You didn’t have to go down to the woods on Sunday, August 13, because that was the day the teddy bears had their picnic in…..Tenby Harbour!

As part of their tercentenary celebrations, the Freemasons of the Province of West Wales held a teddy bears picnic to showcase the TLC Appeal, the wonderful Masonic charity that donates teddy bears to hospital A&E departments for medical staff to give to children that are sick, injured or severely traumatised. The teddies are used to calm and befriend children, and even to help demonstrate what is wrong with them. They are a very effective aid and are much-loved by children, parents and medical staff alike.

The event marked the fact that over two million teddies have now been distributed across the UK since the appeal was launched in Essex in 2001, and the Province of West Wales, who adopted the scheme in 2005, have recently passed a milestone of their own having distributed over 25,000 teddies to the four hospitals in the Province.

The teddy bears picnic was organised by Steve Thurgood, of Tenby Masonic Lodge, who is the TLC Appeal coordinator for our province, and was very ably assisted by several members of Tenby Lodge who turned out on behalf of the province to ensure the event was a success.

And a success it was! It was a beautiful afternoon and the crowds rolled into the harbour for the summer spectacular activities. The TLC stand soon got busy and children that were with their parents could choose from a large selection of free picnic food, and try to win a TLC teddy bear in a lucky draw. Over 40 children won a teddy and those that didn’t were given sweets, stickers and teddy bear masks as consolation prizes so everyone went away happy. It was heart-warming to see the reaction of children receiving teddies and prizes. It was also encouraging to hear from a number of visitors that their children had received a teddy during a past hospital visit, indeed one lady said that her four-year-old son had received one only two days earlier at Withybush after attending with a large bump on the head!

Everyone that visited the stall was given a TLC Appeal leaflet and an explanation of how the scheme works and who is behind it, which was generally received with interest and appreciation. Indeed, while it was made clear to all that the event was promotional and intended only to increase awareness of the TLC Appeal, a good number of parents felt moved to leave donations which were gratefully received.

Since it’s launch, the TLC Appeal has become highly successful and popular, and has done as much as any Masonic charity to raise public awareness. It is an excellent example of freemasonry in the community, and hopefully the Freemasons of West Wales will be able to continue to provide our hospitals with these cuddly companions for many years to come.