Other than having similarly colored and textured fur, I’m willing to be that most of you don’t associate noted Peruvian bear Paddington and famed auto journalist Jeremy Clarkson. I know I sure as hell didn’t. Paddington is a bear well-dressed for inclement weather and the best-known fictional animal named for a London railway/Underground station (significantly more popular than the runner up, Whitechapel Weasel), and Jeremy Clarkson is one of the most famous auto journalists ever, best known for his work on Top Gear, being funny but curmudgeonly, and decking a BBC producer when he didn’t get a steak. So different, and yet these two have an unexpectedly entwined history. I’ll explain.
Now, I can’t take credit for discovering this connection; The Mirror ran a story about this, and, even better, the explanation seems to have been in plain sight on the official Paddington website for who knows how long. It’s hardly been hidden, but I find it kind of surprising how little known it seems to be, especially in auto journalism-focused communities like the ones that surround me like the candy shell of a Skittle surrounds whatever the hell is inside a Skittle.
Essentially, the story goes like this: During Christmas (if you’re unfamiliar, this is a gift-giving holiday associated with the Christian religion, similar to Michaelmas, but with an indoor tree) of 1972, a woman named Shirley Clarkson wanted to make a special toy for her two children, Joanna and Jeremy, of a literary character I assume they were fond of, the aforementioned Paddington Bear. She made one, for two kids, it seems? Okay.
This plush rendering of Paddington turned out to be the first physical, cuddleable manifestation of the famous bear, and as such Shirley’s toy got a lot of attention, prompting her to make more, eventually selling them under the company name Gabrielle Designs, in local shops.
Not surprisingly, eventually Paddington author Michael Bond found out that his character was the subject of bootleg toys, and wasn’t thrilled. According to the story in The Mirror, when Jeremy Clarkson’s parents went to London to speak with Bond’s lawyers about the whole thing, they rode in an elevator (I guess they called it a “lift”) with Bond, and, um, bonded, the result being that Bond granted the Clarksons a license to produce stuffed Paddingtons.
This seemed to work out well for everyone, as the Clarksons made good money from the venture (eventually selling the license to British toy company Hamleys) and the revenue helped send Clarkson to good schools, which is where he presumably learned something about writing in English, which he then put to the only reasonable use of English, writing or talking about cars, as much as possible.
The only other example I can think of that has to do with something automotive relating to a non-car-related toy may require a bit of a lateral move to the dog world: The Kong.
I’ve written about this before, but, in case you were unaware, the well-known (especially among our canine readers) chew toy called a Kong was designed based on a rubber suspension bump stop used in Volkswagen Type 2 buses.
So, there you go. Two unexpected connections between something automotive and something toy-related. And I didn’t even mention the VW Bus toy I helped design, not even once!
Jeremy has actually mentioned his stuffed bear on Top Gear before! Not sure what episode but he mentioned he has a threadbare, tattered stuffed bear that means the world to him.
Wow, the guerilla marketing for the new episode of The Grand Tour that was released today sure is getting esoteric.
So, who would like to see Paddington’s lap?
Double entendre much?
Oh wow, I always thought Kongs were a sex toy!
Now I can’t help but see my dogs, playing with their Cong’s as somewhat the opposite of a grease gun.
“Stop de-lubricating the suspension parts girls!”
Note to self: Make a peanut butter/cheese filled grease gun tube and buy a new grease gun to keep in the kitchen.
Thanks Autopian, my automotive nerdome is now leaking into every aspect of my existence.
Going forward I will now be questioning where to put away certain tools.
Tool box or Kitchen drawer? Is the name of the game, first object…
Turkey Baster?
Wait… my toolbox leaked into my kitchen years ago and vis versa. A plastic paint scraper is my go to for cleaning a butcher block (tomato guts, fish scales be gone) and a small steak knife comes in handy when removing old, stuck on rubber hosing.
I’ve also heard that Clarkson has the first recorded use of the word Yeet, although he did not use it quite how we do now.
❤️Hі) Мy nаme іs Pаula, Іm 24 yеars оld) Bеginning SЕХ mоdel 18+) І lоve bеing phоtographed іn thе nudе) Plеase ratе my phоtos аt ➤ https://ja.cat/id378076
This article and particularly the random Kong toy tidbit are what I come here for.
Whitechapel Weasel!
Come for the cars, stay for the laughs at The Autopian dot com.
And via a quick shortcut, Mornington Crescent!
Paddington station is less of a railway station and more of a toy shop these days. The stuff toys are everywhere!
And yeah, I suspect Clarkson did something unspeakably nasty to his toy when he got older.
I had a Paddington Bear in the early 80’s. Wish I still had it today, as it would probably be worth something (mildly significant) to someone somewhere.
“wanted to make a special toy for her two children, Joanna and Jeremy”
“She made one, for two kids, it seems? Okay”
If there’s one thing the British are known for it’s primogeniture so it’s all too likely that Joanna was simply left out in the cold.
Clarkson was young once? I thought he was born a grey haired curmudgeon.
His parents dyed his hair as a youth because a grey haired kid would be weird.
The Crash Test Dummies have verified this.
Excellent reference.
While I am aware of Mr Torchinsky’s actual nationality, this piece really shines if one reads it while pretending they are the Marquess of Someplace-or-Other. Quite…
See, for me it was reversed. When my oldest was a kid learning to read, she loved Paddington, and so we read about his history together. And when I read about how it was made for the kids, and described Jeremy Clarkson as a ‘famous auto journalist’. So, that led me to Top Gear which I found hilarious, and then eventually to places like Jalopnik, and now here.
So, yeah, before 2007 or 2008, I didn’t know anything about Top Gear or that auto journalism could be (potentially) funny and not super technical.
That’s a great ‘origin story’!
Wait, i knew something vaguely car related before the almighty Torch? My world view is crumbling!
How hard could it be?
Paddington Bear, the cutest plushy toy, …. in the wooorld!
Michael Bond sounds like he was a decent guy
So this was the first plush Paddington, In The World?
I commented before reading. Great minds and all.
Just imagine what Clarkson would be like if he hadn’t had a plush bear to cuddle when young. The mind boggles.
Probably dictator of some small island nation, or joining forces with Adrian Newey (they both went to the same high school IIRC) and running an F1 team in a way that would make ex-Mclaren boss Ron Dennis look like Bob Ross in comparison.
That producer he clocked just needed his nookie.
You don’t understand; while he claims to have loved the bear as a child, he secretly resented this undocumented immigrant living in his own house who got a lot more attention and had a lot more success and who even got to have tea with the Queen! That is what caused Clarkson to be the racist, anti-immigrant asshole he is today.