'A Bear Called AH!'

I had that idea in November 2025...

And it grew, and grew, and blossomed in December...

And everyone loves the idea too...

And it has such heart...

And by January, the story was written...

And 12 magnificent professional artists joined

TEAM BEAR!

'A Bear Called Ah!'

Here at 'Team Bear' HQ, we are all working away excitedly, to produce a very special gift book called 'A Bear Called AH!'

I've written and gifted this book to the Ayrshire Hospice & 12 magnificent artists have gifted their paintings to illustrate 12 wonderful bears; one of which, is called AH!

Alex comes home to find a bear wearing a label with his initials on it; but it can't be for him - surely he's too old for a bear!

Read the stories of 12 people's bears and see if you agree, that you're never to old for a bear!

100% of ALL proceeds from this book will go to this wonderful charity.

Coming soon...

'TEAM BEAR!'

Meet the artists!

Paul Kennedy - Painted the bear called AH! (Front cover and last page).

Lewis Mackenzie - Painted Snowy, the Lost and Found bear.

Peter Foyle - Painted the Baby Bear.

Margaret Johnston - Painted Pandy the Panda Bear.

Yvonne Taylor - Painted Midge the Fishing Bear.

Jacqueline Orr - Painted Pierre-Loup and the Teddy Bear's Picnic.

Vanessa Lawrence - Painted Teddington the Barn Owl Bear.

Lynn Howarth - Painted Christopher's Memory Bear.

Madhumati Manda - Painted Saffron the Musical Bear.

Ewan McClure - Painted Mina the Messenger Bear.

Kath Pender - Painted the Washing-Line Bear.

Jan Ferguson - Painted Jock's 'Stinky Bear!'

I truly wanted this book to be extra special and to be beautifully illustrated by 12 professional artists. Every illustration plate of 'A Bear Called AH!' showcases each of the artist's talent and individual style; perfectly paired with their page of the story to show the unique diversity of each of the 12 bears.

This was a HUGE ask, when I approached the artists and ran the idea and concept past them, however, the first artist said an immediete 'Yes!', followed by a second, and a third, and within a few short days, 'TEAM BEAR' was established, with all happily and kindly gifting their paintings, to make this big idea of a book, become a reality.

All contributors have gifted their work and 100% of ALL proceeds will go to the Ayrshire Hospice

Richard Longmuir, Creative Director of Launch Digital

It takes a village to create a big project like this and it wouldn't have been possible without Richard's skills and expertise; he's a Wonderful Wizard when it comes to all things design!

Richard has helped me on numerous occasions with designing books and sorting out pesky website issues that us non-wizardy folks get tied up in knots about. He's patient, diligent, highly skilled, well-respected and has a big heart too. Richard has also kindly gifted his time and design for the project, to make one great big idea, into a beautiful gift book for this wonderful charity.

So a HUGE big thank you to Richard, from me, from TEAM BEAR and The Ayrshire Hospice

It takes a village...

Foreword written by

Roddy Martine.

Roddy Martine the wonderful author and journalist, has been kind enough to write a beautiful foreword for 'A Bear Called AH!'

He read the story, and not only did he thoroughly enjoy doing so, he completely agrees that you are never too old for a bear. He concludes with; 'I love this book. It makes you feel forever young.'

Here they both are, excited to meet fellow bear-loving friends...

Ann's Bear Shelf!

A shelf full of bears is like a shelf full of books; each one has a story to tell...

Ann Robin

Ann and I met through our mutual love of art, and we both enjoy being members of The Ayr Sketch Club .

When I told her about my idea about writing this book, she was inspired to bring along a painting of her bear collection, that proudly sits in her office. I fell in love with it immedietly, and I thought it would be a lovely image to close the story of the book. Ann was thrilled to be asked, but always the perfectionist, she wasn't happy enough with her first painting, so did another one! It's delightful!

Thomas.A.Aird

BSC (Hons) MRCPod IJT HCPC Registered

A big thank you to Podiatrist Thomas Aird of Sole Works Podiatry for sponsoring the photography shoot of the paintings, which has helped tremendously in creating this special book.

Thomas has been taking great care of my paws for some time now, and his support is much appreciated by everyone at Team Bear HQ and from the Ayrshire Hospice

Gallery 2 (Kilmarnock)

Each of the 12 paintings by the artists of 'Team Bear', shall be expertly framed by Will; making them ready to be exhibited and auctioned to raise funds for Ayrshire Hospice.

Gallery 2 - Picture Framers a much respected and highly recommended framing company by artists and galleries alike.

It's located at 72 John Finnie Street, Kilmarnock, KA1 1BS.

Tel 01563 550303

Brown Brothers Printers

Brown Brothers was first set up as a family business in the 1950s and for almost 40 years has been owned and run by the Boyle family. We’re now onto the second - and even third - generation, and that’s part of the reason we’re still here.

We are delighted to be printing this one-of-a-kind Gift Book. Just as the Teddy Bear is a timeless classic, we can't wait to have the first copies of 'A Bear Called AH!' roll off our timeless classic Heidelberg Press.

We are thrilled to be part of this wonderful initiative for Ayrshire Hospice . The artwork is absoluteley stunning and we know this is going to be something very special.

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