If you passed through a mainline train station today, chances are that you will have had a free first copy of First magazine thrust in your hand as part of its launch promotion. (I couldn’t find a weblink, so I scanned it in instead.)
And what a peculiar hotch-potch it is. The first 16 pages is taken up with mostly two pages spreads of big photos with a few lines of script and what an eclectic mix:
- George Clooney at the Save Dafur Rally
- Pauline standing by Prezza
- The bloke who did the London marathon in armour
- Posh in a red frock
- Fireworks for Israel’s 58th birthday
- That little Indian lad who’s made to run 40 miles a day
- The ‘comfort women’ of Taiwan
- The tea harvest in India
There then follows some snippets of news (?) and celebs before we hit the danger zone — “Tracey Temple’s only magazine interview.”
Either I’ve been reading the wrong papers or dozed off before the salacious bits, but this account is far more explicit than I’ve previously read. Like the time he…. No, I’ll stop there. I’m definitely wandering into too-much-information territory.
Routine ‘Kylie’s Battle for a Baby’ and true-life My Baby was Snatched 16 Years Ago features before we’re back to double-spreads on how much families around the world spend on their groceries. (Why am I not surprised that it’s £141.56 in the UK, £17.64 in Ecuador and £10.27 in Chad?)
The survival instinct was beginning to wane, so I flicked through the feature “Are You Having Less Sex Than Your Mother” before hitting the telly guide, puzzles, horoscopes and weather forecast.
A bizarre read, but not one I’m likely to repeat.
