Colourful and appealing

Customers will find this an appealing little catalogue, a very handy size and a lavishly illustrated front cover, which compels one to look inside. Here again, one is not disappointed.

All is clearly set out, sizes and prices are easy to see and to read (a bonus for the older, shortsighted fan). No mention is made of the composition of the fabrics - only a useful addition for those of us who have to wash them of course! There is plenty to choose from. There are replica kits, fashion tops, tracksuits and not all of these are Wrexham red by any means. Any loving mother or grandma, sadly uninformed about the ways of modern football, would find this brochure a little treasure at Christmas or birthday time. Bibs, tankards, money boxes, key rings - it's all there and very clearly illustrated. Full marks to the producers of this catalogue. It's clear, colourful, easy to follow and deserves to do well.

Penny Watts

Cool ideas

As someone who has tried in the past to buy some kind of "souvenir" for Wrexham-mad friends, without much success, I can tell you that the latest Wrexham Direct Merchandise catalogue is a god-send!!

In the past I have had to resort to making my own presents (being brought up in the Blue Peter age) which although seemed a good idea at the time, was an idea not always appreciated.

OK, so the catalogue isn’t top quality, there aren’t any gorgeous-looking models to drool over whilst eating your cornflakes, but it sure beats racking your brains for something original to give as a pressie - all the ideas are there in front of you.

The front cover says it all really - there are some photos of so-called models showing off some clothing - all I can say is "don’t give up your day job folks". It looks like these photos were taken in one of those tiny photo-booths you see in train stations, not much imagination has gone into them.

They look embarrassed, especially the young lad in the football strip, and the woman looks out of her mind, obviously she is trying to appeal to the male-reader by trying to look provocative, but really all she manages to look is insane!!! But enough about the layout of the front page, what’s inside this glossy little production I hear you ask???

Well, there are two main sections in the catalogue - "Replica Kits and Leisure Wear" and "Souvenirs" - both exciting elements in their own right. As mentioned earlier, the photography leaves a lot

to be desired and if you can manage to look just at the clothes rather than the gormless faces of the "models" then you’ll be fine. Thankfully the "Souvenirs" section just shows the items on a plain white background, so you don’t get too distracted!! A bit boring you might say, but at least they haven’t tried to blind you with science, what you see is what you get.

There is, inevitably, the odd naff gift amongst the glorious collection of souvenirs, but this kind of naff stuff would be ideal for an ageing uncle or cousin, or some other relative you feel obliged to buy pressies for every now and then!! I’m talking, of course, about the burgundy programme binder and the very tasteful Christmas and birthday cards.

Don’t get me wrong, I think these gifts are brilliant and loads of people would be more than happy to get anything with the Wrexham logo on! There are also some really cool ideas, such as mugs, keyrings, ties and best of all a signed football for £15.00 - can you believe how fantastic that is? What a bargain!! Everything is very reasonably priced as well, so you won’t be out of pocket at the end of the day.

For your consumer pleasure, in future issues I will be "road testing" the goods on offer in the catalogue (I can’t wait to see the signed football!!). This work, in aid of the dedicated Wrexham fan, is no great burden, in fact it will be an honour to get my hands on all those lovely goodies.

I will be looking at a different section each issue and reporting back on the best of the bunch, value for money, durability, washability, anything you might need to know before making that quality purchase!! After all buying from a catalogue, you can never be 100% of what you’re getting until it arrives!!

If anyone has any particular items they’d like investigating, please let me know and I’d be more than happy to help out!!

So, until next time, happy shopping....

Jackie Beedle

In Red Passion 2 Jackie - our expert Shopping Correspondent - will be 'road-testing' WFC cups, mugs, beakers and beer glasses. DON'T MISS IT!