ON MEMORABILIA (OR LACK OF IT)

Or....'All i want for Christmas is the Dukla Prague Away kit'.

Ok, now you are possibly thinking...'What is that awful song?'  'That awful video?'  'Has Junkmale been drinking?' 'Has he finally lost his marbles?' 'And what has this possibly got to do with Ewa?

Well read on if only to see how i can make a connection out of almost anything.

I don't travel as much these days as i used to when i was younger.  I haven't been working for a long, long time and just don't have the funds available any longer.
When i do travel i always like to invest in at least one souvenir for myself.  Not the usual fridge magnet or 'I Heart Praha' T shirt for me.  I like to invest in whatever local football shirt i can get my hands on.  The more irrelevant the team the better.  If not local i try to find the National shirt of wherever i'm visiting.  Over the years i've built up quite a collection of shirt's of teams i've never heard of and in most cases can't even pronounce.
The Dukla Prague Away Kit is the 'Holy Grail' for shirt collectors.

I've been to the Czech Republic twice now to see Ewa and i spent a few days  in Poland last year. And before you ask...FC Brno (Home) and the Poland national shirt are now part of my collection. Although wearing the Polish national is NOT recommended in public in Belfast!

Being a fan of Ewa and being from the UK isn't easy.  Her albums are not available here and have to be imported (at great expense).  eBay makes things a little easier but it still can be difficult.

However, it's not just the albums us fans want is it?  It's T Shirt's, posters, key rings, mugs etc etc.  Anything with her name or imagine on it will suffice.
On my visits to the Cze and Poland i was sure i would find lot's of this sort of thing freely and easily available.
I was wrong.  Despite looking (and trust me...i looked) i found absolutely nothing in either country. In fact, her actual albums were not all that easy to locate.  And don't even get me started on trying to find the cosmetics and perfumes!

Nobody was more surprised than me.  I thought for sure Prague and Krakow would be places to go to find some Ewa souvenirs. There was very little on sale even at the 2 concerts i have attended. I had to steal the concert posters from the walls of each venue!

So where actually is all that memorabilia that should and, no doubt, does exist?  Was it just my back luck?  Or did i not look in the right places?

It's about publicity and promotion. Surely if there is very little out there something is very wrong in the way Ewa is being promoted? If things are not available they should be.

Oh...and the Dukla Prague away Kit?  It remains elusive.