Tour

Though the world of competitive cycling these days seems far too high tech to come under the remit of a bucolic lifestlye blog, the Tour de France retains a history and romance which fits in very nicely here at Pastoral Review. The biggest of all the European tours it still vividly evokes a thrilling golden age of cycling style and masculinity, so celebrate the start of the 99th Tour de France tomorrow with this tasty edit. Firstly, something cycle specific but whimsical nevertheless:

Front...

...and back.

Tour de France cycling cap by Look Mum No Hands, an East London cafe/bar/bike shop who will also be screening the Tour live too, like a football match in a pub. They also have a great set of mugs in winner's jersey colours:

Now there's only one choice for the, ahem, soundtrack. The full-length (below) was released in 2003 to mark the 100th year of the Tour - note, not the 100th Tour - and I cannot reccommend it highly enough. I don't really need to justify the nostalgic credentials of Kraftwerk, but if you think its not pastoral enough, you should try it on a train buzzing through provincial hedgerows, or very late at night watching the distant, twinkling lights of a remote fishing village. I've also just seen some pictures of cycling jerseys with this artwork, but alas none for sale.

And finally, a 'winning' look which I wholeheartedly endorse and will probably be 'sporting' tomorrow:

No Tour de France lifestyle accessory roundup would be complete without a yellow jersey - this one by Libertine Libertine at Urban Outfitters - and yellow on yellow is always a strong choice.

Billingham Bags

I've seen a couple of people with these camera bags recently; people who I seriously doubt are actual photographers. When my trusty old GPO leather satchel finally gives up the ghost through carrying my U lock too many times I may have to invest.

Bike/Blossom

Recently came across these two pictures of nice bikes hiding in blossom. On top is Lovely Bicycle's ANT 'truss' frame and bottom is a Pelican frame build by Box Dog Bikes.

Ring of Bright Water (1969)

If Pastoral Review was a film it would probably be Ring of Bright Water. Here's why:

Lavenham & Edwin

This chap is wearing a bodywarmer made by British horse/quilting brand Lavenham using Japanese denim courtesy of Edwin. Technically its an AW12 piece, but luckily it's available from next month from selected Edwin stockists. Lets hope the weather stays inclement.

The Family Pile

So I had the idea to write about log piles & woodsheds and I thought surely there'd be a blog/flikr group dedicated to instagram photos of neatly chopped and stacked logs drying out ready for the fire. Not so, or certainly not anywhere that I could find. What I did come across, however, was Wolf Among Wolves, an incredible Tumblr feed of vintage camping gear, cosy interiors and snappy dressing. It's frighteningly vast and is probably quite easy to lose a couple of evenings on there. Anyway, amongst crumpled parkas and wild animal illustrations were these beauties:

And if you do know of a blog of pictures of wood piles, please do let me know.

Jubilee Look

By Topman General Store. Hang on a minute...

Also, Prince Charles looking through some super eights in a study, from his Jubilee Tribute to the Queen on the BBC:

And while we're on it, a lovely piece from the Archival Clothing blog about classic royal-wear (James Cromwell looking as Prince Philip in nice hunting vest/jumper combo in The Queen, 2006):