Islington 't' BearIntern
Islington T Bear is a very special bear.
Random facts:
- He's friends with Jamie Oliver
- He was once managed by Nigel Martin Smith
- He drives a specially adapted Aston Martin Vantage
Favourite URLs:
Background
Born in 1928 to a Russian Hostess and a French Bar Owner his upbringing - in rural Normandy - was somewhat unconvential.
Relocating to the New Forest in Hampshire in his late teens Islington joined the RAF on his ninteenth birthday. A stint with the Special Bear Service followed before he returned to "regular" service in Farnborough where he was in charge of the planes for 10 years.
Post RAF, Islington de-mobbed and relocated to London. It was the swinging sixties and after a few hairy months living rough he found himself running the legendary Nightclub "Fur".
Situated in Wardour Street, Fur was home to a generation of hip and happening bears, cabinet ministers, Twiggy and several well known gangsters. It was the sort of place people now spend lots of money trying to recreate.
Fur's star burnt less bright during the 70s and 80s and it's doors were finally shut by Westminster Council following the infamous "Robin Gibb / Diana Ross hair on fire" incident of 1987.
Never idle, Bear spent the 90s writing books and taking his one man show "Paws for Thought" round the world - quite literally. The show which mixed anecdotes and song with questions from the audience played to over 1 million people including Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandella and Take That as well as the Gallagher Brothers and Ian Botham.
In 1999 Islington T Bear discovered the Internet. Through his investment vehicle "Bearing Gifts" he raised seeds capital for such websites as lastminute.com, bearinthecommunity.com and FlickR.
Now a regular speaker and commentator on all things Web, Islington is enjoying - in his words - "the best days of my life so far".
Outside of work Islington Bear enjoys travel, the great outdoors, rally driving, the Scissor Sisters and Chess. He is often to be found tapping his paw at Ronnie Scotts and remains a well known, if small, figure in Soho.
Politics remains a future ambition (a bear has yet to be elected to a mainstream political post anywhere in Europe) and he is also a prominet supporter of Bear Rights.
Relocating to the New Forest in Hampshire in his late teens Islington joined the RAF on his ninteenth birthday. A stint with the Special Bear Service followed before he returned to "regular" service in Farnborough where he was in charge of the planes for 10 years.
Post RAF, Islington de-mobbed and relocated to London. It was the swinging sixties and after a few hairy months living rough he found himself running the legendary Nightclub "Fur".
Situated in Wardour Street, Fur was home to a generation of hip and happening bears, cabinet ministers, Twiggy and several well known gangsters. It was the sort of place people now spend lots of money trying to recreate.
Fur's star burnt less bright during the 70s and 80s and it's doors were finally shut by Westminster Council following the infamous "Robin Gibb / Diana Ross hair on fire" incident of 1987.
Never idle, Bear spent the 90s writing books and taking his one man show "Paws for Thought" round the world - quite literally. The show which mixed anecdotes and song with questions from the audience played to over 1 million people including Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandella and Take That as well as the Gallagher Brothers and Ian Botham.
In 1999 Islington T Bear discovered the Internet. Through his investment vehicle "Bearing Gifts" he raised seeds capital for such websites as lastminute.com, bearinthecommunity.com and FlickR.
Now a regular speaker and commentator on all things Web, Islington is enjoying - in his words - "the best days of my life so far".
Outside of work Islington Bear enjoys travel, the great outdoors, rally driving, the Scissor Sisters and Chess. He is often to be found tapping his paw at Ronnie Scotts and remains a well known, if small, figure in Soho.
Politics remains a future ambition (a bear has yet to be elected to a mainstream political post anywhere in Europe) and he is also a prominet supporter of Bear Rights.