I don’t know what you think, but I was tickled pink (excuse the pun!) when I was in a Lidl recently and saw these two children’s winter jackets on sale; one in fluorescent pink and one in red and navy blue.  There were only these two colour choices available in the shop and I know I’m probably flattering myself massively, but they look like they’ve been inspired by the colours I chose for my polar jacket and sleeping bag when attending the Arctic Adventure I went on last March.

Last March, I went to the Arctic Circle in the Northern most part of Sweden with two companies called X Platoon and Cold Skills. Both companies are run by former British and Swedish special forces soldiers and provide survival and bushcraft training experiences in stunning beautiful surroundings both here in the UK and in Sweden.

Any specialist Arctic clothing or equipment was provided by Cold Skills and X Platoon so we knew we would be prepared and warm enough at all times to be able to engage wholeheartedly with the activities and training, and enjoy the breathtakingly fresh and untouched beauty of one of the only remaining genuine wildernesses of the world.

There was the opportunity though to buy a few items of clothing for general wear, in and around the town Kiruna and when in transit.

So I bought myself a bright pink jacket from SuperDry and with much joy sewed on X Platoon’s logo patches. I also after much deliberation, decided upon a navy blue and red sleeping bag designed to keep you snug and roasting in extreme cold temperatures.

I realise the idea that Lidl’s clothes designing research team have seen my adventure with X Platoon and Cold Skills somewhere and have decided they would like to pursue that as a fashion range sounds very far fetched, but nonetheless, this year they are selling jackets with the words ‘Arctic Adventure’ on them in the colours I chose for mine.

So if you did Lidl, I applaud you for choosing some absolutely superb companies to look into for Arctic and adventure inspiration; and if you didn’t, then I would still like to say thank you to you for giving me a big reason to smile seeing those matching jackets that bring back some very happy memories!