Back in the Summer I was in my old town of Winton in Manchester and I got the chance to game in the very same church hall where I used to wargame as a kid with my little plastic Airfix soldiers and tanks.
Back then the group was called the "Winton Warriors", and every week, with other kids my age, historically incorrect battles would be fought out with Tigers and Panthers against Centurion and Patton tanks, and other similar aberrations, but we loved it. At the club I'd marvel at the lovingly painted armies I'd see on the other tables there and the much more historically correct games being played by the older gamers who tolerated us youngsters and our plastic battles.
I've not been back to that church hall since the mid 70s, so just actually going back inside that very place after so many years made me feel nostalgic, to say the very least - nearly even brought a little tear to my old worldly eyes.
The fact that I also actually got to have a game there 40 years later, gave the nostalgia even more significance.
I'd seen on Facebook that the Manchester Area Wargames Society (MAWS) were going to be playing a big Normandy game in 20mm on a Sunday in August that coincided with my visit to the area, so I contacted them to see if I could come along and watch - well if you don't ask the answer is always no - and they kindly said yes ! They even went so far as to ask me to join the game as a player, which I course jumped at the opportunity,
And I had a great time, superb table, good friendly welcoming company, and a big game in my favourite scale.
Thanks to the MAWS lads for letting me join in on the day, I got thoroughly hammered during the game, but enjoyably so, and met some great blokes and made some new wargaming friends.
