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the power of pink annual. rapha editions/bluetrain publishing hardback. 77pp illus. £??

the power of pink annual

oor wullie allegedly lives in the town of auchenshoogle, and though his gang, consisting of fat bob, wee eck , 'soapy' soutar, and primrose paterson, has latterly met in a decrepit caravan known as holly rude', wullie is mostly depicted sat upon an upturned bucket. those of you resident north of the border may already be acquainted with this fictional character, originating in 1936 and appearing weekly in the 'sunday post'. his character has appeared in glasgow graffiti, accompanied by the bold text, 'rogue one', whic ought to gve southerners something of an insight into his character.

also resident in 'auchenshoogle' are the broons. were they to have lived in englandshire, they'd be more likely referred to as the browns. they (paw broon, maw broon, granpaw broon, hen, daphne and joe broon, maggie and horace broon, the twins and the bairn) also appear in dc thomson's weekly 'sunday post'. so popular are both the broons and oor wullie, that, originally on an alternating basis, a christmas annual would appear around this time of year.

the power of pink annual

latterly, their popularity has allowed for both annuals to appear each year. receiving one or other or both was pretty much guaranteed each christmas in our household. for many a long year my brother would receive one, while i unwrapped the other, attesting to their suitability for all ages. though i've not received either for many a long year, i don't doubt that they've changed little in the intervening years. but now that i'm (allegedly) all grown up and a tad more obsessed with bicycles than upturned buckets in the town of auchenshoogle, what about an annual i could receive for christmas, or, better still, one i could give to others of a similar persuasion.

the power of pink annual

as luck would have it, the creative and eager to please people at rapha, blue train publishing, and ef education first have provided me (and, by implication, you) with the very annual in which i have occasionally expressed interest. featuring the tour of flanders, racing action, inside the team car, mechanics and masseurs, plus a great deal more, there is more to do in this book's 77 pages than you'd find to occupy yourself at center parcs. a mixture of humility and embarrassment precludes me from admitting how poorly i did in modolo's amazing maze, but how accurate was my perception in spotting the difference between two cannondale bicycles.

the power of pink annual

those who dote on graphical novels and comic books will find several instances of both to enjoy, while we who like to think of ourselves as mechanically adept can learn what it's like to cater for an entire truckload of cannondales. of course, it's all just a bit of light-hearted fun that we can enjoy at the end of the season, whether preparing to compete at junior level, or the world tour. the very reason that the windows in the ef education first team bus are heavily tinted, is because the riders are all trying to find the last remaining word in the included word search. the annual's cover illustrations from steve johnson are anything but lightweight.

team tactics can wait.

'the power of pink' annual is the perfect extension of the persona that rapha and ef education first have successfully cultivated throughout the season, ranging from lachlan morton's fourth place in the three-peaks 'cross race, to the team's inclusion in the dirty kanza they have brought new meaning to the word 'fun', when applied to world tour cycle racing. so, either way; if you're the sort of cycling obsessive who pores over the comprehensive results in ned boutling's almanack, the sort of fellow/fellowess, who takes one look at the numbers displayed on the garmin and utters a hearty laugh, or simply a small glaswegian who sits on an upturned bucket you need this annual before, after and during christmas.

the power of pink annual is published on saturday 9 november

friday 08 november 2019

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................