Winnipeg emigrated to Britain along with her owner, Captain Harry Colebourn, an army veterinary surgeon in the Canadian military. In 1915, as World War I raged, Captain Colebourn was sent to the front in France. Unable to take Winnipeg along, he donated her to the London Zoo, where she quickly became a star attraction. Colebourn purchased Winnipeg in White River, Ontario from a trapper who had killed the cub's mother for $20. She was named after Colebourn's hometown. In 1989, White River erected a statue commemorating Winnie-the-Pooh's namesake. (There was a bit of a to-do about this, as the Mouse believed only they had the right to erect statues and use the name Winnie-the-Pooh. As it is their most popular and profitable franchises, I can sort of see their point - OK, not really!) "Winnie" was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental mascot. Colebourn left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo, as she had become a much loved attraction there. Pooh the swan appears as a character in its own right in When We Were Very Young. After the war, Colebourn did post-graduate work at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in London, England and then, in 1920, he returned to Canada and started a private practice in Winnipeg. He retired in 1945 and died in September, 1947. He is buried in Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg. There is presently a statue of Colebourn and Winnie in Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo. As to the bear's colour - this was very newly post-Victorian-age, and black was a colour of mourning, not suitable for children's toys. I actually remember an episode of the American version of Antiques Roadshow where an expert got excited about valuating a black Steiff toy bear, so rare are they. The honey brown colour was the norm. The Pooh stories have been translated into many languages, including Alexander Lenard's Latin translation, Winnie ille Pu, which was first published in 1958, and, in 1960, became the only Latin book ever to have been featured on the New York Times Best Seller List. In popular film adaptations, Pooh Bear has been voiced by actors Sterling Holloway, Hal Smith and Jim Cummings in English, Yevgeny Leonov in Russian, and Shun Yashiro and Sukekiyo Kameyama in Japanese. So, there you go - from humble beginnings, a beloved cast of characters is born. Now to stars: I think everyone deserves stars today!! Thanks to All for playing - see you next week. Nancy. Here is a link that might be useful: One-Minute Story of Winnie the Pooh

Hi, I noticed a link to one of my blog posts here, so thought I'd say hello. My blog about design, gardening and art is based in sunny, hot, dry Southern California and my aesthetic bent is toward junk, industrial and flea market finds used in unique ways. Please feel free to check it out, I think your readers will find much to enjoy. Here're a couple of recent posts you might find interesting: Enjoy! http://ranchoreubidoux.com/2012/05/16/oxidized-opportunity/ http://ranchoreubidoux.com/2012/03/31/color-studies/ http://ranchoreubidoux.com/2012/03/11/backward-glance/ http://ranchoreubidoux.com/2012/02/08/strange-relations/ Here is a link that might be useful: Rancho Reubidoux

He did a beautiful job, Connie and I agree with you that when you are doing it, it's going to be done right! True that some diy projects look exactly like a diy project. As an example on my local Craigslist there's someone who clearly picks up furniture and throws a coat of chalk paint on it thinking they've transformed it. I'm not against painting a piece, but a coat of pale blue flat paint on a Queen Anne coffee table is NOT an improvement, imho. So you really have to ask yourself if you're improving a piece. Also, sometimes a post appears where there is only a tiny tiny budget, but they need a change. It makes me sad that tumbleweeds roll on by and spiderwebs grow on those posts.

They are now offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the killer. The truck has been identified as a Nissan Frontier with crew cab, I think it's black, definitely very dark. I am hoping with the increase in rewards someone will be talking. Here's pictures of the lady and her husband. This needs to be solved!