Holiday in Paignton plus Warfare 2024

No blog posts for a while, because we've been on holiday in Paignton for a couple of weeks.  In November?  Are we mad?  Actually we had two weeks of dry weather, warm for the time of year (16C in the first week, down to 11C by the end) and a fair amount of sunshine.

I got to see the cirl buntings in Brixham, watch seals from Goodrington Esplanade and see gannets diving for fish off Berry Head.  There were a lot of cooked breakfasts, meals in the pub and other creature comforts, along with a lot of shopping.  I got a new leather belt, just like the one I bought on Newton Abbot market over 20 years ago (and am still wearing).  There was also a significant haul from the charity shops, including a lot of CDs and DVDs that many shops are practically giving away at the moment.

Some relevant finds in charity shops

That lot in the photo cost me less than a tenner.  In fact I spent more on a grilled mackerel breakfast in the Guard House restaurant (which was excellent and well worth the price).  It was a good mix of familiar haunts and new discoveries.  Sad to see Oldway mansion looking so run down; apparently it has been closed since bits of masonry started falling off in 2022.  Originally built for Isaac Merritt Singer, the inventor of the sewing machine, the last time we visited it was in use as the local registry office.  Sue Barker learned to play tennis on the courts outside.

Oldway Mansion looking a bit tatty.  The other side looks worse

While away, I started playing Mike Lambo's Fields of Normandy.  In this book, the player commands a platoon of the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers clearing the Germans from dug-in positions around Caen as part of Operation Epsom.  The first few scenarios are a tutorial and I cleared each of them at the first attempt, getting the hang of scouting, flanking and supporting fire.  The fourth scenario by contrast had me stumped with a srting of 4 successive defeats.

Fields of Normandy, going the safe way

Here you see my stealthy approach,  Starting from the space at the bottom (with the black triangle) I've sent all three sections around the hill, scouting the German infantry squad position to find it looking the other way.  A section has already gone ahead and scouted the position of a second German squad (also looking the wrong way), so the attack should be simple.  There is a third position in the NE corner, still just a question mark.   I played the scenario four times this way and didn't lose a man, but there wasn't quite time to clear all three in six turns.

Eventually I took a chance and rushed straight over the hill into the first German position with the whole platoon.  I got lucky and cleared a light MG position, but it could have gone badly wrong.  As a result, the platoon was on hex further east and a turn sooner, leaving plenty of time to tackle the other two positions more carefully.

There's a surprising amount to think about in such a small scenario.

Drove home on Friday and on Saturday went up to Reading's Warfare show at Farnborough airport with my brother-in-law.  Spent a long time around the trade stands, but better not talk about the haul.  Let's just say that money changed hands, and unlike my companion I managed to stick to my orders and didn't buy any more toy soldiers.  MDF bases, scenic accessories, a rulebook and some special dice are not toy soldiers.  And we don't live in an elastic-sided house.

Most of the pleasure for me in a show like this is to look at the demonstration and participation games.  They are far beyond my ability to paint so many models, build so much fabulous scenery and above all find anywhere in the house to store it afterwards.  But I do like to dream.

Guilford Courthouse with Sharp Practice by Huntingdon Wargame Society

This beautiful layout is a great example.  You'll need to click on the image to see it full-size and appreciate how good it is.  The crown forces are at the far end, and will have to fight through three lines of rebels to cross the whole length of the table and achieve a significant victory.  While staring at the table, I eventually realised that I had met one of the organisers (Mark, on the left) last year at Posh Lard in Peterborough.  So we chatted a little.

There are a lot of familiar faces at a show like this.  I didn't spot any magazine editors this year, but plenty of other faces that I only know from their hobby blogs (or in one case from the television).  Keith Flint was there, which reminds me that one year I must make it to his Cotswold wargaming day.  And I also ran into a couple of Postie's Rejects.

Ray and Lee with some smug-looking bloke.  What's he so pleased about?

It's good to see Ray up and about for an event like this.  He said something on his blog about coming to say hello, so it would have been rude not to.  Actually I saw him at Warfare last year, and got as far as "Hello Ray" just as someone else that he already knew (it may have been Lee) appeared and started talking to him.  I left them to get on with their conversation, thinking we were bound to pass each other again, but it's a big enough show that it didn't happen.  So we got a proper hello this year, before I go back to being just a page-view statistic from Blogger.

I'll just say that there are a number of blogs that inspire me to do better at the hobby, and if I don't leave a comment, that's only because I've got nothing of value to add.

Update: Ray has published a much fuller report on the Warfare show on his blog [here]

So that's a summary of a busy couple of weeks.

Until next time, health & happiness to you all.