TAKAPUNA: In a surprise move, North Shore resident Stella Taylor has abruptly removed her once treasured collection of soft toys from atop her bed and replaced them with an equally massive collection of pillows. 

Some of the toys discarded by Taylor. Inset: Snoofles the Elephant.

The soft toy collection had been a major feature of Stella’s bedroom for the last 14 years. Sources close to the family are surprised by the development, which came about after a Saturday morning visit to Briscoes in Wairau Park.

Stella strenuously denied that the change had anything to do with friend Chardonnay Wilson’s recent bedroom makeover. “What Chars does has nothing to do with me. I am my own person, damn it!”

The collection of soft toys, conservatively estimated to contain at least 50 assorted ponies, teddy bears, unicorns, seals, pandas and Snoofles the Elephant, has been relegated to a box in Stella’s wardrobe. It is thought the collection will reside there for a year before being demoted to the attic, eventually making its final trip to the Salvation Army during Stella’s first year at university in Dunedin.