FOR over 15 years, Hospital Radio Yare has broadcast a request programme especially for children. The show was originally named “Yare Bear the Next Generation” and can still be heard every Friday 4-6pm.

FOR over 15 years, Hospital Radio Yare has broadcast a request programme especially for children. The show was originally named “Yare Bear the Next Generation” and can still be heard every Friday 4-6pm.

Nine years ago Andrew Harris took over the show, aided by Brenda Godbold, and after a few years the show's title was shortened to “Yare Bear.” The Yare Bear request programme is thriving to this day with Daniel Martin as assistant and occasional appearances from Brenda. What's more, the show now has its own Yare Bear character for children to relate to.

A few months ago presenter Kimble Reynolds put the idea before the trustees, who gave him the go ahead to search for a costume to be worn on the children's ward for request collections.

After a couple of false starts, Kimble eventually found a bear costume hand-made in the depths of China. Taking a chance, having seen the costume only in photographs, he went ahead and ordered it.

A slight setback came when he heard it had been lost in transit, still in China but after six weeks it eventually arrived in the UK with its packaging badly damaged but its contents intact.

On Thursday, Andrew Harris, the presenter in charge of the Yare Bear show, donned the costume and immediately became part of the family. After the photo-session Andrew confessed: “When you wear the costume you become Yare Bear as the costume seems to have a personality of its own. I can't wait to see how the children take to him!”