February will see the launch of Tag ‘n’ Tell, a community release programme from The Bear Club.

Giving Old Bears a New Lease of Life

Starting in February, the TBC Team will begin to release groups of teddy bears in different towns around the world – each one with pre-registered TBC membership and wearing a Tag ‘n’ Tell label containing details of how to start blogging on The Bear Club.

Where Do These Teddies Come From?

The Bear Club has already started collecting unwanted teddy bears – via donations, charity shops, jumble sales, car boot sales, etc – ready for release.

Where Will These ‘Releases’ Take Place?

Groups of teddy bears will be released in all sorts of places – on park benches, in cafes, train stations, town centres – and in countries all around the world. Bears will also be sent to children’s hospitals, community projects and charities. The first series of releases from mid February will take place in the UK (Derbyshire, West Midlands & Cornwall), Taiwan and the Dominican Republic (keep an eye on News & Events for further details).

If I find a Tag ‘n’ Tell Teddy, What Do I Do?

Attached to every teddy bear you’ll find an identity label which contains instructions of what to do next and how to add your first blog on The Bear Club. Your new teddy is pre-registered as a member on TBC and even has a profile photo already on. Just log in with the username and password provided and start blogging. Oh, and yes…. the teddy bear is now yours to keep forever (if you choose).  If you decide to just ‘foster’ the bear for a while, we can email you a Re-Release Label when you’re ready to put him back in to the wild.

Do You Have Any Unwanted Teddy Bears?

If you have unwanted teddy bears to send us to tag and release, then please contact us at tagntell@googlemail.com

Want to Tag ‘n’ Tell & Release Some Bears Yourself?

You can buy TBC Tag ‘n’ Tell Identity Labels by Clicking Here so you can start releasing teddies yourself.

Was This Campaign Inspired by the Message of Hope from Secretary of State for Teddy Bears Tat?

Yes. Lets give old bears a new lease of life.

We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas holiday filled with love, laughter and a great big bucket full of silliness.

Don’t forget to let us know what you’ve been up to – we can’t wait to see those blogs.

Lots of love.  Fred Bear & the TBC Team x

With the 31st October fast approaching, it’s time to get creepy with this month’s competition and our Halloween Theme!

For your chance to win two Halloween Teddy Bears, all you need to do is upload a blog with a spooky theme: This could be your teddy bear in a Halloween costume, a spooky poem, a scary story…. or anything else you can think of to fit our theme.

You can upload as many entries for the competition as you want (in fact, the more the better) and we’ll pick a winner at the end of October. If your teddy bear is not currently a member of The Bear Club don’t worry, just sign up now to take part.

Click Here for full competition rules & regulations

September’s Bear Buddies Competition Winner

Congratulations to Adre for winning last month’s competition with this photo of his bear buddy Cheli.

His prize, Matthias Breiter’s wonderful book, ‘Bears – A Year in the Life’, is on its way.

Want to add a banner or text link to The Bear Club on your own website?  It’s really easy to do – just choose one of the options below.



Option 1 – Add a Banner (468×72)

(i)

(ii)

Either copy and save one of the images above and add it to your site, linking it to www.thebearclub.co.uk, or email us at thebearclub@googlemail.com for the code to put in to your HTML editor.


Option 2 – Add a Text Link

Just add a simple text link on your website pointing to www.thebearclub.co.uk or email us at thebearclub@googlemail.com for the code to put in to your HTML editor.  Example text:

The Bear Club – the website that brings your teddy bear to life via its very own blogs. Add photos of your teddy bear and share its stories and adventures with other teddy bear members. The site is also packed with other features, such as competitions, wild bear conservation, videos and games.



If you would like a reciprical link on our Friends of TBC page, please contact us at thebearclub@googlemail.com with:-

Your website name
Website description
URL

All we ask is that you place a link to our site first.

So, what’s been happening at The Bear Club and what else is in the pipeline?  Lots, you’ll be pleased to hear!

New Features
The home page had a slight make-over recently and it was very exciting to see the Clan Leaders being brought to life with a little animation.  It certainly helps their individual characteristics to shine through.  The page navigation thumbnails also make it easier to get to those previously tucked away little gems.  There are more exciting little features being added to the site over the coming weeks, so keep your big brown bear eyes peeled.

Improved Forum
Our Message Board, the place for the people behind The Bear Club teddy bears to communicate, also benefited from some new features.  It’s now possible to add your own profile photo and avatars, as well as send messages directly to other members.  There are also more topics to discuss and additional smileys to send, so please get posting and tell us what’s on your mind :-))

TBC on the Radio
Goldie, one of our teddy bear reporters, was thrilled to be invited in to Radio Taiwan International earlier this week as word began to spread around Taiwan of his travels and reports from the area, a short video clip of which can be seen Here.  Darren, from The Bear Club Team, was equally thrilled to be interviewed by the station and was asked about TBC and the travels and adventures of Goldie.  Click Here and go to Monday’s schedule to listen to the interview in full.  The ball is definately starting to roll – don’t worry Harry, you’ll be on the Richard & Judy show before you know it!

TBC in Print
Talking of media appearances, the July issue of Teddy Bear Scene magazine (on sale from 12th June) will see a full-page feature on The Bear Club, so make sure you rush out to buy a copy (if you’re not already a subscriber).  The article, written by Sophie Douglas, covers all things TBC, from it’s conception and history to a run-down of the site’s features.  The Bear Club was approached by the magazine when they became aware of the buzz we were creating in the teddy bear world.

Post News to your Facebook & MySpace Pages
You can now add a summary of the latest News & Events entry to your other social networking sites and share them with friends.  Just click on the ‘Share’ icon on the home page and a small paragraph summary and thumbnail image will be added to whichever site you choose.  Help us to spread the TBC word!

May’s Competition – My Town
I can’t wait to see more of your ‘My Town’ entries!  Those already posted have been fantastic.  It’s so good to see teddy bears out and about in their local towns, strutting their stuff in public and letting the world know that we’ve come alive!  If you haven’t done one yet, just take your teddy in to your local town, village or city and take a pic of him (or her) in front of a local landmark.  Many thanks to Freddie & Boris for sponsoring one of the prizes.  For more information on the competition Click Here.

Basindo Fights Back
Following the results of April’s Clan League Table, Basindo remains optimistic that he can attract more new members and claw his way up from the bottom of the table.  I spoke to him recently and although he was initially quite upset, he was encouraged by the loyalty and kind messages from his current supporters.  The next instalment of ‘Tales From a Forgotten Room: The Bear Club Story’, in which Basindo takes the leading role, will definately improve his popularity!

Are My Predictions for 2008 Coming True?
My alter-ego Mystic Fred made some very bold predictions for 2008 – have any of them come true for you so far?  Pisces – have you managed to stop giggling inanely yet?  Remember Scorpios, be very wary of that stranger on roller-skates on the 25th of this month, there’ll be something very shifty about them!  If you have no idea what I’m going on about, take a look at my Horoscopes Page.  I have some new predictions for a particular celebrity, which I’ll share with you very soon.

The Bear Club Takes Off
It’s always very difficult for a new website to get noticed, but thanks to the quality of blogs being posted and the hard work of our team behind the scenes, the number of people now visiting the site is increasing rapidly, with hundreds checking us out each day!  This will soon be thousands and then who knows…. maybe even tens of thousands…millions…billions…. trillions….. oh my….I need to calm down!

So folks, keep those blogs coming – you’re making a lot of people smile )

Take care.  Love Fred x

We want to get you and your teddy bear out of the house. Actually, to be more precise, we want to embarrass you by getting you out of the house and in to your home town to take photos with half the neighbourhood looking at you. Go on, we dare ya…..it’ll be great fun!

If you’re teddy bear is not currently a member of The Bear Club don’t worry, just sign up now to take part.

All you have to do is:

Take a photo of your teddy bear in your home town (in front of a local landmark for example)

Tell us about your home town and the photo in your blog (why you like it or why you chose that particular landmark for example)

Remember…. the photo must be taken outside.

At the end of May we’ll read through all of your blogs and choose the best ‘My Town’ post. The winner will recieve a TBC Clan Mug of their choice (sponsored by Freddie & Boris) and a TBC Mouse Mat.

Competition Rules & Regulations

This competition is open to all members of The Bear Club, with the exception of employees of the The Bear Club Ltd and their families or anyone else connected with this competition.

Entries must be posted by the closing date of midinight on 31st May 2008. The Bear Club accepts no responsibility for any entries that are incomplete, illegible or fail to reach the The Bear Club by the closing date for any reason.

Members may post as many ‘My Town’ entries to their blogs as they want.

To enter the competition just post the relevant content to your blog.

Winner will be selected by The Bear Club managers. The decision of The Bear Club as to the winner will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Details of prizes are stated in the competition information and are subject to change up to and including the final entry date. No cash alternative will be offered to prizes.

The winner will be notified by e-mail within one week of the closing date and receive their prize soon afterwards.

Competition winners will be displayed on www.thebearclub.co.uk website.

By entering the free competition each entrant agrees to be bound by these rules.

Which Clan are you in?

Choosing which Clan your teddy bear should belong to is a key part of joining The Bear Club. It’s a decision which shouldn’t be taken lightly. After all, by reading each of the Clan Leader Profiles and making your choice, you are reflecting the characteristics of your own teddy. Once a member of a particular Clan, your teddy bear will share a common bond with other like-minded members for the rest of his life. Be proud of the Clan you join!

Read more about TBC Clans | Read The Bear Club Story | Buy Clan Merchandise

It’ll be interesting to see if things change much by the end of May. Watch this space….

The amazing teddy bear Goldie reports for The Bear Club from the traditional Taiwanese village of Wulai, just south of Taipei city. He rides in a cablecar, does a daring rope swing, and has a rather rude encounter…