Beloved mascot, dancer and drummer, our bear-of-many-talents joins us throughout the outs season.
You can find him skipping about town, getting into mischief, joining in with the dancers and the band, and generally having a fantastic time.
Big Grimbear fan? You can keep up with his exploits on Instagram!
Please be aware that while he doesn't generally bite, he may fall asleep unexpectedly towards the hibernation months. If found, please contact one of our officers immediately.
(Or his owner, the lovely Lynda!)
Bear posing with the members
of The Rifles Bershire and Wiltshire museum.
Our Grimbear was fashioned from raven feathers, gorse, lichen, moss and twigs scavenged from Woden's Way near the Ancient Grimspound Settlement on Dartmoor (probably).
He was designed and created by the very talented Sally .
Here are some early shots from the creative process.
Of course, this was just the beginning. Once the bear's skin had been created, life needed to be breathed into him.
You see, there is no human inside. And no, the costume does not merely “move”.
Its spirit was awakened.
At precisely midnight (actually it was 11:47 p.m. as Rob had an early meeting the next morning) on the 12th of Never, the Side performed the ancient and deeply unnecessary Ritual of the Wiggle. It was conducted in a circle of flickering firebrands given that Gemma had refreshed her fire training earlier that season.
At the ritual’s climax, a single, bewildered worm was presented as a noble sacrifice. The worm was not harmed (we're not that feral), more sternly encouraged to “consider its role in the cosmic Bear dance.” Once the worm had been respectfully returned to the soil and the flames had been intensely and dramatically stared at for longer than was comfortable, the bear's skin was imbued with the Spirit of The Grimbear.
From that moment on, every shuffle, shimmy, and enthusiastic twirl was no longer the work of a human inside, but of the ancient bear energy itself; an energy that, for reasons unknown, greatly enjoys skipping.