I’ve another confession to make. For years I traveled with a stuffed animal named Bernard Bear. I’m not talking about when I was ten either. I was into my fifties at the time. It’s a long story, one that I will no doubt share at some point – but not tonight. The interesting thing is that if you embrace the inherent foolishness of traveling with a Teddy Bear when you have grey hair, most people play along. Bernard was great at breaking the ice, so it helped me meet many interesting people. He even started his own blog, and Facebook page.

The fine line I was alluding to in the title is the line between fantasy and reality – between weird and innocent fun. I think I managed to stay on the right side of that line, but then I would think that, wouldn’t I. But I’m not so sure about Bernard though.

This is a picture I took of Bernard climbing the Eiffel Tower – the real one in Paris, not the imitation in Las Vegas.