JANE Waldron was the speaker at the May meeting, the subject being teddy bears.

A German lady called Margaret Steiff, being wheelchair bound, needed something to occupy her, so she started a business by making pin cushions in the shape of an elephant.

By 1892 the first catalogue of toys had been produced.

Her nephew, Richard, had joined the company and wished to make the toys shown in the catalogue more realistic, having been made of coarse material and were only suitable for adults, by altering the materials and with string and cardboard inside to allow for movable joints. Early bears were quite large, solidly filled with wood shavings, very heavy and not at all cuddly. A craft fair took place, at which none of the Steiff bears were sold until, on the very last day, an American placed an order for 3,000. The president of America at that time was Theodore Roosevelt - that is where teddy' bears got their name. By 1908 the Steiff group issued a statement, that they were the sole originators of Teddy Bears'.

The business survived over the years, with the most expensive bear to be sold being the Titanic at Christies for £92,000.

The next meeting will be on June 28. The speaker being Mrs D Sheldon with a lace demonstration at 7.30pm at the Young People's Leisure Club, Droitwich Road, Worcester.