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'A gaping silken dragon,/Puffed by the wind, suffices us for God./We, not the City, are the Empire's soul:/A rotten tree lives only in its rind.'

Friday 10 January 2014

Remember this ?

'And just remember this/A kiss is just a kiss/As time goes by...' plink, plonk, plinkity, plonk, 'Play it, Sam'. Atmospheric US film (movie), designed to help push the USA into the war, partly by avoiding the contested issue of 'the British', but also by using the romantic stanbys of women's hats and Bogart peering through cigarette smoke. HOWEVER, that is not what I meant to talk about.  Instead, does anyone remember this small book:


This evening, while looking for something completely different, I came across this book by David Nash, published by Hamlyn in 1974. I certainly did not buy it then (although I do remember buying a book on astronomy in the same series), and I can't remember just when I did buy it, but it was probably in the last decade. Of course, the early 1970s was the 'golden age' for wargaming, but this little (125 pp) book is a bit different. As Nash says in his foreword: 'The intention is that by relating the factual data to be found in the second part of the book to game logic[ally], which is discussed at length in the preceding sections, the reader can create his own games upon completely logical lines'. So, a wargames book with no rules. Fascinating. I think we need to know more - does anyone remember this work, did it influence anyone, what do we know about David Nash ? (Other than the author blurb which says that 'he was a founder member of the London Wargames Club). Perhaps we need the input of Vintage Wargaming?

Meanwhile, I have been tackling more liquorice:


This time it is in the form of three very nice, resin castings of Matilda IIs from Minimi Miniatures. Lewis Davis, the Supremo of Minimi Miniatures offers a really first class service, and the vehicles are of the finest wargames quality - neat, crisp castings, cheap and recommended! They come on small, textured bases, which some might find a bit off-putting, but, for the Western Desert, there is no real problem with a base, and they improve handling and increase protection for the vehicles. In addition to the Matildas, I also bought a Indian Pattern Carrier :


The carrier must rank as one of the most 'warry' looking vehicles ever used by the British (and Indian) army. 

Over the Christmas hols, I spent a good deal of time reading, so I'm facing a bit of a backlog:


 I can feel a Beda Fomm coming on...

8 comments:

  1. Lots to keep you busy Stephen. The book seems a good read.

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    1. It's actually a bit of an odd read - it's almost as if the author was thinking through his understanding of weapons and tactics in a semi-experimental way; and it's difficult not to feel a bit cheated that there aren't a set of even basic rules. Still, one from the old days.

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  2. I had the astronomy book, and one on the weather too if I remember correctly. The bindings were poor I think and the pages had a habit of falling out. Good work on the models too.

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    1. Yes, very brittle bindings, and not to so good illustrations, even if they were in a (sort of) colour.

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  3. I have that book and yes the pages have a habit of falling out !

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    1. Indeed. Mind you, if were a book, my pages would defintely be falling out.

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  4. You ought to move off the tanks and get on the real deal... the infantry!

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    1. The awful thing is that I have a batch of 28mm White Russians that need painting, and I've been dipping into my copies of Peter Hopkirk's books. Aaaaah, the guilt!

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