SALUTE 2014 - The Aftermath

April each year is special to me as it includes a number of notable events. First of all its my Birthday month and the anniversary of my Blog. It also includes my Mum and Dads Wedding Anniversary, this long suffering couple have managed to put up with each other for over 40 odd years!!!

Most of all April is SALUTE MONTH!!! This year saw my annual pilgrimmage to the church of wargaing at the usual time. Getting up around 6am and groggily navigating my way through the pathetic roadworks on the M25 down to the Excel. I always arrive about 8am and get completely scalped the same as everyone else with the extortionate parking charges and then entered the concourse.

The dutiful yellow clad SELWGers directed me to a massive empty hall! well bugger me wheres the queue? I was it, I was first in line!!! obvioulsy not having a bring and buy this year has deterred the massess from arriving so early that they need to scrable like startled gazelles to get their huge boxes of hardly ever used antique tat on the bring and buy (this should be taken in humour as I have done it myself numerous times over the past 15-20 years)

So a nice long wait then (as even being first in the queue with an advance ticket didnt get me throught the door until 10am!!!)

The wait was made easier with a very nice natter to Anthony from the Peterborough Wargames Club just up the road from me and I can see a goodwill visit on the cards. Also Paul, the designer of Valhalla (a Viking Skirmish game) plonked down and board and dice and asked if anyone fancied a go. Anthony and I dutifully agreed and a fun filled half hour was diced away with me coming away with my first win of Salute - Hoorah!.

The Show this year for me seemed a bit different, I cant quite put my finger on it, maybe its was the quality of some of the games (I found them a bit lacking) although I must say all the demo games I had were cracking and the enthusiasm of the people running them cant be faulted. I also for some unkown insane reason was having trouble spending!!! I had a shopping list but unfortunately some of the traders I expected to be there, wern't and some had ludicriously priced items. example: 1 trader had a B-Wing for the X-Wing Miniatures game priced up at £30! I know these are out of stock at the moment and Fantasy Flight are reissuing them but this in my opinion was disgusting|!



Clints yummy fudge

Anyway near then end of the day with nothing new or exciting jumping out at me to claim my cash I reverted back to my default games for new shinys (although I have now got home and ordered a ton of stuff and the Rulebook for Donnybrook - blame Ray, the swine!)

So onto the multitude of pics including the now obligatory Bloggers meet at 1pm. Great to catch up with Ray, Fran, Tamsin, Postie, Clint and Mr Lee and now also some new great friends, Clint even gave out some very yummy fudge.

Another enjoyable exhausting Salute and here's to 2015.

SAGA Crusaders vs Saracens

 

7ombie TV from Crooked Dice

Blakes 7 from Crooked Dice

7th Voyage Sinbad game from Crooked Dice

Temple Door detail

Oshiro Samurai Terrain

Warmachine

In her Majesties Name

Wolsung Victoriana Steampunk

WW2

Victorian Martian Wars

Victorian Mars Wars

4Grounds excellent Samurai Buildings and Terrain

4Grounds new Pirate Town

A Very British Civil War

Infinity



SELWG Lord of the Rings Game

SELWG Lord of the Rings

Pirates

Hawk Wargames MASSIVE UCM Space Ship

Dropzone Commander

Flames of War

Flames of War

Flames of War

D-Day massive table

WW2

Freebooters Fate

Greekish Naval

 

 

Last but not least, the lovable huggable bloggers!