Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Furwell, Paddington
Michael Bond dies at 91... friends say writer was as lovable as his iconic bear
You can tell how lovely he was. I never came across anybody who disliked father
KAREN JANKEL DAUGHTER OF AUTHOR MICHAEL BOND
CHILDREN’S author Michael Bond was every bit as charming as his creation Paddington Bear, friends said yesterday after his death at the age of 91. Michael was praised as “a true gentleman, a bon viveur, the most entertaining company and the most enchanting of writers”. He wrote the first Paddington book after seeing a toy bear left on a shelf at Selfridges department store, London, on Christmas Eve in 1956. He bought it as a present for his wife. In A Bear Called Paddington, the lovable character from Peru arrived at Paddington railway station wearing his trademark duffel coat, red wellington boots, suitcase stuffed with marmalade sandwiches and with a label saying: “Please look after this bear. Thank you”. Michael’s daughter Karen Jankel, 58, said: “He was the most wonderful father you can imagine. “You can tell just by reading his books what a lovely person he was. I never came across anybody who disliked my father.” She said he was “writing until the end”. Ann-janine Murtagh, of Harpercollins, added: “I feel privileged to have been Michael Bond’s publisher. “The iconic Paddington touched my own heart as a child and he will live on in the hearts of future generations.”
KINDLY
Hugh Bonneville, who played Mr Brown in the 2015 film adaptation and will soon be seen in the follow up, said: “It seems particularly poignant that we should learn of dear Michael Bond’s death on the last day of shooting our second film.” And Stephen Fry tweeted: “He was as kindly, dignified, charming and lovable as the immortal Paddington Bear he gave us.” Paddington’s adventures were chronicled in more than 20 books, the last published in April. They have sold more than 35 million copies in more than 40 languages. Michael also created The Herbs, featuring Parsley the Lion, which became a TV series, and the tale-telling guinea pig, Olga da Polga. Adults were delighted by his Monsieur Pamplemousse books about a retired detective turned restaurant critic and his bloodhound, Pommes Frites. The father of two died at home in London after a short illness, his publisher said.