SELWG 2011: Crystal Palace

Hard to imagine that this time last year I was in hospital on an IVF antibiotic drip and had to have emergency surgery for a burst abscess in my breast. Where has the time gone?  Indubitably another sign that I'm getting older, as time just flies by nowadays.

Anyway, off I went this year to make up for missing the last one. Went with Trevor and his son Oliver, but like all good expeditions we arrive later than expected, around 11.45, and therefore missed bumping into Richard Clarke from TooFat Lardies.

This was not a big spend show for me as I only bought one thing, a book from Anita's Books, who always have a good selection of titles that tempt me to open my purse.  In this case I bought Aircraft of World War 1 1914 -1918 by Jack Herris and Bob Pearson published by Amber Books.

I thought the show felt quiet, but the traders all seemed to be happy enough.  Talked to Leon and the crew at Pendraken and Dave on Caliver, whom I have known for more years than either of us would care to remember.  Bumped into Richard Partridge from the Southend Wargame Club, not to be confused with the Southend-on-Sea Wargames Club, or South East Essex Military Society that started off as the Southend Wargames Club that was started by Ken Lazenbury.  The Southend wargame scene is a bit like a Welsh village and its churches stroke pubs, with ones that one doesn't go to, or not, as the case may be.

Games at the show were all rather nice.  First one to catch my eye was the Yom Kipper War game by the Essex Warriors.  Centurions massing, what was not to like?

Seen before at Salute, but here it is at SELWG, the rather lovely (to be honest I'm totally jealous of the look) WW2 game Budapest 1945 by Loughton Strikeforce.

Trevor and Oliver played in the Central London Club's WW1 Air War, which had some really nice 1/72nd scale aircraft.  The German schemes are my favourite, so here is a picture of some of the aircraft that appeared in the game.  Still think that the Bristol Fighter was the best Allied aircraft of the war though.

Finally, this WW2 Warsaw Uprising by the Shepway Wargames Club.  Again lovely buildings to die for.

Bought coffee from the Costa franchise, which was much nicer than the coffee at Newbury, and talked to a chap called Alistair who lurks on the TooFatLardies yahoo group.