We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Discussion of the re-branding of CTC as Cycling UK.
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Philip Benstead
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We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by Philip Benstead »

We are Cycling UK: introducing our new brand
As you will know from recent communications, CTC is shortly to rebrand itself as 'Cycling UK'.
As promised, we have brought together materials and guidance to support your group’s use of our new name, along with the associated resources such as logos and fonts. We believe the new brand will offer an exciting opportunity for groups to reach out to a wider audience of cyclists and strengthen future development.
Our 'Cycling UK' brand toolkit includes:
• The story so far – a short article about the background to the new brand;
• Our brand guidelines – a summary of how to use our new logos and fonts on your websites and in print;
• Promoting your Member Group – information on how to publicise your group’s activities and events your group can get involved with in 2016;
• A template Cycling UK press release;
• A Member Group Marketing Materials request form for items such as banners/fliers/business cards and so on which will be supplied by Cycling UK free of charge.
• A full set of Cycling UK logos to download from Dropbox.

Included as attachments with this email are:

• Your Brand Kit, which includes full information on:
o the use of the brand Cycling UK
o the tone of voice to use with it
o associated colours, logos and fonts
o suggested imagery to use on websites and in communications
• The Cycling UK Social Media Toolkit 2016.

We have brought together this set of guidelines and resources to present our rebranding work to you in detail and illustrate how this could be used at a local level. We would love your group to adopt the new branding but we do understand that, for some Member Groups, now may not be the right time to make this change.
CTC or Cycling UK – it’s your choice
CTC Member Groups will not need to change names, jerseys or other aspects of branding unless they want to. Many Member Groups are more focused on touring than on our other activities, such as undertaking campaigning or supporting inclusive cycling projects. Therefore, we have built in a way, should your group so choose, for the name 'Cyclists' Touring Club' to be used alongside the new brand identity.
For example, you can choose to incorporate the new brand into your group name like this:

Cycling UK Farnham

Or you can retain your group's existing name and identity but add the new brand name as follows:

Farnham Cyclists' Touring Club, part of Cycling UK

or

Farnham CTC, part of Cycling UK

Our heritage
The Winged Wheel is a part of our heritage and will be retained as an asset to support our promotional work to prospective members and supporters, for example at events like Eroica Britania. It will also continue to be possible to obtain classic Cyclists’ Touring Club kit and Winged Wheel badges – and we plan to develop further items drawing on the charity’s rich history.
The name Cyclists’ Touring Club continues to be the official name of both the company and the charity.
Support
Whichever option your group chooses, either to adopt the new name in full or to keep your existing name but reference your connection to Cycling UK, we are here to support you fully and intend to invest our energy into helping your Member Group thrive. For example, we plan to run a ride leader training programme this year, which many Member Groups took part in last year.

There are some useful resources in this pack, so even if you choose not to adopt the new branding at this time, please do still have a read through. For example, we’ve included guidance on promoting your group locally and an updated copy of our Social Media Toolkit.
We will host interactive webinars to go through the brand guidelines and answer any questions you may have. We will be in touch separately to invite you to join one of these. We will be running the same session a number of times to try to include as many people in this as possible, but don’t worry if you can’t make it to join in on a webinar, as we will make it available online soon afterwards.
Timescales
Our new brand will be officially rolled out on Tuesday 5 April 2016 so look out for a new-look website on that date. We will also send a preview message to all members in the week before our roll out. Tuesday 5 April will be the date when we start using the brand name 'Cycling UK' in all our communications nationally.
We appreciate that it may be a challenge to make this change as quickly at a local level as we are nationally. For those who are keen to adopt the new branding, please do take the time you need to plan and agree on your own roll out and how this might fit within your existing events calendar for the spring/summer season. We are on hand to offer advice and support so please do get in touch with us too.
There will be a special edition of the April/May edition of ‘Cycle’ magazine hitting your doormat around 5 April, which will explore the background to choosing our new brand and what it means for the future of the organisation.
If you have any questions about our brand toolkit, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Our Head of Communications and Campaigns, David Murray, is happy to help and is available via david.murray@ctc.org.uk or via 07786 320 713.


The story so far
Last year, with your support, we helped one million people to take up and keep cycling. We could not have made such an impact without your continued backing, whether that was through organising and taking part in great rides every week, marshalling large events like Ride London and Eroica Britannia, promoting our Big Bike Revival, or becoming bike buddies and Dr Bikes as part of Bike Week. What’s more, we know we can really grow the size and impact of our organisation further. One way to do this is to rebrand.
Ever since our formation, we have encouraged more people to make cycling a part of everyday life. Our origins, in the early days of cycling, were at a time when the bicycle opened up new horizons for independent travel. We were a pioneering organisation, offering a home to those who were keen to explore the world from the saddle, and connecting those people together.
More than that, we were an organisation that wanted to share its new-found passion for cycling with the world and to excite others into taking up this fun and exhilarating form of travel. Equally, we stood up for the interests of everyone who wanted to cycle, and helped to get as many people as possible cycling, as often as possible.
Fast forward 138 years and we are still talking about the same aspirations and values of the same organisation. But there is a challenge.
For years, we have been grappling with this challenge, brought to us by our members and volunteers. We have been told that the name ‘Cyclists’ Touring Club’ might work well when we are attempting to reach one of our many audiences – touring, but does not translate so well when, for example, we want to influence decision makers about making better provision for cycling, or when we are reaching out to under-represented groups to unlock the joys of cycling in everyday life. It seems to act as a block, whether that is locally when recruiting more people to join us on our rides, when gaining media attention to raise our profile, or when trying to secure more funding to help us to get more people cycling.
We set out to learn more about these challenges, to determine how best to overcome them. We contacted over 9,000 people (and more recently a sample of 2,000 more), comprising Member Groups, affiliated clubs, members, non-members, campaigning volunteers, local and national government colleagues, and key partners.
Our research told us that we need to present ourselves in an approachable, friendly, fun, warm and supportive way. We want people to cycle in the knowledge that we are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that cyclists’ rights are represented and protected. In other words, our charity should aim to make cycling the joy it should be, by protecting the gift of cycling.
This research also indicated that we need to create a name which is representative of a wide set of interests, and that these are interests which we have had since our very first founding years. It is a name that should act as a descriptor of all of the work we do and all our interests. In other words, it needs to act as an umbrella brand which in itself allows space for any single part of our organisation at any level to work effectively. It will also enable our existing name, and indeed our rich heritage, including great assets like our ‘Winged Wheel’, to continue when we are talking about and enjoying touring.
So why this name? We have chosen ‘Cycling UK’ as the name shows that we are confident in dominating the cycling landscape, have a passionate voice and are warm and welcoming to all types of cycling. The 'We are' prefix helps to show a collective sense of togetherness (and can be adapted to e.g. ‘I am Cycling UK’ ‘She is Cycling UK’ ‘John is Cycling UK’ ‘Sally is Cycling UK’ etc).
The strapline 'The cyclists' champion' is one that highlights that we are standing up for cyclists, and with ‘UK’ featuring in the name, we are showing that our interests cover the whole of the UK. Our colour palette is a progression from our existing colours, so that there is a connection between our old and new logos.
We have put together a pack to help to guide you through the new branding and help with your own promotion locally, through the media, via social media (Facebook and Twitter), and through other traditional print and promotion routes. For some Member Groups, you might not plan to adopt the new name and branding because you would prefer to retain a CTC name, or for practical reasons like you have just bought new kit. We have included some suggestions on how you can still communicate your connection with Cycling UK as part of these brand guidelines.
We do hope your Member Group sees this as a great opportunity. Together, we are Cycling UK!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our Head of Communications and Campaigns, David Murray, is happy to help and is available via david.murray@ctc.org.uk or via 07786 320 713.

Our brand guidelines
We have included in this pack a Cycling UK Brand Kit with detailed information on how to use our new logo, the colours and fonts we are using (in case you need to share these with local print companies and others for leaflets), and our guidance on tone of voice for written communications. We’ve pulled out some key points from this toolkit below:
For your Member Group websites
If you have your own websites and want to refresh them to reflect our new branding:
• When using our logo online, please place it at the top left side of your homepage.
• Give the logo some ‘breathing space’ by using the size of letter ‘C’ in our logo as a guide to how much space there should be around the logo.
• Use white as your background colour on your site so that the logo, images and text stand out.
• When rounding edges on images, please use a 4mm corner radius.
• Suggested wording for introductory text on your homepage (and please edit according to the types of ride you do and any other activities you are involved in, e.g. local campaigning, or supporting inclusive cycling projects):

• MEMBER GROUP NAME is a part of Cycling UK. For 138 years we have championed a simple belief – that cycling is a wonderful gift that should remain accessible and available to all. We ride regularly on XX DAY with a variety of rides varying in length (XX miles to XX miles) including family rides, and longer rides. We also champion cyclists’ interests through our local campaigning to secure more and better space for cycling.
For print and digital media
We have chosen clear colours for our logos and fonts for printed materials, with different tints for digital use, so that people with poor eyesight can see them more clearly. Please make sure you use the correct versions.

Pages 6 – 11 in our toolkit show you details of our logos, fonts, colour palettes and the dos and don’ts of using our brand.
Our secondary colour palette is for when you want to draw attention to an action, like a ‘join now’ or a ‘sign up here’ box, so should not be overused in any printed materials (as they are designed to grab your attention on specific actions, which gets lost if used too much in any one leaflet, for example).
If you do change your name, we would recommend using the following reference in your communications with the press: “Cycling UK Newcastle, formerly CTC the national cycling charity…”
Some of the information in our toolkit might seem a bit technical (because we use it with designers and other trades as well as amongst ourselves), so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our Head of Communications and Campaigns, David Murray, is happy to help and is available via david.murray@ctc.org.uk or via 07786 320 713.


Promoting your Member Group
One of the main reasons for a rebrand is to help us to reach out to a larger audience of would-be-cyclists and excite them into joining us. What better place for this to happen than locally, and so we hope that these tips on promoting your Member Group might help with bringing in new members to your rides.
List your events online
Our events listings page is a great way to promote your rides and other events to a large audience. If you haven’t already got log-in information for your Member Group, please do get in touch with us and we will set you up so that you can post your events information up – groups@cyclinguk.org
Use your group’s space on our website
We get hundreds of thousands of visitors to our website every month, so using your own group space on our website is a free and easy way to reach more people who could come and join in your rides. If you haven’t got your own group page set up, please get in touch and we’ll talk you through how to do so - groups@cyclinguk.org (if you already have a page on our site, don’t worry, it will still be there after the rebrand and will redirect you if you search for the page on the old web address). If you have a separate website make sure we are linking to your site from ours.
Get involved in the big projects Cycling UK is running in 2016
Bike Week takes place 11-19 June, so it’s time to open up your diaries and save the date. Bike Week will continue to have the theme of ‘Cycling to Work’, as we know most people use social and leisure rides as a way of getting themselves ready for riding to work. Bike Week is a fantastic opportunity for you to put on events that will attract new cyclists to your group. You could even put on a bike breakfast at your workplace to encourage your colleagues to cycle to work too!
We’re currently in the process of updating and uploading all the new Bike Week documents to the site, but you can register your event now and be one of the first to have your events listed.
The Big Bike Revival has received £500,000 funding boost for this year. We will host a series of events, including bike maintenance workshops, led rides, and bike checks across the summer. The more your Member Group can get involved with the Big Bike Revival, the more chances you will have to meet prospective new members. We will send out more information about how you can get involved soon.
Use the rebrand as a great excuse to host a recruitment event
Whether it’s adapting and opening up an existing ride to the public, or putting on a new event like a treasure hunt, our rebranding is a great excuse to promote your Member Group to the local media and the public. Our template press release included in this pack is ready for you to edit and use, and we are more than happy to send you contact information for your local news outlets if you don’t have it already.
Use our new Social Media Toolkit
With help from Allianz through their charity partnerships work, we’ve developed a Social Media Toolkit, also included in this pack, so if you haven’t yet created a Facebook group, or sent your first tweet, now is a great time to start. Our guide is a step-by-step resource showing you how to create a new social media account, includes a jargon buster, and gives you advice about how to make the most out of these online tools.
Get in touch
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our Head of Communications and Campaigns, David Murray, is happy to help and is available via david.murray@ctc.org.uk or via 07786 320 713.


Template Press Release
Here’s a template press release for you to tailor and use as part of your local promotions. Please change the highlighted text to fit with your event details. We’ve included a suggested quote as well.
Cycling UK launches into spring with free pedal and picnic
Cycling UK, formerly CTC the national cycling charity, has opened up its rides calendar to the public with a series of free led bike rides across the country this spring and summer.
BRANTON residents are invited to join CYCLING UK BRANTON (FORMELY BRANTON CTC) on 9 April at 10am at BRANTON VILLAGE GREEN, for a 6 MILE ride.
The route, which is designed to suit 8 to 80-year-olds, will take in THE BIRTHPLACE OF DARLES CHARWIN AND THE BLUE SAND RIDGE finishing with a picnic BACK AT THE VILLAGE GREEN AT NOON.
Ride leader, LILLY BLEMMING from CYCLING UK BRANTON, said:
“Ever since our formation in 1878, Cycling UK members have explored the world by bike. We work to make cycling a part of everyday life for everyone.
People of all ages and abilities are invited to join us for one of our spring/summer rides to try cycling out for themselves. Joining Cycling UK is a great way to find fun, friendship and fitness through the freedom that riding a bike brings”.
Cycling UK offers everybody the chance to try out one of its 13,000 group rides for free up to three times before being encouraged to take up membership.
With hundreds of cycling groups active across the UK, people will be warmly welcomed into their nearest Cycling UK group, given access to reviews, features and advice from everyday cyclists, £10m third party insurance cover, stacks of great discounts with hundreds of cycle and outdoor shops across the country, plus ‘Cycle’ magazine delivered to your door six times a year. Cycling UK membership will also help others to take up cycling and overcome any barriers to cycling such as a disability.
To find out more about Cycling UK and this fantastic opportunity to take up cycling this spring/summer, visit http://www.cyclinguk.org/BRANTON

Notes to editors:
1. Cycling UK rebranded on 5 April 2016, and was formerly known as CTC, the national cycling charity. For 138 years, Cycling UK has championed a simple belief – that cycling is a wonderful gift that should remain accessible and available to all. We inspire and help people to cycle and keep cycling, whatever kind of cycling they do or would like to do. Over a century’s experience tells us that cycling is more than useful transport; it makes you feel good, gives you a sense of freedom and creates a better environment for everyone. http://www.cyclinguk.org #wearecyclinguk




Member Groups’ Marketing Materials – Request form

Dear Member Group Secretary & Publicity Officer,
With the rollout of the new brand ‘Cycling UK’ from 5 April onwards, we will be delighted to supply you with a kit of marketing materials, free of charge, that you can use to help promote your group under the new brand.
Please tick below the items you would like to receive a supply of:
Marketing materials Tick below or put Yes
A supply of membership flyers

A supply of a generic local group postcards

A supply of generic business cards
(these will feature a space for you to write your contact details)

T-shirts x 4 mixed sizes
(for Member Groups/volunteers to wear at events)

Generic vinyl banner x 1
(for outdoor use)

Editable PDF poster template
(these will have a space where you can put your own group’s details and print out locally) – this will be sent via email

Leaflet holder x 1
(you may already have supplies, these are non-branded)


Once we have your completed form, we will dispatch these out to you from 5 April 2016 onwards.

Please give the name/address where you would like the new materials posted (full name/address):









We may in the future look to provide some other marketing materials to further support groups – if there are other materials you feel would be beneficial, please give your suggestions here:









Please let us know who has completed this form and contact details in case we have any queries:

Name: ………………………………………………………………………………………

Membership No: …………………………………………………………………………..

Name of Member Group: …………………………………………………………………

Email address: ……………………………………………………………………………

Telephone number:………………………………………………………………………..


Many thanks – we look forward to receiving your forms and
supporting you to publicise your group.

Please return your completed form to:

Julie Rand, Member Group Co-ordinator, CTC National Office, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX.

Email: groups@ctc.org.uk
Philip Benstead | Life Member Former CTC Councillor/Trustee
Organizing events and representing cyclists' in southeast since 1988
Bikeability Instructor/Mechanic
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gaz
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by gaz »

An informative post, particularly the section dealing with the rebrand process and raison d'être

We have chosen ‘Cycling UK’ as the name shows that we are confident in dominating the cycling landscape, have a passionate voice and are warm and welcoming to all types of cycling. The 'We are' prefix helps to show a collective sense of togetherness (and can be adapted to e.g. ‘I am Cycling UK’ ‘She is Cycling UK’ ‘John is Cycling UK’ ‘Sally is Cycling UK’ etc).

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
gaz is Cycling UK.
Labrat
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by Labrat »

gaz wrote: The 'We are' prefix helps to show a collective sense of togetherness (and can be adapted to e.g. ‘I am Cycling UK’ ‘She is Cycling UK’ ‘John is Cycling UK’ ‘Sally is Cycling UK’ etc).


that sounds like a very positive opportunity for branding stuff, holds real potential for future campaigns.
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Philip Benstead
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by Philip Benstead »

gaz wrote:An informative post, particularly the section dealing with the rebrand process and raison d'être

We have chosen ‘Cycling UK’ as the name shows that we are confident in dominating the cycling landscape, have a passionate voice and are warm and welcoming to all types of cycling. The 'We are' prefix helps to show a collective sense of togetherness (and can be adapted to e.g. ‘I am Cycling UK’ ‘She is Cycling UK’ ‘John is Cycling UK’ ‘Sally is Cycling UK’ etc).

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
gaz is Cycling UK.



“We are gullible and naiver”
Philip Benstead | Life Member Former CTC Councillor/Trustee
Organizing events and representing cyclists' in southeast since 1988
Bikeability Instructor/Mechanic
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
I am glad "gaz is Cycling UK." read the whole post............saves me doing it :mrgreen:
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
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ElCampesino
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by ElCampesino »

Labrat wrote:
gaz wrote: The 'We are' prefix helps to show a collective sense of togetherness (and can be adapted to e.g. ‘I am Cycling UK’ ‘She is Cycling UK’ ‘John is Cycling UK’ ‘Sally is Cycling UK’ etc).


that sounds like a very positive opportunity for branding stuff, holds real potential for future campaigns.


I find it very bland and uninspiring; but that is only my personal opinion.

However, the new name and logo (though I am against them) is only a secondary concern and my main one is the way this whole affair is being handled by the CTC and that the new brand is being rolled out now despite the pending poll.

What is certain is that if the poll comes out against the name change and if committee decides to go through with it anyway, even if this is within their powers, I will cancel my membership the next day.

It would mean that the CTC (or then CUK) would lose a keen club rider, volunteer, CTC advocate, bike ride leader and MG committee member. And I am sure I won’t be the only one. Not cancelling my membership would indicate tacit approval which isn't the case.

EC
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mjr
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by mjr »

So now we see how local groups don't have to change their names but have to change their names at least to stick "part of CUK" on the end? Doublespeak at its finest! :lol:

BRANTON residents are invited to join CYCLING UK BRANTON (FORMELY BRANTON CTC)


Wouldn't communications be better if whoever puts these kits together could spell?

I can't decide whether "gaz is Cycling UK" sounds more like it's announcing a LEJOG attempt or megalomania :lol:
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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gaz
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by gaz »

There is additional information in the Branding Kit thread regarding MGs changing their name, it is being recommended but not imposed.

BTW the Branding Kit also says that abbreviating Cycling UK to CUK* is very naughty and should not be done under any circumstances :mrgreen: .

*Damn it, that's my ceritifcate of merit out the window :wink: .
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by mjr »

Strangely, the do-nothing option has been omitted from the choices quoted in the first post here. :roll:

As for CUK as an abbreviation - if they didn't like it, maybe another name would have been better?

Cycling UK offers everybody the chance to try out one of its 13,000 group rides for free up to three times before being encouraged to take up membership.

And do I spy a new meaning of "encouraged" to mean "required on pain of exclusion"? Yes, this really is a new clarity which will help get CTC's views across ☹
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by Karen Sutton »

I note that the Cocon font is not used in the re-branding kit sent out to Member Groups. I wonder why?
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Philip Benstead
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by Philip Benstead »

Karen Sutton wrote:I note that the Cocon font is not used in the re-branding kit sent out to Member Groups. I wonder why?
I am slow what do you mean
Philip Benstead | Life Member Former CTC Councillor/Trustee
Organizing events and representing cyclists' in southeast since 1988
Bikeability Instructor/Mechanic
Karen Sutton
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by Karen Sutton »

It looks like Times Roman in the kit to me.
Karen Sutton
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by Karen Sutton »

Karen Sutton wrote:It looks like Times Roman in the kit to me.


To be clearer, in the re-brand kit the new name plus strapline is printed several times in blue and yellow but the font is Times New Roman, not Cocon.
AndyK
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by AndyK »

Karen Sutton wrote:
Karen Sutton wrote:It looks like Times Roman in the kit to me.


To be clearer, in the re-brand kit the new name plus strapline is printed several times in blue and yellow but the font is Times New Roman, not Cocon.


I think it may be just you. In the document I'm looking at ("Cycling UK - Your Brand Kit.pdf") the FF Cocon Bold font appears many times. It's embedded in the PDF file, so you ought to see it even if your computer does not have the Cocon font installed.
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Re: We are Cycling UK Into - What is your view

Post by gaz »

High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
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