Snovember and a bit more rant.

Sorry to steal a title used by the Sun newspaper, but due to the weather I cried off Smoggycon,which is unusual for me. The weather however was really bad,and now that I am living on a housing estate,trying to drive in snow is always very bad.
 Anyway I am determined to get to Recon at Leeds this Saturday. Weather permitting.
 I have been reading the reports by Barry Hilton of his trip to Histricon in America, which got me thinking about the state of things in England in comparison to the USA.
 I really think that there needs to be a massive change in the way conventions are done in England, and serious questions need to be asked of what we are trying to achieve at these shows. I can say that over the years,our small band have put on numerous games at all sorts of shows,both big and small. Some I thought were a sucess,others I thought were basically bollocks.
 I felt the best had a varied programme of things on offer, ie a painting competition, a best game award, different types of wargaming on offer, and one Napoleonic show which had a theme,with guest speakers and an Imperial guard marching band!
 Lets be right,most wargamers only attend shows to buy stuff.
 Some go to look at the eye candy,ie games, and some just go to sound off in front of other club members at the bar.
  Our image,especially in England has suffered to the extent that I once again get embarrased at the collective weirdness of some attendees.
Unfortunately wargamers who always had a number of eccentrics,seems now to have attracted a goodly share of the socially inadequate sprinkled with some very strange people who clearly have issues.
 Please dont get me started on the hygene problems that a large minority seem to have, my mam always said 'Soap was Cheap' but clearly not to the twenty stone balding havesack carrying male,barging his way through the bring and buy crowd. God knows what there homes must be like,I am afraid the image we portray doesnt help the lifeblood of the hobby. Dont think that I attend these shows resplendant in a tweed suit, but come on, take a bath,or in some cases a hose down. 
   There is also a greying problem that is growing in England on the wargames front, and in order to continue we as a collective need to find a solution to the recruitment problems that are clearly there. I dont think the way history is now presented in England helps, but that is a whole other topic, but I think to start with there needs to be a lot of thought into our presentation issues. I deliberately didnt include Scotland and Wales in this small rant,as I have never attended  a welsh show, and I have only ever attended Claymore in Scotland which I did enjoy,albeit was a bit of a journey to make.