Huddlesford's Mission

You might remember reading about our friend Huddlesford Bear, who we found in 2021 at Huddlesford Junction, where the Lichfield Canal used to join the Coventry Canal.  Huddles was intrigued to discover that a group of dedicated humans from the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust are busy restoring the Lichfield Canal, and even more excited when he found out that bears and pets could join their society.

 

He saved up some of his pocket money and asked Polar and Grizzly if they would join too, and soon he had a smart certificate with his name on.  Better than that, he also had an invitation to become a mascot for the Trust and to spend the summer and autumn with them, so he could see the work taking place and meet some of the volunteers.

“I’m going to recruit lots of other Small Bears to help them,” said Huddlesford.  “That’s my mission!”

“That’s bear-illiant,” I said.  “I’m sure Polar will make you some overalls and a hi-vis coat to wear when you’re out on site, so you can help out without getting lost or accidently stepped on or run over.”

We all got quite worried about the accidents that might befall him, but Huddlesford promised that he would be a very careful and sensible bear, so it was arranged that he would start his mission at the Brownhills Canal Festival in August.  Hanley Bear and I insisted on going with him, to approve his temporary human guardian, Christine Howles from the LHCRT. 

 

We were delighted to find a whole boatful of other bears at the festival and, when we met Mrs Christine, we all agreed she was nice and could be trusted to take care of our pal.  We all had a fantastic day at the festival before giving Huddles lots of hugs and wishing him luck.

After we left Huddlesford, Mrs Christine took him to have snacks at the cake boat and the marmalade boat, which is the best way to make a small bear feel welcome, then took him home him to read about all the work the Trust were doing in their Cuts Both Ways magazine.

 

Huddlesford was soon having great adventures with the Trust.  Sometimes he was supervising the volunteers and contractors building and excavating, and sometimes he was helping to plant trees and hedging plants.  At the end of the day, everyone got a hug from him for working so hard.

 

Although there are no boats on the canal at the moment, because most of it isn’t in water, Huddles says there are plenty of things for people to see and do if they visit, because the Trust have made canal walks and wildlife parks to explore.  And he says there are plenty of nice benches for them to sit on, to rest and eat their sandwiches.

    

There are even milestones to help people know how far they have travelled, with a certain Small Bear’s name on them!

 

Huddlesford always remembered to wear his bright orange jacket on site, especially when there were big machines about.  One day, when they were checking out the work at Darnford Moors, Huddlesford wandered quite a long way from Mrs Christine, as he wanted to see what a big tractor was doing.  Then he realised it was coming straight towards him!  

  

Huddles jumped about and waved so that the tractor driver could see him, as he had promised us all he would not to get run over.  The tractor driver stopped and picked him up, put him safely up in the cab and even let Huddles have a go at driving the tractor.  Huddles learned that one very important job with canals that need restoring is to keep vegetation clear of the parts you need to work on.  

Huddlesford thought driving the tractor was really cool, but not as cool as the big concrete culvert sections, ready to go under Darnford Lane. 

“I wonder if they’ll let me work the crane to hoist the rest of these into position?” he thought to himself.

   

He was still busy thinking about a career in civil engineering when he heard Mrs Christine calling him and realised it was time for afternoon tea, so he ran as fast as he could back to her, as he could smell scones and jam.

 

Mrs Christine said to Huddlesford that, if he was going to be a civil engineer, he ought to have a proper hard hat, so she found a Small Bear sized one for him (possibly for a smaller bear!).

Huddlesford helped with office-based jobs too, like sending the annual reminders for subscription renewals, selling tickets and drawing the raffle.  And he kept posting about his adventures on social media, to encourage more of his bear friends to join.

  

But his favourite thing was going out with Mrs Christine to visit places along the route of the canal, meeting the volunteers and giving them hugs.

  

Huddlesford’s proudest moment came when he found he was on the Trust’s Christmas cards for 2022.  Of course, we had to buy several packs so we could send them to all our Small Bear friends.

 

Finally, at the beginning of December, it was time for Huddles to pack his things and come home.  Mrs Christine and Mr Bob from LHCRT were coming to talk to our IWA branch and were bringing Huddles back to us at the same time.  

 

We were all thrilled to see him again and to hear about his adventures and we hope to visit some of the places he saw when we are on our canal journeys this year, and maybe go to the Brownhills Festival again this summer, or even the Huddlesford Gathering in September.

Huddlesford says to remember that fellow Small Bears and pets can still join the LHCRT for just £5, which is very good value.  We think the IWA should do something similar, as there are lots of boating bears and pets.

Meanwhile, there is a new apprentice civil engineering bear helping out at the LHCRT – we think his name might be Ogley Bear!

 

Photos from Christine Howles, LHCRT