Family Commitments 1.

Due to a very busy couple of weeks I haven't been able to keep up with my blog, and also reply to any comments, well apart from deleting some tossers spam, but there is always some dick out there.
 Anyway now for some catching up.

 Firstly Colin and I made the trek North of the border to Claymore to see how things were going.
 I have been a little wary of travelling back into Scotland after a bit chew at a party in Glasgow a few years ago.[ nothing wargame related, more to do with some people turning into Braveheart and not being able to hold their drink.]
  Anyway, Claymore was always a very friendly show and this years was no exception.
 The venue does take some finding, and is a good ten minutes from the city centre. On top of that it was held on the only summer's day that Scotland has experienced this year, and the venue was very hot.

 Years ago when Claymore was held at Adam House in the city centre I was always very keen to attend the show, which always seemed a very busy and large show. Now I would say about 500 or so people attended the show, and it is now a medium sized event.

 The standout game was Barry Hilton's winter Great Northern War game. It was nice to see Barry's stuff on show, with some really well painted units and terrain. I loved the bomb ketch.

Several members of the Durham group had brought a game North, led by Conrad Cairns, who staged a 54mm Placenoit game. There were some very nice units on the table, and I particularly loved the French Line lancers

                                       
Below are some old Helmet, French Line Lancers. The crests are actually velvet, which was a feature of the figures originally.

                                             A well painted French unit in greatcoats.

I was impressed with the terrain effect on this Wars of the Roses game which was nicely produced.

 Overall the remainder of the games, were of a club standard, which is okay for a night game, but doesn't do much at a show. Claymore has always held a great Bring and Buy, and this years was no exception, especially if you played board games or Warhammer. The stalls were busy all day.
 I was able to meet up with fellow members of the AMG site, which was extremely pleasant, especially when you are able to pick up tips from some very decent painters.
 Mr Jarvis had some magnificent British on show, which he'd painted a beautiful scarlet, which I will have to plagiarize.I also met Angus Konstam for the first time, which was interesting. His SYW Russian army is a beautiful thing to behold.
Because of our train times, Colin and I stayed at the show, until late, and it struck me why wargamers drift away from the shows early. I'd done my shopping, Id checked out the games and picked up a few new ideas from them, and I'd spoken to a few people I knew, but what is to hold a attendee after that?  Short of buying some extra stuff, that I will never need, I had a long lull in the days event. Now I dont expect to be entertained every second of a show day, but Claymore typically like many many other shows could only offer a limited amount of entertainment.
 This is not a criticism of just Claymore, because the gents who stage the event are really first rate hosts and very helpful. But it comes down to that old chestnut again, what is a wargames show trying to achieve? and what is its aim. Maybe I was suffering from heat exhaustion, and had too much time on my hands.
  Still as a very friendly wargames show, Claymore was a success, and not a Braveheart in sight thankfully. Oh and thanks to the kind and honest soul who found my lost jacket and handed it in to the organisers.