Saturday 11 June 2011

Bobbing Along. Issue 3. May 1989.40p (cheap)

Bobbing Along. Issue 3. May 1989.40p (cheap)


Issue 3 and I still couldn't glue my paragraphs in straight. I have an astigmatism in the eye and can't play darts or snooker or cut wallpaper straight either.

This was always one of my favourite editions although I can now see its many flaws. Despite being a 'monthly' publication, there's an element of repetition starting to creep in. Indeed, there was a list of people and organisations that we felt duty bound to be rude about in every issue.

City Chairman, Tony Clemo, gets off quite lightly here (I bet he was relieved). Alun Evuns, head of the FAW at the time, didn't. In retrospect, it's all a little unfair.

This cover features the debut of the 'Bobbing Along Banner.' Note the black box denoting the cover price. This was a nice bit of future proofing as price increases could be slipped in without drawing attention to themselves.

No-one has ever asked me what the influences of 'Bobbing Along' were so I will tell you. It owes a debt to Woody Allen, Douglas Adams, George Orwell, Spinal tap, The Goodies File, Foul! magazine, The Rothman's Football Yearbook (indespensible) and Cardiff City - in that order.

Please forgive the occasional misspelt word in the magazine as there was no such thing as a spellchucker in those days. 

Tony Hancock, featured on the 're-vamped' cover, is a personal favourite. If you think that Hancock has nothing to do with football then Click Here.

There's also a piece on the press' reaction to the Hillbrough disaster of April 15th, 1989.

If you want to read more Bobbing Along Issue 3 and read a detailed commentary of the life and times of Cardiff City, find it here

Available from Amazon Kindle




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