After the excitement of the Party on Friday, Day 2 began for me at 5.45am, when I left the Hotel to walk the short distance to Harrods to meet up with friends from the US who were staying in another hotel, and who were desperate to get to the head of the queue!

Harrods Store is an extremely large building, with many entrances on the ground floor. In previous years the Ty queue has been formed at Door 10...but this year it had been rumoured that it was to be at Door 5, on the other side of the building...more about that later on in this report! 

Once again the same family as last year had slept outside for part of the night - well done to them! - and as it began to get lighter many familiar faces began to appear in the lines...it is almost a social occasion to stand in the cold there! The time passes quickly, and the queue builds up after 7pm. We watch the preparations for the Christmas Parade, and other people gather along the small streets around the store to get a good vantage point.

Just after 8am it starts to snow!! All part of the magic.....it always snows at Harrods on this day, whatever the weather!

By 8.30am it is very busy indeed around the store...the Parade begins for the welcoming of the arrival of Father Christmas, and heads around the store, away from where we are standing.

And then.....just a few minutes that spoil the occasion, when the queue at Door 10 is sent round to Door 5 by a security officer in the store.  Most people are orderly, but many complain about the change of information.....and unfortunately a number push to the front of the queue at door 5, thinking they have the right to do that.

Things get a little heated, and ultimately policemen supervising the Parade are called in to calm things down.....enough said! Why do people do this and upset others?  There is always enough to go round when we get there! Something for Harrods to sort out for next time, I think...maybe tickets for the first 500 in the queue? Surely that wouldn't be too difficult to organise?

But let's move on....signs appear on the door indicating the revealing of the new bears, and just after 9am...in we go!  Still a few people, who are over eager,  push through others up to the 4th Floor and the Toy Kingdom.

My group of friends were quite near the front of the queue up there...but it was strange how some had got passed us from other doors! After a few minutes we reached the head of the line, and those with invitation cards got their free gift...quite unexpected, this one...it was Clubby 6 Buddy...and as I didn't have that one, I was very pleased!!

We were allowed to buy up to 12 Charles, 6 Henry, and 1 each of the boxed sets - that was a relief too, after the earlier confusion on Harrods website that suggested it might only be one!  So, just to confirm what has already been reported...there were 1000 boxed sets of Charles, just with a number each, and 500 boxed sets of Henry, and these were numbered out of 500. This was the same as with the Shooting Star release  last year. Unfortunately in all the excitement I didn't check this out, but was reliably told by several people that the loose Henry bears were also a short run....I was told 3000 only, with many more of Charles.

However, I can confirm that Digby the Classic was a very limited run of only 2000 pieces, which is quite unusual. My wife likes him the best!!!

Shopping over, and the rest of the morning free in the store...tea on the terrrace, Girls Aloud sitting nearby in the main restaurant before signing their new CD, people watching generally. Back to the Toy Kingdom...still a queue, but calmer now, and moving quickly. The Boxed Henrys soon were sold out, and later on, just before midday, Mark Swallow told me that more bears had been sold at that time than last year, so Harrods...and Ty UK...were very pleased indeed.

The beanies are quite subtle in their colouring...and very much in keeping with the Harrods colour lines...Charles is a soft creamy yellow, and Henry a shade of brown that in daylight just picks up a hint of the Harrods green as well . Cleverly done, and with matching buttons which say "Harrods Toy Kingdom" - very worthy additions to anyone's collection! One curious thing..they have the normal Ty UK tag, and the same poem....but Digby's tag carries the Harrods logo as well, as you can see in the pictures...I wouldn't underestimate this one as a collectable, if I were you! Henry's style number is 46084, and Charles is 46085. Digby is 56008.

All the boxed bears carried a printed signature on their certificates. At the Party we had been told that there would be 48 randomly hand signed bears amongst the boxed sets, so many were anxiously looking at their purchases. We think we eventually worked out that the signed ones had their certificates turned round on the display...I know of at least three who got them that way...what a pity we didn't work it out sooner!

No worries though.....it doesn't matter...it was, as always, a special day for all of us - friends meeting up, cameraderie and chat...and so much fun too!  Not too many products in the world can do that…but the  magic is still there with Ty....let's be positive..it's not the past now, it's the future... thank you once again to Ty UK!

I enclose an assortment of photographs...and the last one shows our famous store just before midnight on Friday - there is no where like it anywhere in the world!!!

John