Passion for pandas

Lyn Reed with a few of her prized pandas. 242431_01 Photo: STEWART CHAMBERS

By Shelby Brooks

You would be hard pressed to find someone who said they didn’t like pandas.

Black, white and fluffy, the loveable Asian animal is surely high on a lot of people’s favourite lists.

But by Lyn Reed’s own admission, her liking of the panda has been elevated to a full blown obsession.

She estimates she owns over 300 panda related paraphernalia, ranging from statues to toys, jigsaws to pajamas, doona covers to crystals.

“I have an obsession. It’s an addiction,” she told the Gazette.

Her love started at a young age when her father gifted her a toy panda when she was upset one day.

“I still have it, though it’s a pretty well-worn and very old now,” she said.

She even has a panda tattoo.

Lyn’s impressive collection began four years ago when friends and family began ramping up their gift giving to purely panda related items.

“I am easy to buy for,” Lyn said, laughing.

“I don’t care if I’ve already got that particular panda, I’ll put it somewhere else where you can’t tell.”

Her collection has spilled into her Kooweerup business, Lynny’s Takeaway, with panda’s taking pride and place on signs and shelves.

“I love their sweet face. It makes me happy to look at them,” she said.

“I also love how clumsy they are.”

Lyn also has over 490 photos saved to her mobile phone which she can look at whenever she might be feeling down.

The Kooweerup Op Shop has also jumped on the bandwagon, bringing Lyn any panda related items they come across within their donations.

Lyn is still yet to meet a panda in real life, a dream she hopes to fulfil next year with a trip to Adelaide Zoo which had to be postponed in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“I am really looking forward to it!” she said.