Soft Toys!

Now it's my Lord Of The Rings pillow. It's skanky, it's smelly, I've thrown up on it several times, but it lives in my bed and if any boyfriend tried to get rid of it, I would get rid of him.

My bf gave me the cutest floppy plush puppydog some time ago who we named "Dawg" (I'm original aint I?), and hes so cuddly and squooshy and I've been so stressed lately Ive taken to cuddling him feircely in bed. I dont know if my partner minds this, heh. I dont think so. But thats one bear, not like a bajillion.

The oldest one I have is a panda which I got when I was a few months old. He has weathered surprisingly well. I think if there was a fire he'd be the first inanimate thing I'd save, if possible. Isabel also still has her oldest bear. The most recent is a small turtle I bought at Glastonbury, I was taken with its mournful face.

Hey! Take that back. I have a Steiff stuffed animal. An old one, so probably quite pricey. It's a turtle and LOVELY. Much nicer than your damned cheapo animals. ;-))

I had an ill-advised ruthless moment a while ago and threw away Louise, my oldest teddy who accompanied me through every heartbreak for 20-odd years. Happily, I recently discovered my second oldest teddy, Smudge, at my mum's house, and he is now sitting on my bookshelf. I only sleep with him when Matt's away though...

My mum recently bought me a stuffed rhino to replace Billy, forked out quite a bit for him but he doesn't make the grade - he's too 'good' to get all armpitted and his horn impedes cuddling.

-The aforementioned fat mouse, who's called Ball (I wasn't always that original as a kid).

-A German gay gorilla called Günther, given to me by my cousin as a birthday present (this was soon after I found out about the lost toys, I think that's what inspired her to give it to me). How do I know he's gay? Well, he wears a leather biker cap, a leather vest, and skintight trainer pants (I'm not making this up, that's what he came equipped with). He's been with me to several trips, and I almost forgot him in a hostel in Riga.

-A talking Estonian piglet called Raivo. I got him from this one girl I sorta went out with. What exactly is he saying remains a mystery, but it's a highly controversial issue.

-A lion called John the Small. He was a Christmas present from my mom, she was probably trying to make up for the loss of the old animals. His name was given to him by one of my oldest, closest friends, which has made him more special.

-A puppet/stuffed toy mouse called Natasha. She was given to me by my then closest friend Jenny, and named by the same girl as John the Small, so I have lot's of love for her too.

-A so far unnamed fish-like creature, received as a gift last Christmas from another close friend. She/he is yellow and looks kinda goofy, I'm not sure what exactly is she/he supposed to be.

my first teddy, a small white bear, very worn by now but I still love it and will never let it go. I probably think to give it a hug about once a year, which isn't enough.

another childhood teddy that I saw in a jumble sale and insisted I had to have. It looks as if it was made by someone less than competent in the craft, and has odd bulges on its head and is a bit uneven. It gives it a wonderfully confused look. I can just about conceive of giving it up, but it's been with the white one for so long that it's hard to think of separating them.

one recent addition, a gift, a beautiful tiger that perches on my monitor, several inches above these words. As a physical object it isn't so important, and it's the person and the sentiments associated with the giving that make it as important to me as the first one.