"London’s such a big place when you’ve nowhere to go."(c)

Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington on a railway platform. In fact, that was how he came to have such an unusual name for a bear, for Paddington was the name of the station.

The Browns The Browns were there to meet their daughter Judy, who was coming home from school for the
holidays. It was a warm summer day and the station was crowded with people on their way to the seaside.
 

Trains were humming, loudspeakers blaring, porters rushing about shouting at one another, and altogether there was so much noise that Mr Brown, who saw him first, had to tell his wife several times before she understood.





“A bear? On Paddington station?” Mrs Brown looked at her husband in amazement. “Don’t be silly, Henry.There can’t be!”
“There you are,” he announced triumphantly, pointing towards a dark corner, “I told you so!”Mrs Brown followed the direction of his arm and dimly made out a small, furry object in the shadows.It seemed to be sitting on some kind of suitcase and around its neck there was a label with some writing Please Look After This Bear on it.The suitcase was old and battered and on the side, in large letters, were the words WANTED ON VOYAGE.






“Where did you say you wanted to go?” Mr Brown leaned forward. “Number thirty-two,Windsor Gardens.”

Mrs. Brown takes Paddington to Barkridges where she buys him a duffel coat with a large hood.

The Browns' house is a short walk from the Portobello Road where his friend, Mr. Gruber owns an antiques shop. Paddington is a familiar face in the Portobello Road market where he has gained a reputation for having a very good eye for a bargain.

 

Michael Bond was born in Newbury, Berkshire, England on 13th January 1926. His first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published in 1958 by William Collins & Sons (now HarperCollins Publishers). At the time, Michael Bond was working as a television cameraman for the BBC. After the first Paddington book was accepted, Michael Bond went on to write a whole series and by 1965 his books were so successful that that he was able to give up his job with the BBC in order to become a full-time writer. In 1997 Michael Bond was awarded an OBE for services to children’s literature. He is married with two adult children and lives in London, not far from Paddington Station.