I have been to...

 

Yesterday Phil and I visited the Newark County Showground to attend Hammerhead. As a show it's relatively new to me, having only attended a couple before, most notably the last one before Boristhebarsteward's Lockdown at the onset of the great plague! It was very noisy and crowded the whole time we were there, more normality that I'd expected to be truthful, but at the same time I found myself feeling more at ease than I had at The Other Partizan last year.

Firstly then the Games: all are billed as Participation events, so many tables were crowded with players enjoying a game and not conducive of a good picture with so many intervening arms and suchlike. Having run a couple of such games at Partizan back in the day I'm full of admiration for folk who take on such a thankless task but I have to confess also to some typical English reserve, accentuated by deafness, meaning that I'd sooner walk over hot coals than play a game now with folk I don't know! Two games I did enjoy a good nose at though we're the Boondock Saints Indian game and the VBCW crowds' Bridgehead game. There were some other colourful looking efforts - of course I gave the Gnomes and Space Fairies a wide berth!

Secondly then the Traders: a very full presence of all the usual suspects, stalwart chaps and chapesses one and all, plus numerous of the smaller but no less important folk. I'd wager that if you had a list you'd have been very unlucky not to have got all on it. Speaking of Lists: well, I did have one, honest! It consisted of a pre-order from Warbases and some Gamers' Grass Tufts from Great Escape Games. Last of the big spenders me!

Thirdly then the Loot: besides the afore mentioned MDF and Tufts I did buy something else - four ProArte 40 size O sable brushes for £5 from ABC Brushes; from Pendraken a pack of 15mm cows and 20mm pigs, the 15mm ones being ludicrously far too small; from The Last Valley 7' of stream. In addition I paid for three 15mm rural German buildings from Martin at Warbases which will be posted on to me. (He'd kindly bought the preproduction assembled buildings for me to check out.) So, no figures added to the Lead Pimple this time out!

Lastly, but perhaps the most important aspect of the event for me after the last two years, the chance to meet with friends in the hobby and catch up with their news. In no order then: Colin and Bill from the Gothenburg Gamers, running a Prehistoric game too; Robbie from the Independent Wargames Group blog, always a joy to chew the fat with; Paul an old chum reconnected with and added to our GHQ Irregulars; Dave T, never too busy to chat despite being permanently busy peddling Perry Miniatures; Dan from WI with his usual insights into the joys of magazine ownership and production; Jon, who despite going to remind himself why he doesn't go to shows, was seen clutching a purchase! But, I missed seeing Colin Ashton, again! Phil chatted with him, but our paths never crossed, a sign of how crowded it was perhaps?

So dear reader,  A Grand Day Out and no mistake! I'm already looking forward now to Partizan in May. It will be a welcome distraction from all this royal jubilee nonsense!