Pink – A Military Colour?

An eye catching or should I say watering story that has attracted my attention has been about an Arizona man who shot himself in the penis with a pink pistol.  This then led me to think about the associations of pink with the military.  A pink pistol would look very striking against green disruptive pattern fatigues or indeed against desert combats.  But the military is not a fashion parade (although my wife insists that life is a fashion parade!) therefore, colour is about camouflage and not coordination.  Although that said, in the nineteenth century it was not unknown for some army dress uniforms to sport a splash of pink on them.

So unless you are in one of Katie Price’s cars, pink disruptive pattern fatigues would not be very helpful, though it would help camouflage your pink pistol if you did not want to advertise the fact that you have a weapon of that colour.

Perhaps, therefore,  it would be fair to assume that pink and the military is akin to chalk and cheese, or Jeremy Clarkson and Germaine Greer.  But one of the things that the military likes to teach its recruits is never assume.  Pink in fact crops up quite a lot in the military:

The Pink Chit.  The chit is an essential administrative tool in the military.  You have to have a chit for just about everything: feeling ill, must have a doctors chit; lost something, must have a chit; married and want to go for a drink with your friends, you must have a “pink chit”.  The pink chit is the most important chit of all; it is a virtual piece of paper from your partner giving you permission to go for a drink or two with your comrades.  Some chits are open giving full permission to spend the night on the razz where as others are time expired perhaps allowing for one drink only.

The Pink (answer sheet).  This is the all important answer sheet to the exam question in a test.  In my time in the military, I can’t quite remember seeing a pink “pink”; they were usually white, blue or green but regardless of colour were always called the “pink”.  The pink was “invariably right” and the fall back to those grateful instructors who did not know the answer, or were not prepared to discuss the merits of an alternative answer was ‘Just look at the pink’.   

The Pink List.    This is the Army promotion list for Officers.  Many ambitious and hopeful officers sweat to see if they are on the pink list which would mean that providing there were vacancies they would be promoted.

But what of pinks fighting qualities? Having sort of ridiculed the merits of pink as a valuable camouflage colour I remembered that during WW2 spitfires flying low level reconnaissance missions were often painted a shade of pink as it was considered good at hiding aircraft against a background of low cloud.  Furthermore, during the first gulf war, Royal Air Force Jets were painted desert pink as it created excellent camouflage against the desert.     

In Japan, the colour pink has a significant military association. The Pink cherry-blossomed trees (the Sakura) represented the young Japanese warriors who fell in battle. Indeed, Japanese pilots would paint pink blossom on the sides of their planes before they embarked on a Kamikaze mission and the first Kamikaze unit had a subunit called Yamazakura or cherry blossom.

Pink, however, is often used as an anti war protest colour. For example, Code Pink is a mainly female anti war organisation that was originally established in the USA . Another example is the famous Pink tank in Prague;  it is a Russian T34 tank that was originally erected on a plinth in Prague to commemorate the bravery of the Russian tank crews. In 1991 David Cerny, an art student, painted the tank pink.  Ironically tanks, one of the more potent military symbols, have often been painted pink for many reasons, pacifist, girl power, gay pride, or perhaps because they just look good.    

Traditionally not a military colour but pink has embedded itself in some of our military customs.  Never to be under estimated pink crops up in the most unlikely places. So back to our unfortunate fellow from Arizona, perhaps he thought that he would come to no harm with a pink gun – he will have wished that it was loaded with blanks because that is all he will be firing in the future !!!

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Macho Pink Revolution

Macho Pink Revolution 

Why do boys play with cars and meccano and girls play with dolls?   Or why are girls rooms often painted pink and boys rooms painted blue?  Is it nature or nurture?  How many times have we heard that a man wearing pink is getting in touch with his feminine side?   Does that mean then that girls wearing blue are getting touch with their masculine side?  It would seem that for some time we have been obsessed with genderising the colour pink

Assigning pink to a gender probably began in the first quarter of the 20^th Century.  An article in the trade publication Earnshaws Infants’ Department in 1918 said “generally accepted rule is pink for the boys and blue for the girls.  The reason being that pink, being the stronger colour, is more suitable for a boy.  While blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for a girl”.  This thinking remained the trend up to the 1940s. However, from the 1940s the social trend has been inverted.        

Pink is often considered as a colour of happiness that can be sensual and passionate without being too aggressive. This tranquilising effect of pink has been used in the psychology of sport and at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium the away team’s changing rooms are painted pink because it is considered that pink encourages friendliness and discourages aggression and ill will; not the qualities expected of an American football team. 

But there is something of a pink revolution going on at the moment, in fact there probably has been for a while.  Pink is no longer the preserve of females it is also fast becoming a man’s colour as well – truly unisex.  In fact it has also been said that pink stimulates energy and increases: blood pressure, respiration, heart beat and pulse rate. So with that in mind, let’s return to sport.  In 2005 Stade Francais shocked the macho world of Rugby Union by wearing pink away jerseys.  Stade Francais is one of the top European Rugby Union sides, boasting a number of internationally capped players from across the globe.  Now would you tell Sergio Parisse (pictured) that he is a “girlie” for wearing pink?   Ironically Cardiff Blues Rugby team also have a pink away kit and Oxford University Rugby Club (dark blues) recently played and beat the Royal Air Force (light blue) the student team was wearing pink    

Is not just rugby union that has taken to pink an amateur rugby league side, Slaithwaite Saracens are sporting pink flowers on their team shirts. Furthermore, Harlequins, Saint Helens and Leeds Rhinos Rugby League teams can also call upon a pink kit.   Bradford City Football Club has just unveiled their away pink kit.  Interesting there are a number of uncomplimentary and sexist comments on various fans’ forums, perhaps those fans should be introduced to Sergio and his mates!  In Italy the Palermo Football Club wear pink home jerseys and the leader of the Giro d’ Italia cycle race wears pink.    

Of course many of the teams, including some already mentioned,  that  wear pink kit  as an alternative to their normal strip generously do so in support of  Breast Cancer Charities.  In the USA October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and teams from many of the top sporting leagues, such as the NFL, proudly wear pink during their matches.  The  Australian Cricket Team for example were pictured wearing pink “baggy hats” at the final Ashes test in Sidney  in support of Glen McGrath’s Foundation.  However, the colour pink in cricket goes beyond the players hats, pink may have some technical merits and trials are in progress with a view to using a pink cricket ball for day/ night test matches.    

So pink is macho, hardened athletes wear it and beautiful elegant folk also enjoy it.  Don’t get fooled by pink, it may be the colour of love and passion and the epitome of elegance but it has a darker more edgy side that  just may surprise you. Carry on with the pink revolution.

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Pink Leap of Faith

I am sure you have heard of the Iron Man challenge which is said to have broken the hearts, minds and bodies of many.  But for those of you who have completed Iron Man, the toughest of toughest, I have a new ordeal to test your strength and will.  Imagine yourself on a 100 mile non- stop run without refreshment where at every mile or so you will have to run the wrong way up a London Underground escalator during rush hour and then leap over a 12 foot wall.  And just to make sure that it is testing enough you will be running against a 70 mph wind. Oh I nearly forgot, during the challenge, at regular intervals,  people will be tempting you with food, take a nibble and you will be yanked unceremoniously  from the challenge and man handled in an undignified and painful way in a tank of water where you will not be able to draw breath.        

With this in mind you may get some idea of what a wild salmon goes through in order to spawn:  swim for hundreds of miles up a river, taking on rapids, dams (leaping as high as 12 ft), pollution and fishermen and what is worse by the time they have spawned only about 10% make it back to the sea, the rest die.   Typically salmon are born in fresh water and migrate to the ocean, then a few years later when they are strong and well fed they return to fresh water to spawn.   Folk law would have it that the fish will return to the exact same spot where they were born in order to spawn.  When they start their journey they are fat and fed and at their most delicious ready for the dinner table or for them the ultimate challenge.

Salmon is one of our most versatile foods; it is healthy and tastes delicious when prepared in a number different ways, for example: baked, boiled, barbequed, grilled, poached and smoked. Indeed such is its versatility that it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or served as a snack.  The health benefits are plentiful salmon is high in protein, omega 3, and vitamin D.

 The wild salmon’s exploits are impressive but for most of us we have to be content with farmed salmon which is still delicious but does not quite have the pedigree.  None the less when you are eating a splendid salmon dish and washing it down with a rosé perhaps spare a thought for the toughest of the toughest and the real iron man challenge.   For links to salmon recipes go to www.strictlypinkstuff.com       

Rose - Strictly Pink Stuff

Do you remember your first dinner parties?  For those of us in our fifties perhaps they are reminded of the times in their late teens and early twenties when one thought is was time to be sophisticated and entertain with a little more finesse.  No more party sevens and Babychams, but perhaps some half decent food and wine.  A starter of melon sprinkled with ginger and a main course of coq au vin.  I could never remember the pudding probably because I had not been fully tamed and guzzled with the other blokes a few beers before, probably a party seven that had been snuck in below the female radar.

But what was on top of the table, Blue Nun, Black Tower and of course a nice bottle of Mateus Rosé?  A nice shaped bottle with a posh looking label and a lovely pink colour wine with a slight sparkle, the girls loved it the boys drunk it – it was alcohol.   For the so called sophisticated, it was the rosé that clinched it; who ever brought the rosé must know their wines. - what class!

What class indeed – in other circles to turn up with a bottle of Mateus Rosé would have been an irreparable social gaff, creating an awkward silence amongst the guests and probably a sarcastic “charming” retorted by the ever so polite hostess who would have quickly passed it to her husband who would squirrel it away and donate it to the school Christmas raffle.      

But, like so many late 70s and early eighties pop groups is rosé making a come- back, the difference is rosé is fresh and has lost none of its sparkle. It has always been a favourite in the glamorous settings of the South of France; it is just the discerning middle England that has scoffed.  Indeed, recently many wine commentators have sung the praises of rosé declaring it an acceptable summer quaff.    Ok so it won’t look in place on the top tables of the finest dining clubs or officers’ messes but it is ideal for the hot summer BBQs.

Rosé has even more talents, it makes a perfect spritzer and  I would recommend a rosé cocktail.     However it is not all about taste,  rosé is a pretty good looker as well and is a pleasing sight  in the finest crystal or picnic plastic goblets.  So don’t worry about the wine snobs go and buy some; don’t spend much and go for a young wine.  Cheers strictlypinkstuff