NEW RELEASE

New Limited Edition Northern Music Factory Proper Grey colour OUT NOW. Also restocked in Navy.
Party People restocked due to popular demand! Check back for more updates, new product coming soon.

SANDALISM.

Westway flyover, Paddington.

Old St Roundabout, London.

Neal St, covent Garden.

Clifton Rd, Maida Vale, London.

London-based sand sculpture company Sandalism specialises in creating world class sand sculptures for festival, corporate events and parties. We just think it's ace.

http://sandalism.co.uk

A KESTREL FOR HER NAVAL...

So this is what Billy Casper's up to these days, I'd say it's art?

http://eroticfalconry.com/

SALE NOW ON!

To make way for forthcoming product The Casual Connoisseur SALE is now on. £10 off on selected designs, there may be limited sizes on certain designs. Subject to availability, whilst stocks last. YHN
Please note : reduced/sale or clearance items are non-refundable or returnable. Any queries please email us.

MEMORY LANE.

Twenty years ago when it was more a case of 'England til I die' and not 'England til July' with the modern contrast of the face painted bandwagon hopping football fan. A glance at Italia 90, short shorts, bad haircuts, moustaches, beer, lads, jollies and the odd scuffle, stay with it if you've got nine and a half minutes to spare.

THERE'S STILL HOPE...

RIP FRANK SIDEBOTTOM!

HIDDEN POSTERS OF NOTTING HILL GATE.

A very interesting time capsule was recently unearthed when work at Notting Hill Gate Tube saw these fantastic original advertisements that date from around 1956 - 1959 when the station's lifts were removed and replaced by escalators. These are in an old lift passageway. This shows several of the posters - and the original Central London Railway tiled walls from 1900. CD

Flickr

UNITED COLOURS OF SOUTH AFRICA...

Had enough of those Vuvuzela things already? here's something less irritating from the terraces in South Africa, the women of the World cup... CD

GARBSTORE A/W 10.

A look at the forthcoming Autum/Winter collection from Portobello's finest Garbstore.

As ever that familiar rugged and archival look is encapsulated and tweaked to a more modern twist via their own take on things. It'll be no time before this sun has disappeared for another year and it's time to start obsessing over parkas and nice shirts again. YHN

Re-released - Bronco Bullfrog.

Only ever available as a bootleg through scooter rallies and auction sites, Barney Platts-Mills 1969 slice of realism Bronco Bullfrog is re-released this weekend, and finally available on dvd in a couple of months time. Only ever shown once on telly, this film became a sought after cult classic that was seldom seen. Following the suedehead subculture this is an authentic lo-fi council estate kitchen sink drama, a perfect time capsule of old London as the sixties became the seventies, skins morphed into suedies.CD

Details: 1969,86 mins, Dir: Barney Platts-Mills. Cast: Anne Gooding, Del Walker, Dick Philpott, Fred Shepherd, Sam Shepherd.

BFI Mod Culture

ONE NIGHT IN TURIN

I watched this last night, thought it was spot on, faultless in fact, a rollercoaster of emotions.
Write up and review nabbed from Oneupmanship Journal.
I've just tackled (geddit?) James Erskine's superb documentary One Night in Turin, I genuinely think this is one of the best things I've seen all year. I'm not necessarily bogged down with World Cup fever as I type, as much as I'd love to see us do something special this time, it just doesn't feel the same, I dare say every aspect of our current squad of mercenaries and our overseas manager seem a stark contrast from what I've just watched, but that's another argument for another time, as in the current state my love affair with football is going through a trial separation. Pph.
I wasn't around in '66, and the trendy one of '78 also passed me by, Italia '90 was the pivotal World Cup for me, the best one yet, I remember that long hot summer really rather well, as a football fan it was the beginning of my favourite era, my club were about to embark on the greatest of decades : four Wembley visits, excitement, legends, Bergara, Francis, too many to mention. Promotions, many highs and not many lows, but major heartaches, terraces, tantrums, nasty rivalries with Stoke, Burnley, Bradford, handbags the lot, as a young football fan I lived and breathed it. That year was quite a memorable one for me personally, things at home were not the best, my father went potty and was duly sectioned, peace and quiet was restored for the time being, watching at home in a packed living room with close friends and family, something we'd not done before, my mother even into it, whilst doing the ironing and my Grandad who was taken from us prematurely just two years later, but that's my own sob story, you don't need to read that.
I can remember it all, the music, the haircuts, having an older brother who was regularly going to a certain Manchester club, The Mondays, Roses, Inspiral Carpets and The Farm all blurting out as it happened, I seem to recall everyone was wearing those James t-shirts, or was that a bit later? if it wasn't them it was definitely those rather lairy England shellsuits as worn by the squad. They were everywhere, most kids my age had jekyll ones, Umbro's diamond logo was in fact a square on these ones, and as this ran from the shoulder to the cuff, and the hip to the ankle if you wore the full suit, which many did, it wasn't exactly subtle, whoever churned those out must have done a roaring trade.
The country wasn't at it's best under a shite, old fashioned Tory government, a once proud nation on it's arse, crap hospitals, crap schools, crap polluted beaches, crap ailing industries, and we even had crap fucking food that could even send you mad. The streets of London had seen the Poll Tax Riots followed shortly after by similar scenes, albeit in a more subdued setting in HMP Strangeways. English football clubs were still banned from European action, the press and media were doing their best to destroy their own nations' World Cup hopes, led by the late, great Sir Bobby Robson, a man of the people, a true legend, a real character who's desire to succeed made you truly believe in him.
This documentary is by and large about him, and of course Paul Gascoigne, of course it's about England's superb journey, the bitter ending, the emotion, joy and disappointment, the hooliganism, the controversy, the genuine, humbling tale of how England's band of merry men transformed the soured reputation of the beautiful game in just six weeks. The stars - Maradona, Matthäus and Milla, the heroes - Lineker, Gazza and Platt, and the villains - sports minister Colin Moynihan, the gutter press, those fucking Germans and their bastard penalties. Full of heroic brilliance, great footage, both familiar and unseen, archive and reconstructed. Narrated by the always excellent Gary Oldman, you only get his voice, yet he's still great value for money, sound tracked by The Charlatans, The Roses, The Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, The Farm and New Order, not forgetting Pavarotti, get the tissues out for that one.
Tinged with tragedy, there's a real bittersweet moment in there when Robson confronts the tearful Gazza, telling him he's got loads more to look forward too, tragically this was his finest hour. There's England's inevitable exit, you know what's coming, yet you'll still feel nervous watching, it all comes back as Nessun Dorma plays over the top, emotional viewing as the nations underachievers who left as 'donkeys' over achieved and returned as heroes, fittingly the Farm's ace anthem Altogether Now plays us out.
One Night in Turin. CD

'PARTY PEOPLE'

Our PARTY PEOPLE Tee is now available.

On Navy and Chocolate.

Our new 'Party People' tee will be available to buy from tomorrow [Tue 8th June]Available on Navy and Chocolate t-shirts while stocks last!

We here at The Casual Connoisseur like our films, Our Top 60 Films page now has ten new additions. Using some of our smart screen captures rather than a generic Google find along with a paragraph or two of just why we reckon these are our fave films.

Meanwhile, via our recently added Facebook page we've been getting some mint photos through of people in CC product, this is what makes the day to day slog really worth the while, don't forget if you've got any photos send them our way.

ROSIE JONES WORLD CUP GRRRR....

Rosie Jones from FHM.com