The Professor and Bosley come to town

Professor and Bosley are the leading characters in the first book being produced by Congleton Beartown “the Bears of Congleton”. They are a young bear and older bear who spend their time exploring Congleton and Cheshire. The story follows their adventures and the friends they make along the way. The book has been written on ideas provided by Congleton School children by Christopher and Beverley Dodd and Illustrated by Sue Holmes.

The names of the characters were chosen through a "Name the bear" competition that received an impressive 340 entries. The winning names were chosen by six year old Charlotte Hibbert from Black-Firs School and five year old Daisy Worrall from Bosley Primary School.

Down at the bear’s hibernation den in Capitol Walk something stirred on Saturday as Jackie MacArthur, Paul Bates and Dawn Gibbins were pleased to present the winners with a 12 inch white replica of the bigger "Bearmania" bears. Sue Holmes the illustrator of the book gave both the winners a signed first print of the two characters

Reflecting on the competition and the forthcoming books, Dawn Gibbons said "We're very excited about the Beartown tales books. Local children have inspired the entire project, and the names suit the characters perfectly. Congleton has a fantastic heritage, and we are proud to be able to capture this in the tales. The aspiration is that the Professor and Bosley will become as famous as Paddington and Pooh bears." Jackie MacArthur added that with the characters we have created there are lots of opportunities for further books and cuddly toys and other merchandise, all the proceeds will go back into community projects.