Credit : http://www.student-weekly.com

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Cuddly craze
By Ubonwan Pongpat, Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb
...DJ Poom treasures his teddies...

Teddy bears are hugely popular with collectors all over the world. For a lot of grownups, they can be a sweet reminder of the carefree days of childhood. They can also be worth a lot of money.

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• Did you know •
The teddy bear is widely believed to be named after former US president Theodore Roosevelt, who once refused to shoot a caged bear as part of a photo opportunity.

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Despite their international popularity, you might find it unusual that a bearded 28-year-old guy, who has also collected guns as a hobby, would have a collection of teddy bears that’s his pride and joy. However strange it may seem to others, Poomjai Tangsanga (DJ Poom) from FM 95.5 Virgin Radio isn’t the least bit embarrassed by his fluffy fascination.

The first thing you notice when you visit DJ Poom’s home is a living room that’s completely packed with cuddly bears, all neatly and lovingly arranged in rows. But they’re not just any old, run-of-the-mill stuffed toys. These bears are all from Harrods in London, one of the most famous upscale department stores in the world.

...LADS OF CHAOS...

DJ Poom spent most of his childhood in London, and for the past 17 years he’s been collecting Harrods bears. He hasn’t always been a fan of soft and loveable toys, though.

DJ Poom’s mother always wanted a daughter but ended up having three boys. Undeterred, she bought her sons Barbie dolls and other girlie toys — toys that the brothers would promptly destroy in the most violent and ghastly manner possible. That all changed in 1990, when she brought home a Harrods bear for the first time.

According to DJ Poom, English kids usually get their first teddy bear when they’re born. After watching all his friends grow up with their cuddly toys, DJ Poom grew to appreciate the tradition.

...BEARS REPEATING ...

Every Christmas, Harrods launches a new bear with the store’s logo and the date on one of its paws. Year after year, DJ Poom braved the hours-long queues of people waiting to purchase the newest teddy. If, after a long wait, there were no more bears available, he would hightail it to the Harrods outlet at Heathrow Airport to make sure his Christmas was merry.

Now that DJ Poom lives in Thailand, he can’t get his fuzzy friends as easily as he used to. Fortunately for him, friends of his mother’s in London know how crazy he is for Harrods teddy bears and make sure he gets the latest one every year.

* Vocabulary *

-cuddly (adj): soft and designed to be cuddled

-run-of-the-mill (adj): ordinary, with no special or interesting features

-upscale (adj): designed for or used by people who belong to a high social class

-undeterred (adj): if somebody is undeterred by something, they do not allow it to stop them from doing something

-ghastly (adj): very frightening and unpleasant

-paw (n): the foot of an animal that has claws or nails

-brave (v): to have to deal with something difficult or unpleasant in order to achieve something

-queue (n): a line of people, cars, etc. waiting for something

-outlet (n): a store that sells goods made by a particular company or of a particular type

* Idioms *

-pride and joy: a person or a thing that causes somebody to feel great pleasure or satisfaction

-hightail it: to go somewhere very quickly