Most British children enjoy reading the Paddington Bear series, the books perfectly encapsulating traditional English family life (well, a family with a bear). For two children living in one particular house in Holland Street, west London, the stories resonated more than for most.

Their mother, Fiona*, says: “In 1996, when we moved in, an elderly neighbour told us that Michael Bond, the author of Paddington Bear, had lived in the house some time before us.” Although never able to verify the story she was inspired.

Her son and daughter had been given original Paddington Bears made by Jeremy Clarkson’s mother, Shirley, in the 1970s, and to pass the legacy on to her grandchildren in Australia Fiona wrote a book entitled Marmalade Sandwiches for them about