When the gasman cometh.

Sunday 1st May

               Lady Watson had decreed that the gas boiler needed looked at again for the third time in three weeks(lucky I'm not a suspicious man)therefore I headed for the sunnier climes of the air museum at East Fortune to see if they had anything new to offer.I wasn't disappointed.Since my last visit last year during a WW2 re-enactment day they've moved some of the exhibits around.On arrival I was greeted by the gorgeous view of a F4 Phantom which in my opinion along with the Hawker Hunter are the two most beautiful planes in history.The Phantom is displayed beside a workhorse of the Royal Navy and later the crabs,a Blackburn Buccaneer, and the both of them could do with a lick of paint.Last year there was a Jaguar beside them but obviously they think that navy planes are more durable than airforce planes as the Jaguar had been moved inside.

               

 Whilst parking my car(or as Lady Watson says 'dumping it!') I spotted a WW2 Matador truck parked up in a garage whilst opposite in another garage was a 'green goddess' fire engine from the 40's and used during every fireman's strike since.

This lorry actually came from Malta and I seen its brother outside the museum in Valletta.

                                          My plan was to visit the hangars on the outskirts of the museum before heading into the Concorde hangar and the necessary refreshments.I  first visited a disused building which had been converted into a room  for displaying a history of the airfield from early times with the departure of R34 airship which flew across the Atlantic stopped for a burger and flew back again.
                                 There were videos and photographs  of the airfields part in both world wars and also its role if we had foolishly entered into a third one.Its last role before closing down was to act the part of Edinburgh airport whilst Turnhouse's runway was being repaired.

Doesn't even have the bullseye on its nose.

                                   

  From there I ventured into the hangar with different forms of civil aviation from autogiros to small passenger airliners.I thought I had struck lucky and seen Little Nellie from You Only Live Twice but alas it wasn't Ken Wallis's creation but a much later machine from the eighties-Bah!The hangar also contained a small fire engine used on the island of Barra.

                                          I crossed towards my favourite hangar containing all the proper hardware in the form of military aircraft stopping off to inspect an old air raid shelter on the way.True to form overkill health and safety had kicked in and  the actual trench where the airmen had ran for cover had been filled in.Obviously common sense has been knocked out of society since WW2.

                                         

First type of plane I ever flew in.

   I had seen all these planes many times before but they still amaze me especially the Seahawk and the Sea Venom.Apart from these we have Harrier,Tornado,Meteor and a dainty Mig 15 amongst other aircraft with the ubiquitous Spitfire hanging from the ceiling like an Airfix kit.

Kissing cousins.

What a bod!

Outside the hangar was a Thunderbird missile on its launcher.This was the British army's answer to the Bloodhound.

Obviously looking for a very low target.

                      Onwards and upwards towards the last remaining hangar before Concorde's.When I got there I was disappointed to find that it was out of use but that was soon consoled by the shape of the Avro Vulcan standing regally,master of all it surveys.What a beast!I could just have imagined these Argies,sleepy eyed,heading for their breakfast when this thing came hurtling up the runway at Port Stanley airport in April 1982.Also the fact that one of these babies was in Thunderball makes me smile.This actual plane was the one that had to land in Brazil and was only handed back when we said it wouldn't get used again in the conflict-yeh whatever.

Oh baby!

                                      After a liitle rest of the weary bones I headed towards the Concorde hangar stopping of for a bowl of soup in the cafe-Tomato and chilli-anybody has any problems with sinuses try this soup.Fuel for a flamethrower.
                                        I always find this hangar the least interesting.Fair enough it has a Concorde and stacks of memorabilia but I don't find it earthshattering, but if it draws the crowds and the money who am I to argue.

                                      My day was finished off with a perusal of the gift shop,buying a book about WW2 airfields in the Lothians only to find I already had it.More money than sense!
                                        A good day had by one and all.Even Lady Watson had a smile on her face-must have been the gasman!

                    

Shug's Inaugural Memorial Game

Wednesday 27th April.
                                   

                This was the game that our good friend Hugh Wilson had planned,arranged and set out just before his tragic death earlier this month so in his honour Lady Suzanne decided that we should play it in his memory.The game was that enjoyable that we have decided to have a big game every April in his memory.The table and scenery in my mind had surpassed any of the tables he has set up on my previous visits to his house and all of these past ones had to be seen to be believed.

Shug's volcano between the hours of 9 and 5!

                   The game he had planned was a multi player pirate game involving at one time,11 participants and an umpire.I know Hugh has a pretty big games room but it was a tad hectic at times.Hugh had even written a set of house rules as he was fed up with rules that tended to be a wee bit full of themselves so it just involved moving,fighting and looting.What more do you need with pirates.So eventually after a spot of tea we ventured into the land of islands and jolly rogers.

             The game kicked off eventually with everybody heading for the nearest buildings looking for plunder as the person with the most money at the end of the game would be the winner.This meant for a mad scramble to loot all the buildings before turning on the other gangs in order to increase their wealth.

Some scurvy knaves!

My plan was to loot the nearby buildings then head for the French government buildings at the top of my islands to pick a fight with the garrison.Everybody else had their various plans for increasing their own wealth or else just causing mischief amongst other gangs.

My gang on their starting blocks with their little friend.

          Angus decided that after burning Bill's boat that trying to burn everybody else's boat sounded like good fun.Jim's plan was to prey on Mr Ray's gang who were just minding their own business.

Bill and Angus's difference of opinion.

          My own plan was bearing fruition as I managed to rustle a couple of cows from my first two raided buildings but only finding some smelly underwear in the third.Ach well one must take the rough with the smooth(and these were very rough).After this my gang came together again and headed up the hill towards the French garrison.

Figure of Anne Bonny-obviously the Hollywood version!

          All over the table skirmishes were going on between various factions although boats were becoming hard to find as Angus was on an arson spree.Bill had to consider making his men swim bearing in mind that not very many sailors could swim in these days.

Any sharks in there?-Nah! The crocodiles have ate them all!

'Get them Frenchies boys'

           Two late arrivals appeared in the form of Campbell Hardie( who took the part of the British garrison on one of the islands) and Dave O'Brien who waded in with his band of cutthroats much to Jim's dismay.

          The game carried on until a break for some hard tack but no grog.After the break my pirates finally came into contact with the French garrison whilst some of the stragglers after twice being distracted by local native woman found they were itching(and not just from the local women)to raid the government buildings.A skirmish of Hollywood proportion took place with Mr Ray rolling for the French and after a few turns the French legged it probably stopping off to visit the local ladies on the way.

            Dave Mitchell was showing us how much of a brilliant sailor he was by steering his boat along stretches of water that were narrower than his boat-amazing,especially as he didn't have any sails.

'Down a bit,right a bit and straight on till morning'

     

Shug's volcano night time view

 After what seemed a quick evening,10 o' clock appeared on the horizon and it was time to count up our ill gotten gains which we did.I was feeling chuffed as I thought I had quietly made my way to the top of the earnings list only to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by Ian Carter who was even more quietly collecting his evil gotten gains.

Oi! Where's me boat?

         Ian was the winner of this inaugural game which we hope to repeat at least once a year at various venues across the Spanish Main.

Lucky B!

          I must thank Lady Suzanne for one last use of the table and the marvellous scenery.It was a memorable evening and a fitting tribute to somebody I regard(no past tense) as a very good friend and the one chiefly responsible for getting me back into gaming even although it has cost me a fortune .I imagine he is upstairs planning another table and also doing some ducking and diving with the inhabitants.

     Farewell Shug!

  Just as a post note to the reasons surrounding the game are these photos I took of Hugh's painting room where you can plainly see the half painted models showing his intention of returning to finish them off and also showing the suddenness of his untimely demise.

Syrian soirée

Played my first game in a long while once again due to family and work commitments and also due to the bereavement of a very good friend who will be sadly missed in Scottish war game  circles.

           I had to miss last weeks game due to having to work at the last minute.What made it worse was that it looked a rollicking good romp through Second World War Syria.

           I made my way out to rural Garvald looking forward to a good game and I wasn't disappointed.It involved an attack by Austrailian forces on a Vichy French held village supported by squads of Scottish commandos landing from the sea.This gave Colin the chance to practise with a scenario which could end up being our display game at Carronade on the 7th of May.

        At the start the game was played using night rules which would have been good for my commandos but due to bad dice rolls it was the shortest night of the year so as my first commando squad landed they were met by deadly machine gun fire from some French colonials which ended with most of the squad being decimated before they could reach cover.

      On the other side of the table my Austrailian infantry rushed towards the bridge linking them to the enemy when to their typical Antipodian disgust watched as the bridge disappeared into thousands of wooden splinters.This meant the only way they were going to get across was by getting themselves wet.Luckily they don't have crocodiles in Syria.

      My second commando squad landed further up the beach only to be met by incoming fire from a farm building.After suffering a few casualties decided to rush the building,which they did,routing the inhabitants but their own casualties meant they were left with only three men.

     

Colin's mortar opened up on my other commando using a dice he must have purloined from Bart,meaning a six on the first attempt meant my squad was left with two standing.The only saving grace was that I now had enough men to make a third commando squad.Bringing up the rear of the commandos was an Indian antitank rifle team which meant Colin obviously had intended to bring some sort of armour on.

          After my commando squad in the building had recovered from their exploits they turned their attention to the machine gun which they dispatched ruthlessly allowing the remainder of my commandos to scurry into the cover of the farmhouse.

       Meanwhile Colin's field gun had joined up with his mortar in order to whittle away at my Austrailians slowly making their way across the river.

       My hastily made up third commando squad landed safely and headed quickly for the cover of the farmhouse hopefully to use it as springboard towards attacking the French squads holed up across the main road.

         Colin had brought his armour on which attracted my antitank rifle like moths to a flame.After a few rounds of my men ducking from its machine gun fire I finally hit it to disable it and then on the next turn destroy it.This allowed my three commandos to assault some colonial French,destroying them but being destroyed themselves in the process.

          With time ticking on and remembering I had to pick Lady Watson up I went for broke and assaulted the French hq unit only to find another hidden unit waiting for me.After a standoff Colin decided to assault my commandos but lost meaning the game was all but over.

         An interesting game using unusual figures to us but in Colin's universe normal.

         The evening started of with an excellent meal complemented with un verre du vin rouge.

           We are having a pirate game next week in Hugh's honour as this was the game he had organised before his untimely demise.Hopefully I'll have some good pics.

Hill 107-Origins

Thurs 25th February

                           People have been asking me why I have used the name Hill 107 as my blog title.Hill 107 in reality is a peaceful and serene part of Crete situated a couple of kilometers from the hustle and bustle of the main highway that runs between the west and east of the island.I have visited the island on a few occasions and still get entranced by its beauty and even although it is a tourist hotspot it still has an air of serenity especially in the west of the island far away from the young inhabited resorts of the eastern part of the island.

                                  The scene seventy odd years ago was a direct contrast to today's peace and quiet as the German invaders from mainland Greece had decided on a combined air and sea invasion of the island to deny its use as a staging point for bombers to threaten Germany's oil supplies.

                                   The German plan was to capture the airfields with paratroopers so that infantry could be landed by plane instead of parachute.The problem with German paratroopers at the time was that they couldn't jump with their main weapons as the German parachutes in use were not good enough therefore the paras were vulnerable until they could find their weapon canisters which could have landed anywhere.

German weapons container

                                    This combined with good intelligence obtained by the British forces meant they were dropping onto a very hostile area.The defenders held out until some form of Chinese whispers had made them leave their defensive positions on Hill 107 which had kept Maleme airfield in their hands.The Germans were struggling to take the airfield and were just about to attack the airfield when they found that the positions had been vacated.The airfield fell into their hands which meant they could bring in more troops with their equipment meaning the beginning of the end for British and Commonwealth forces in Crete.After a withdrawal to a southern port they were evacuated to Egypt and the Germans embedded themselves for the next four years.
                                      That's the very concentrated history lesson over with.I am sure that there are more intricate versions available in books and on line but if anybody wants to have a chit-chat about the campaign don't be scared to drop me a line.

                                         Nowadays the area is more tranquil and also very easy to get to with an excellent bus service which stops just at the turnoff for the German war cemetry which is now situated on the top of Hill 107.

                                          Bus services in Crete are amazing and very cheap with luxury coaches running up and down the main island highway very frequently.After the bus drops you off you can look forward to a nice stroll up a winding road through olive groves up towards the cemetery stopping to look occasionally over the Sea of Crete and to the start of the Aegean sea.Also the noise of the highway traffic diminishes minute by minute until the only sounds you can hear are the grasshoppers going about their merry way.

                                           Halfway up the path you come across an added bonus with the entrance to the Tholos tomb which is said to date back to the Minoan age.

                                            Before you arrive up to the cemetery you come to the Hill 107 cafe offering drinks and snacks.I had been reliably informed that their apple pie was amazing.It was that amazing that a group of American soldiers had beat me to the draw and finished it all off.So much for the special relationship.I had to content myself with a doughnut.There was also a lot of memorabilia lying about but I would peruse that later.

                                           Heading up to the cemetery there is an exhibition of pictures and maps outlining the battle in English,German and Greek which sets you up nicely to enter the cemetery and appreciate why it was there.

                                          The cemetery was amazing.As well as the stillness and the abundance of red flowers,the actual graves were marked by marble slabs as opposed to the Allied marble crosses that were found in Suda bay.In typical German fashion they were laid in neat rows,which after reading the map before you came in made it easier for families to find their fallen relatives.

                                          I spent a good couple of hours walking round noticing above other things the fact that the vast majority were killed over a two day period which I'm sure must make most people think that the invasion wasn't really worth it in the scheme of things but I suppose that can be said about a lot of military operations.

                                         

General Bruno Brauer who in my opinion was wrongly executed for war crimes when more guilty persons were let off.

  There are other memorials to sailors killed in the sea around Crete,soldiers who were killed in an abortive attempt to bring in soldiers from mainland Greece under cover of darkness and also a memorial to a 1975  West German military aircraft crash in the Cretan mountains which caused the deaths of 37 West German soldiers and airmen.

                                              Another positive comparison between the wargrave sites is that as I have said a lot in this piece is that Hill 107 is very quiet with the only noises coming from the local birdlife whereas Suda bay cemetery is stuck beside a ferry port.local docks and a busy highway making all told enough noise to wake the dead.

                                             I took a few pictures to back up my opinion of Hill 107 and after I had finished that task made my way back down to the cafe where there was an exhibition of memorabilia and artefacts which had been left over from the occupation( including a Bofors gun) and also some pieces which had been dug by local farmers.

Didn't defend the Apple pie from the Americans though

                                           

Greek helmet

Various German helmets

 I had a great day rounded off with a few bottles of the local amber nectar followed by a cheap and nasty local red firewater.I'll speak to you soon and I'll tell you a little about one of the German paras involved, Major Walter Koch who was one of the inspirations behind the character of Oberst Kurt Steiner from "The Eagle has landed".