Oct 13, 2008

Me & Paddington Bear

Google's famous simple search engine screen today featured the winsome form of Paddington Bear - making up the "l" in Google, as it were. It turns out the spectacled bear from Darkest Peru first appeared in print exactly 50 years ago today.

I share my birthday with Paddington Bear!

This was lovely news, as I've always been a bit disappointed with the selection of famous people who share my birthday. Ian Thorpe - I don't have particularly big feet and I'm quite confident in my sexuality. Margaret Thatcher - I've got big hair but I also have something else the Iron Lady didn't... um, what was it again... oh yes! Compassion.

But Paddington Bear is sweet, and certainly has an appetite similar to mine (although I'm not really a fan of marmalade sandwiches).

Anyway, I thought I'd do a search for people born on my birthday, and it turns out there are in fact some cool names that pop up. For starters, Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for nine days way back in 1553. Sure, she was an unfortunate puppet in a struggle over succession, but at least she was smart. Then there's Lillie Langtry, the Victorian vaudevillian actor and renowned beauty who had an affair with the future Edward VIII.
Born on the same day in 1925 as the aforementioned Maggie Thatcher, but destined for a very, very different life, is the American comedian Lenny Bruce.

But that's probably about as cool as it gets. Marie Osmond. Ari Fleischer. Rob Schneider. Kelly Preston. To be frank, it's all a bit second-rate.

So hats off to Paddington Bear, the coolest character to ever share a birthday with. I'd have a Knickerbocker Glory, but after the soy lime chicken breast with coconut risotto at the Continental Cafe, and the delicious strawberry & cream sponge cake that my friend Jazzman brought over for dessert, I'm a bit full.

11 comments:

  1. Congratulations on not dying yet!

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  2. Happy Birthday and many, many more to you.

    Always a 'Bear of Small Brain' fan myself.

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  3. Happy happy b'day! Paddington Bear rocks. And Lenny Bruce isn't too damn shabby either. Take heart, the only famous person I share mine with (that I know of) is Dennis Waterman of Stockman, Aitken & Waterman fame. I read that once somewhere.

    Woo-bloody-hoo.

    Hope you had an awesome day! x

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  4. many happy returns

    let me guess

    25/26?

    oh + 9 months

    cheers

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  5. Rob Schnieder? Second rate? You obviously haven't seen his ongoing dramatic piece about a man, under severe financial stress, is forced into prostitution. It's a gritty tale about the world's oldest profession and the tortured, loveless souls who need human contact do badly they degrade themselves into using his services.

    Award winning stuff!

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  6. I share my birthday with Garfield. :)

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  7. And the upside of all?....

    At least it wasn't.......

    Donny Osmond...

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  8. And a Happy BearDay to you Girlclumsy!

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  9. You must be incredibly old now Nat. Amazing what good living can do!

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  10. Thanks for your birthday wishes, everyone!

    It's very kind of you all.

    I hope you keep reading my adventures over the coming year. I have some big plans, and hopefully they will come to fruition.

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  11. Hope you've had a fab and groovy birthday m'dear! And Paddington Bear is an AWESOME birthday buddy to have!

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