I've won a Rockstar 'Red Dead Redemption' competition!

Ages ago, it seems, I entered a very easy competition on UK gaming site, www.nowgamer.com , to win what was described as a Red Dead Redemption 'goodie bag'.  Last week, out of the blue, my postie delivered a bulging jiffy  bag full of RDR promotional material.  In keeping with the Western theme of the game, it was very much a case of The Good, the Bad and Ugly (I'll leave you to decide which is which).

Firstly, there was a candle in the shape of a bundle of sticks of TNT (every home should have one).  As with my The Conduit MP3 speakers shaped like a hand grenade, probably not something to be taken through airport security any time soon.

Imagine how delighted my wife was at this

Then there's the bizarre but themically-accurate (it is advertised in-game) 'Western' soap,  which, as you can see, is 'tough on blood and manure.  I'm sure it will come in very useful.  

The colouring is from iron oxide, according to the 21st Century labelling.  Nice.

No bagful of videogame promotional material is complete without a t-shirt and the RDR haul was no exception.

It's not super XL - that's a child-sized bench

Gambling sub-games - poker and blackjack in this case  - are a well-developed theme in Western popular culture and they are present in RDR.  The final item that I was sent was a lovely reproduction of the pack of cards used in the game, complete with Mexican 'Day of the Dead' style art and 'authentic' stains.

They also come with an embossed carrying case

Beautifully macabre

The Joker, El Diablo