11 June -11 July, South Africa will host the 2010 FIFA World CupTM, Staged across eight provinces, and nine host cities, almost half-a-million visitors are expected to experience the spectacle firsthand, while worldwide, a television audience of between 35 and 40 billion "cumulative" viewers will witness the action and drama on screen. Of course Teddy Bears and his friends will also be involved with me hosting an International Teddy Bear World Cup Match and Exhibition.

Travelling around the country, one is spoilt with a choice of places to visit. Personally I love the "Garden Route", famous for its fynbos floral kingdom, its secluded little bays and its year -round holiday frame of mind. If you look seawards, you will see the Southern Right whales, the humpback, bottlenose and common dolphins, even killer whales that frolic close to the shore, especially near Plettenberg Bay. Of course the other famous attraction in Cape Town is my 10 month granddaughter.

I hope you enjoy my "bear adventures" as much as I enjoy being a teddy bear artist.

Lynette Kennedy

URL : www.fred-i-bear.co.za