(i didn't want to see) apathy in the uk

i was in the uk for a couple of weeks last month, and i decided to keep an eye out for trading cards. i didn't have to wait too long before i spotted some, as there was a significant display of 2026 topps premier league cards in a grocery store in porthmadog - in fact, two different displays

and again in the window of what i would consider a neighborhood market

i didn't purchase any of these cards, but it was interesting to see them and note how visible topps is making them.

i later spotted some tobacco cards displayed on the wall of one of the english pubs we went in. 

as far as i could tell, these 1937 player's coronation series: ceremonial dress cards are actual cards - not a promotional or modern poster. it's a partial set (there are 50 total cards in the set) and they don't seem to be worth too much, but i would guess that the cards have been in place there for decades.

i found no topps baseball uk edition cards which is no surprise since the last issue of those cards was in 2022, and i understood that it was an online product, not necessarily available in brick and mortars. speaking of which, i found no hobby shops that carried cards. there were a couple of shops we discovered on our adventures that looked like they could have had sports cards, but they drew the line at funko pops, apparently. the last time i was in britain, i saw some pokemon cards at a convenience type store, but i didn't see any of that this time.

i do have a couple of recent uk edition pickups to share from that last release to show off:

walker buehler black parallel

these are numbered to 125 which is different from the flagship black parallels

freddie freeman and mookie betts base cards

and a clayton kershaw big ben parallel

which is numbered to 99

this is one of the more unique parallels in uk edition, but i feel that i should remind everyone that big ben is the bell inside the tower, not the tower itself which is formally named "elizabeth tower". 

i think i would like to find a union jack parallel but i haven't done so yet. i do regret that these were not purchased in the uk. sadly, i believe the last cards i have purchased in person outside of the united states were o-pee-chee cards in the early 1980s or perhaps some hockey cards in the early 90s. 

i didn't see a whole lot of baseball things of any sort while we were there. a few dodger hats - one person wearing a dodgers shirt - but when i said "go dodgers" to one of the people wearing a hat, they looked confused. several yankee hats were noted, but were largely worn by what i assumed to be tourists from asia. i did see an older gentleman at the british museum wearing an expos hat which made me smile. i didn't even see any of the wbc gear for great britain. i wouldn't have minded picking up a shirt with the classic default font. it's worth noting (because it relates to this post) that i came across a couple of old tour posters featuring the sex pistols, from whom i took inspiration for the title of this post.

at the conclusion of our trip we flew from london to boston before returning to the twin cities, which sort of stunk because of the layover and having to go through security again after clearing customs, but it did afford me an opportunity to say hello to pedro martinez in the tsa precheck security line at logan. not sure where he was headed, but that quick moment was better than any card i might have found abroad.

as rick steves says, "keep on travelin'!" to which i will add "keep on collectin'!"

bonus content - happy 37th anniversary to kirk gibson and his game 1 walk-off

i've had that black parallel of his 2013 panini hometown heroes curtain call insert in my scanned folder for not quite a year waiting for tonight!