Our last show of 2018 meant an early morning trip up to Leeds. It was remarkably clear and simple given the time of year. Weather and manning have been issues for us before, but this year it all fell into place nicely. And it was Northampton 1460's first outing in Yorkshire.
(Northampton Battlefields Society's display at Recon)
Time was, of course, when Yorkshire was the bedrock of the Shows North patch ... Triples in Sheffield, Vapnartak ... at least 2 shows in Leeds plus an event at the Armouries (indeed, 2 years, the Society held its much missed AGM at the Armouries) ... Palm Sunday at Towton ... and some Northern Doubles League games at Halifax (have to slip that in as the round Chris and I won was at Halifax!) ... Much has changed - even, so it seems, the weather.
(Northampton 1460 at Recon 2018)
After a slow start, we actually got in quite a few games of Northampton 1460, opene a few eyes and even sold some copies (all the proceeds go to the interpretation and protection of Northamptonshire's historic fields of conflict so do purchase a copy when you see one - it's a great game and a good cause).
(Battle of Northampton heraldic wall charts)
If you were looking for something notionally new then we have found some plastic tubing for our heraldic wall charts, so these are now ready-rolled and a bit better protected. There's a Lancastrian one and a Yorkist ... and a pound off if you take both. They are a great source of heraldic information (we have worked with the same team that do the Bosworth ones that are popular souvenirs in the Visitor Centre) and great wall art for your games room.
Elsewhere at the show, our friends from the Lance and Longbow Society (Gentlemen Pensioners indeed) had a version of the battle of Lewes that you could join in ...
(The Lance and Longbow Society at Recon 2019)
(Lewes 1264 from the Lance and Longbow Society)
Trade-wise, West Wind/Forged in Battle were there with their now extensive range of highly regarded 15mm ancients ... they had a Christmas show discount on which very nearly seduced me. It would have been a lovely idea but ultimately sense prevailed when I mapped out mentally when I'd be able to paint it and how long it would take. I'll still get one - but it doesn't need to be quite now as it'll be a long time before it's slot comes up.
... they also had an ancients demo table close by the stand which was a nice counter-balance to the 28mm WW2 stuff that sloshes around the shows at the moment.
Other than that, there really wasn't much for the 15mm scale enthusiast. And not much below that either. I got a couple of items from the bring and buy but most of my Christmas money went home with me and was spent online. My 2018 was much like that ... in the real world as well as shows. Retailers complain about poor sales but I can't really help them: they don't sell what I want to buy so although I would prefer to shop the traditional way, I have to go online.
Grumpy old g*t? No - not a bit of it - just look at these lovely Dark Age helmets the reenactors brought ...
Great stuff. Quick trip home too in ideal driving conditions - so a painless end to the 2018 season and off to Winter Quarters, refurbishing soldiers, catching up blogging and writing reports. And tallying up what we did and where we went last year. Which hopefully will be my next post and follow shortly. January follows shortly. And a belated Happy New Year!
(close up of the action at Northampton 1460 - Fauconberg gets stuck in)
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