Musings from the Merse
Friday, August 20, 2010
Voytek again.
I promised not to blog about the Polish fighting bear but the Berwickshire has several columns on the beast
Apparently the indefatigble Mrs O has hopes that Voytek the Polish soldier bear is after all to have a statue of him erected in Duns although he had no connection with the place. Voytek did his drinking and smoking elsewhere in the Borders based at Winfield Airport near Paxton. But Mrs O is bringing out a book on the fighting drinking beast and any publicity will not do her scribblings any harm. Let us hope that any statue is more prepossesing than the rather camp one put up to commemorate Duns' most famous son-no not Jim Clark, but Duns Scrotus who was apparently born in Dunse or Duns is called after him. Duns Scrotus or Scotus wore the origin of the first Dunce's Cap-he was a controversial figure and was thought a bit slow if not daowright heretical in his docrine.
THe bear bears watching. And save your pennies for Mrs O's tome. Disapointed in her parliamentary efforts her writing career can hardly be less sucessfull.
Can it ?
I promised not to blog about the Polish fighting bear but the Berwickshire has several columns on the beast
Apparently the indefatigble Mrs O has hopes that Voytek the Polish soldier bear is after all to have a statue of him erected in Duns although he had no connection with the place. Voytek did his drinking and smoking elsewhere in the Borders based at Winfield Airport near Paxton. But Mrs O is bringing out a book on the fighting drinking beast and any publicity will not do her scribblings any harm. Let us hope that any statue is more prepossesing than the rather camp one put up to commemorate Duns' most famous son-no not Jim Clark, but Duns Scrotus who was apparently born in Dunse or Duns is called after him. Duns Scrotus or Scotus wore the origin of the first Dunce's Cap-he was a controversial figure and was thought a bit slow if not daowright heretical in his docrine.
THe bear bears watching. And save your pennies for Mrs O's tome. Disapointed in her parliamentary efforts her writing career can hardly be less sucessfull.
Can it ?
Labels: BBC. Broadcasting House. Duns, Duns Scotus, Voytek
Friday, April 03, 2009
Voytek the Soldier Bear - Redbraes Scottish & Polish War Memorial
Originally uploaded by Flying Badger
EVEN HARDER TO BEAR
It appears from this image (thankyou Flying Badger) that the wretched Voytek/Wojtek-see post immediately below, already has a memorial in a public space in Edinburgh-Redbraes Park. So why does Mrs O want another one-even if it is to be lifesize.
So whose money is to be wasted on this.?
In the middle of a recession!
Labels: Mrs O, Polish Bear, Voytek, Wojtek
Hard to Bear
It seems that when ever the Berwickshire News is short of, er, news it will produce yet another item about the world's most boring and overblown animal-the smoking, swearing, fighting,etc Polish Bear : Voytek.Aka Wojtek. The latest effusion is here
One wonders who paid for this knees up in the Scottish Parliament and who can really think that charity funds are appropriately spent in financing a statue in Edinburgh to this beast-hardly an inspiration for the modern generation of human kind never mind a new litter of cubs.
The hard copy Berwickshire has a picture of some worthies at the parliamentary reception including the indefatigable Mrs O who has been the brains and the brawn behind this campaign although I think she would have preferred to have the memorial in Hutton where Voytek was once stationed with his Polish comrades. One can only hope that she will be satisfied with an erection in Embra thus leaving Hutton (relatively) unpolluted.
Disapointingly for one who is adept at self publicity she has been bumped from the electronic Berwickshire by the equally camera friendly Mr Lamont, our Tory MSP. Wherever there is a sniff of a good (?) news story he is there taking as much credit as he can-any band wagon will do; what the vote nabbing value of this one is I have severe doubts but it seems to be his philosophy that when two or three people are gathered together, shake all their hands
And bring a cameraman
It seems that when ever the Berwickshire News is short of, er, news it will produce yet another item about the world's most boring and overblown animal-the smoking, swearing, fighting,etc Polish Bear : Voytek.Aka Wojtek. The latest effusion is here
One wonders who paid for this knees up in the Scottish Parliament and who can really think that charity funds are appropriately spent in financing a statue in Edinburgh to this beast-hardly an inspiration for the modern generation of human kind never mind a new litter of cubs.
The hard copy Berwickshire has a picture of some worthies at the parliamentary reception including the indefatigable Mrs O who has been the brains and the brawn behind this campaign although I think she would have preferred to have the memorial in Hutton where Voytek was once stationed with his Polish comrades. One can only hope that she will be satisfied with an erection in Embra thus leaving Hutton (relatively) unpolluted.
Disapointingly for one who is adept at self publicity she has been bumped from the electronic Berwickshire by the equally camera friendly Mr Lamont, our Tory MSP. Wherever there is a sniff of a good (?) news story he is there taking as much credit as he can-any band wagon will do; what the vote nabbing value of this one is I have severe doubts but it seems to be his philosophy that when two or three people are gathered together, shake all their hands
And bring a cameraman
Labels: Drunken Bears, Lamont, Mr Lamont, Mrs O, Scottish Parliament, Voytek
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Bomb stopped tennis. You CAN'T BE SERIOUS
The heart stopping news in the Berwickshire-see here is about the discovery of an unexploded Second World War German shell/bomb on the old tennis court at Greenlaw which is being restored to Fred Perry standards (and may not have been played on since his time). Greenlaw apparently saw enemy action in the war where allied Poles may have been the intended targets; rather unsporting to bomb them during tennis match, one would have thought. Alternatively the bombers may have been after Voytek the iconic Polish dancing, fighting, drinking Bear which single handly saw off six Panzer divisions in the Italian campaign. It is not previously recorded that this multi tasking animal ever played tennis but I suppose it may have carrying the drinks around when the Germans pounced.
Elsewhere in the Berwickshire it is reported that there is to be a special Voytek exhibition in London next year. Sadly this will be reported ad nauseam in the Berwickshire which is sending its foreign correspondent to the Big Smoke to cover the event.
(the image is Hutton Think Tank mock up of Greenlaw Tennis court had (a) the bomb exploded and (b) it had been a nuclear device.)
Labels: Greenlaw, Poles in the Borders, Voytek
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
VOYTEK LAST POST. AGAIN (HOPEFULLY)
So now can we draw a line, move on and envision a future without ranting away about a statue for Voytek the fighting, farting, flirting etc etc Polish bear. While various people here (one at least) were agitating for some fitting memorial for the long dead Bruno all was in hand in Embra. Read all about it here Well done PC Daley for quietly getting on with it whilst further to the south east a lot of p### and w*** was expended in achieving nothing except some temporary self publicity.
So one hopes that we can forget the idea of a memorial for this unsavoury beast in these parts where Voytek's stay was mercifully brief. Paxton House in particular has a poor record for looking after public art in its grounds so any fine Polish inspired statue is at least spared neglect in some foreign shrubbery which is for ever Berwickshire.
So if you go down to the woods today you an be sure that any picnic is
Voytekless.
For that relief. Much thanks
So now can we draw a line, move on and envision a future without ranting away about a statue for Voytek the fighting, farting, flirting etc etc Polish bear. While various people here (one at least) were agitating for some fitting memorial for the long dead Bruno all was in hand in Embra. Read all about it here Well done PC Daley for quietly getting on with it whilst further to the south east a lot of p### and w*** was expended in achieving nothing except some temporary self publicity.
So one hopes that we can forget the idea of a memorial for this unsavoury beast in these parts where Voytek's stay was mercifully brief. Paxton House in particular has a poor record for looking after public art in its grounds so any fine Polish inspired statue is at least spared neglect in some foreign shrubbery which is for ever Berwickshire.
So if you go down to the woods today you an be sure that any picnic is
Voytekless.
For that relief. Much thanks
Labels: Paxton House, Voytek
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Grin and Bear it. Once more with Feeling
Huttonian vowed not to blog(again) about Voytek the Drinking, Smoking, Fighting, ASBO-worthy Polish Bear but a letter in the Berwickshire strikes a chord:
SIR, - May I disagree with the places to put the statues of Voytek the Bear.
There was no Polish connections with Paxton House. They employed Italian prisoner of war labour.
Visitors have to pay to go to Paxton House and it is closed from October to Easter. As Duns has a Polish war memorial and Duns is twinned with Zagen in Poland more people would be visiting Duns.
Voytek ended his days at the zoo in Edinburgh. Many children saw him then and would remember him today. The statue would be more at home there than at the Parliament. How many politicians remember him?
Hutton (not Paxton) was the centre for the Polish soldiers. Two of them found wives and lived there.
ONE WHO REMEMBERS,
Name and address withheld on request
Someone should show this letter to Mrs O
So no statue in Paxton then?
Nor in the Eildon Hills either, as yet-see image taken from Harden's Hill looking south west. Click on it to see Trimontium- one more possible site for a statue to Voytek as suggested by nobody. Frankly I could not be bothered to put up another picture of the disagreable and dead animal
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Still Bearing It
The silly season is not quite over judging from an account of the indefatigable Mrs O's plans to create memorials (Hutton, Paxton, Duns?) for the drunken,smoking,nipping, cursing, fighting Polish bear-the Berwickshire has the whole story here (Voytek surely? Blog ed)Given the important military connection between the Free Poles and the Borders during the Second World War-a permanent memorial for those Polish soldiers, who lost their lives on the Allies' side is surely more appropriate than a statue dedicated to a seriously brain damaged quadruped. And we already have one in Duns.
Or am I missing something
Publicity for a SNP parliamentary candidate perhaps?
(If you really have the patience to read more about this bear, now happily, deceased
go here)
I hope I will not have to mention it again. In the meanwhile if farmers wives really want to do some thing very useful for the community I suggest organising a clean up of the mud on those roads which front or pass through their property. A certain farm on the B6460 would make a good starting point before some unfortunate motorist has a serious skid
The silly season is not quite over judging from an account of the indefatigable Mrs O's plans to create memorials (Hutton, Paxton, Duns?) for the drunken,smoking,nipping, cursing, fighting Polish bear-the Berwickshire has the whole story here (Voytek surely? Blog ed)Given the important military connection between the Free Poles and the Borders during the Second World War-a permanent memorial for those Polish soldiers, who lost their lives on the Allies' side is surely more appropriate than a statue dedicated to a seriously brain damaged quadruped. And we already have one in Duns.
Or am I missing something
Publicity for a SNP parliamentary candidate perhaps?
(If you really have the patience to read more about this bear, now happily, deceased
go here)
I hope I will not have to mention it again. In the meanwhile if farmers wives really want to do some thing very useful for the community I suggest organising a clean up of the mud on those roads which front or pass through their property. A certain farm on the B6460 would make a good starting point before some unfortunate motorist has a serious skid
Labels: Drunken Bears, Mud, Voytek
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Its That Bear Again
Huttonian had rather hoped that we had heard the last of the Polish fighting Drinking Smoking Bear-Voytek by name- who has once again put Hutton on the map as the wretched animal was briefly 'posted' there with the Polish army in the latter stages of the war. It ended its years in retirement in the Embra Zoo. If you want an unexpurgated frank account of this rather unpleasant animal you can read about it here
It made an appearance on the BBC TV One Show earlier this week with the energetic Mrs O, SNP candidate for Dumfries etc at the next general election, making her pitch for a memorial for the beast in the Hutton area. Recently a local writer has written a book about the bear-see here and a mention on the One Show will do its sales no harm.
Given the number of existing tourist sights in the village-the Village Hall, the 4 pumps, the great Kirk, The former Manse, The Old Manse (AKA Antrim House), the 39 Steps,the former pub, the bus stop,the sign post to Paxton, The Millenium stone, the existing phone box does Hutton really need a memorial to a politically incorrect bear who is mostly remembered by the very olden folk for its habit of scaring the this (anag) out of innocent villagers? Given its record of bowel moving escapades a fitting memorial might be a
Public Loo
(With so many extra tourists we might need one)
Huttonian had rather hoped that we had heard the last of the Polish fighting Drinking Smoking Bear-Voytek by name- who has once again put Hutton on the map as the wretched animal was briefly 'posted' there with the Polish army in the latter stages of the war. It ended its years in retirement in the Embra Zoo. If you want an unexpurgated frank account of this rather unpleasant animal you can read about it here
It made an appearance on the BBC TV One Show earlier this week with the energetic Mrs O, SNP candidate for Dumfries etc at the next general election, making her pitch for a memorial for the beast in the Hutton area. Recently a local writer has written a book about the bear-see here and a mention on the One Show will do its sales no harm.
Given the number of existing tourist sights in the village-the Village Hall, the 4 pumps, the great Kirk, The former Manse, The Old Manse (AKA Antrim House), the 39 Steps,the former pub, the bus stop,the sign post to Paxton, The Millenium stone, the existing phone box does Hutton really need a memorial to a politically incorrect bear who is mostly remembered by the very olden folk for its habit of scaring the this (anag) out of innocent villagers? Given its record of bowel moving escapades a fitting memorial might be a
Public Loo
(With so many extra tourists we might need one)
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Duns has Jim Clarke and Duns Scotus, Paxton its connections with 'Sweet Robin Adair' but Hutton is now thrust open the world stage by its association with the Fighting, Drinking Smoking Bear: Voytek; who has his own website at:
http://www.voytekbear.com/
The world medja from the Washington Post, Al Jazeera,Musings from the Merse, BBC, Daily Mail to our own Berwickshire News have been full of his exploits about to be further immortalised in a book by local (Eyemouth) school teacher Garry Paulin. The Hutton connection (claims this week is being pushed by the indefatigable Mrs Aileen Orr (SNP- as the Berwickshire labels her) who has been in touch with Holywood over a possible movie and also with Prince Charles and his two lads who are apparently Voytek buffs having seen the exhibit about the bear in the Imperial War Museum. Mrs O is campaigning for a national monument to mark the Scottish connection-and according to her and more locally : "myself and others have used our own money to finance a monument in Winfield Camp (where the Polish contingent of which Voytek was a member were stationed during the war)and I think Hutton Village Hall committee are keen to have some sort of plaque on their building"
Well there we go. Hutton and its own celeb. Wingfield Aerodrome (a bit disused) and Hutton Village Hall will be another two points of interest on the Hutton Tourist Trail so long sought after by the Hutton Think Tank (Media and Natural Resources section)Perhaps in slower time the Voytek Museum, the Big Bear Trail Much more exciting than following Paxton Ted around the grounds of Paxton House)-it might even lead to the reopening of the old pub: The Hairy Arms (or in tribute to modern phone help lines : The Bear With Me)celebrating that feature of the Polish Soldier Bear seen in this illustration from the website-seemingly shaking small change (and fag ends?) out of a comrade on its way to the NAAFI.
Some killjoy has suggested that it is most politically incorrect to promote as a role model a Fighting Drinking Smoking character:
'The Peaceful,teetotal non smoking Bear' lacks something.
Doesn't it?
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The words 'Hutton, Berwickshire' leaped up at me from the pages (well, Page 3 actually) of the Scotsman yesterday. A whole page heasded
Tribute to Voytek, the smoking drinking fighting soldier bear
The Story begins :
HE ENJOYED a cigarette and a bottle of cold beer and could carry more mortar rounds than any other soldier. But Voytek wasn't one of the ordinary dogs of war – he was a battling bear.
Adopted by the Polish army, the European brown bear "fought" at the bloody Battle of Monte Cassino before dying, not of a bullet wound, but of old age, in Edinburgh Zoo. Now a campaign has been started to build a monument to him.
Voytek was adopted as a cub in the Middle East in 1943, before growing into much more than a mascot. He eventually stood 6ft on his hind legs and weighed 35 stone, and he used his strength to help the armed forces, carrying ammunition at the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy the following year. The four-month battle, one of western Europe's bloodiest, left a quarter of a million soldiers dead
He was given a name, rank and number and took part in the Italian campaign.
All very well I hear you grunt but what about Hutton?
Well, about 3000 Polish Troops were stationed at Wingfield near Hutton for a year or two before D Day and Voytek was with the Poles. And :
Campaigner Aileen Orr*, who lives in Hutton, said she first heard about Voytek as a child from her grandfather who served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers.
She said: "I thought he had made it up, to be quite honest – it was only when I got married and came here that I knew, in fact, he was here. Voytek was here.
"When I heard from the community that so few people knew about him, I began to actually research the facts.
The story is totally amazing, and it would be good if we could have some memorial in Scotland, perhaps at Holyrood, to celebrate the bear's life."
One remaining Pole from that time still lives in Hutton
Polish veteran Augustyn Karolewski, 82, who still lives near the site of the camp in Berwickshire, said: "He was like a big dog; no-one was scared of him.
"He liked a cigarette, he liked a bottle of beer – he drank a bottle of beer like any man."
When the troops were demobilised, Voytek spent his last days at Edinburgh Zoo. Mr Karolewski went back to see him on a couple of occasions and found he still responded to the Polish language.
He explained: "I went to Edinburgh Zoo once or twice when Voytek was there. And as soon as I said his name, he would sit on his backside and shake his head wanting a cigarette. "It wasn't easy to
throw a cigarette to him – all the attempts I made until he eventually got one.
A book about Voytek: The Soldier Bear is due out next month.
It's good to see a mention of the indefatigable Mrs Orr-'Campaigner' is her label apparently. I hope she can campaign to have the statue of the bear, not in Holyrood for goodness sake but in Hutton. Another attraction for the Hutton Tourist Trail which is still at the planning stage.
I am indebted to Google for this image of Voytek chatting to soldiers and soliciting Two pints of lager, a packet of crisps and any spare Senior Service fags.And the other image from the Washington Post shows the Bear as part of the Polish military unit's regimental emblem'
Post story at :
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/2008/01/voytek_the_soldier_bear_of_pol_1.html?nav=rss_blog
Labels: Hutton, soldier bear, Voytek
