My kingdom for a horse!

Sun 7th Feb

                   My first wargame show of hopefully a full calendar found me at York racecourse without a horse.There may have been no horses but there were lots of games and traders to keep me interested  and that I was.I had ventured south to see what southern traders and clubs had to offer and I wasn't disappointed.

                      On arrival to the show the first game that I seen was a clubs interpretation of the battle of Prestonpans which to me was an eyeopener as it looked slightly different from my hometown.

By the look of the scenery it looked more like a Hollywood interpretation of the town and the battle.I believe the same mode of scenery was used for a previous attack on Leith,a suburb of Edinburgh.I'll let you be the judge.More photos of the battle can be seen at Bill Gilchrist's blog.http://blenheimtoberlin.blogspot.co.uk/.
           

          When I go to these shows I look for the games that appeal to me and I could look no further than Back of Beyond.This time put on by the League of Extraordinary Kreigspielers who have created the Setting the East Ablaze rules which I find second best only to Bolt Action.

Another game that took my fancy was the game centred around the siege of the Alamo with every one of the defenders represented which amounted to nearly 200 figures.This game was put on by the Bunker.This I believe is a wargame centre which can be hired out and they put on some splendid games.http://www.wargameshc.co.uk/.
                On my rounds of the show I noticed a peculiar game based on a SBS attack on a Russian Krivak destroyer which allegedly contained the nephew of Leonard Brezhnev.

Whatever!This game was put on by MDK gamers and if my memory serves me correctly it was featured in an earlier Wargames Illustrated magazine.

                   One of the traders I spent my hard earned cash( huh says Lady Watson) was at Peter Pig's stall enlarging my Ak 47 army.
          I fancy doing this game as my main table is just about big enough for 15mm and I've always liked the concept of this game and the gameplay is nice and easy especially as I use the earlier rules.This is another game that has been wasted by the introduction of updated rules.I fancy a modern pirate army with RPGs and AK47s instead of muskets and cutlasses.Don't think I'll have to look far for inspiration.

          I also picked up some 28mm figures for the Congo in the 60's.Shades of Wild Geese.

          More pics can be seen on Bill Gilchrist's blog.

That's my roundup of my York trip so I'll speak to you soon.

Onwards And Upwards

Wed 3rd Feb

         Lady Watson turned 21+ today and in celebration we decided to head for the hills or in this case the mountains.The one we had in mind was the Jungfraujoch which is the highest accessible point in the European continent.To cap it all it started to snow for the first time since we had arrived.Snow it did-all day.

Happy Birthday to me

Another thing I like about the Swiss is that they just get on with it without any of the whinging we get in Britain.People just get out and clean paths and station platforms without even thinking about it and the trains still run on time.

I think it's a wee bit lost

           We headed up the mountain this time till we reached Kleine Sheidigg which is the changing point for the train up to the Jungfraujoch.By this time the snow was becoming more intense but onwards and upwards went our train.

             There are stopping points were one can get out and take some photographs.These photo points were situated in the long tunnel leading up to our destination.

               We arrived at the top once again to be met by scores of Chinese.Seemingly the mountain range is twinned with the Huangshan mountains in China.That would explain a lot as they were all over the place.They were even selling pot noodles in the cafe for about £6.00 a go!I saw the same ones for 69p each in Asda.Obviously the Chinese have more money than sense.

            The Jungfraujoch has exhibits about the construction of the railway up to the top of the mountain.There is an Ice palace contained within the complex with ice structures with ice penguins and even an ice igloo.

             Another selling point is the Lindt chocolate factory which is contained within the structure.This gives you the chance to make chocolate and also get to see the experts at work.

             All in all an excellent place to visit even on a snowy day as such.We headed back down the mountain to Wengen with a landscape which resembled something out of Where Eagles Dare.

Tim Watson-News at ten-Looking for Captain Oates

         The day was finished off with an excellent dinner in the hotel restaurant.It was also the chef's birthday so a toast was given to both of the birthday people with the aid of a rose hip liqueur before we headed back upstairs to pack our bags as it was an early start the following morning to catch the plane home from Basle airport.

Our Eiger sanction

Tues 2nd Feb

                  A rather sedate day today nestled between yesterday's climb up the Schilthorn and tomorrows trip up to the highest accessible point in Europe.Our plan was to visit the town of  Grindelwald situated on a branch line between Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken.Once again due to the mild weather there was not very much snow around,a problem that would be rectified the following day.
            Grindelwald is situated near the bottom of Mount Eiger and also near the bottom of a mountain called First which up till then I thought was a company that ran a fleet of gas spewing buses in East Lothian.One of the first thing I noticed was the amount of cars running through this village meaning we had to start thinking before we crossed a road.It has a modern sportscentre with a new ice-rink to replace the one that was used to portray the christmas village in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.Yes I know an alterior motive for visiting this village.

                                 We visited the Hotel Kreuz to partake in a couple of fortified coffees before perusing the locality and lookin around at the awe inspiring mountains

Maybe there's a Swiss info bureau in Tokyo

The rest of the day was taken up with daundering  through the village, taking photos and basically having a chill day.

Hotel Kreuz again

Looking for a few tips

Mount Eiger with not even a glimpse of Clint Eastwood

Funny advert for a pizzeria

                                   

Another building used in O.H.M.S.S

                              After an afternoon of looking around the village and buying the usual souvenirs we headed back down the railway towards Interlaken for some nice local food-and one of the best Chinese meals this side of Hong Kong.

Once again it was a relaxing day finished of with a sumptuous repast,getting us primed for our journey tomorrow to the highest accessible point in Europe without the use of climbing gear.

Something to finish with

All the time in the world

Monday 1st February.

        Yesterday should just be consigned to the dustbin for us at least.The locals were convinced we had brought the Scottish weather with us.At least we didn't bring the Scottish people with us.

          Today was totally different with the gorgeous sunny weather beaming down on this beautiful part of the world.Definitly not Scottish weather.

           We decided to head for the sunny heights of the Piz Gloria perched on top of the Schilthorn mountain and this involved a trip and a half.We kept to our usual mode of transport which involved 2 train journeys supplemented by 3 cable car rides.

Lady Watson looking with trepidation(scared) about going up the mountain

          As most of you know I'm a James Bond fan and since reading the book about 40 years ago and then watching the film have always wanted to come and see the area.The film was actually filmed over much of the area.Bond's arrival at the snowbound railway station was filmed at Lauterbrunnen station with his departure with the bad guys filmed on the station ramp now used by railway lorries.The stock car race on ice was filmed outside the village.The piece de resistance was of course the Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn mountain complete with its 360 degree revolving restaurant.
                           

Still a long way to go

In order to get there we went on our first cable car trip of the day.I find it less scary to travel in these things than to stand and watch them.That cable car trip was followed by another mountain train trip to the village of Murren perched on some mountain cliffs.

This place amazed me as there were vehicles moving about the village when there is no visible road up.We proceeded to walk through the village to embark on the second cable car trip to a place called Birg.This was the last point that skiers could get off that day as the routes from the Schilthorn were closed to the public.This place has the Skyline walk which is basically a clear platform attached to the side of the mountain-not for the fainthearted.I believe they are in the process of building a Thrill walk around the mountain-definitely need a couple of Hobgoblins before I went round that one.
                 

         Then it was onwards and upwards to one of the places that is on my bucket list.Once you arrive into the buildings you are immediately transported into the sets and the world of her majesty's secret service with interactive exhibitions and glimpses into the world of James Bond featuring George Lazenby.I'm going to get on my soapbox and state that Mr Lazenby did a pretty good job in the part especially as some other people had disappeared and thought they were  responsible for the success.Aye right and yes I'm talking about the man who wants independence for his country but doesn't want to live there.James Bond is a government thug and that's why George was good for the part.A man who is not scared to get down and dirty and that is why Daniel Craig is excellent in the part also.Off soapbox now.

                       

  We headed for the restaurant for some sustenance before continuing the tour and it was amazing to eat lunch on the revolving restaurant-albeit very slowly.If you really wanted to get into the mood you could've been served up a James Bond brunch with Prosseco-nuff said!
                           

 After lunch we spent a couple of hours going round the various exhibitions including sitting in a model of Allouette helicopter flying up a cinematic mountain or hurtling down a cgi bobsled run shooting at various cgi badguys.All filmed ready for you to pick up in the shop.

Lady Watson following in Diana Rigg's footsteps

There are other exhibits including where lucky females could have their face superimposed onto Diana Rigg's wedding dress and have herself pictured being snogged by George Lazenby.

                            We then proceeded outside to where the curling rink was layed on top of the Piz Glorias helicopter landing pad.This has cutout characters of Bond which I had seen previously on the webcam.http://schilthorn.ch/en/Info/Schilthorn_Live/Livecams.
                        Another part of the complex is the Walk of Fame which involves walking(very carefully) out to a small looking point out on the end of a rock.The path was icy but after  saying a few hail Marys I made it.The problem is that you can't see the ice so you have to be very careful or you will be skydiving without a parachute.

After a couple of hours we headed back down the cablecars to the village of Murren to visit the Bond world souvenir shop to do my usual and spend too much money on Bond souvenirs -again!I'm sure my kids will have it all itemised when I go to that big beachparty in the sky.

             We traveled back along the mountain railway at dusk,observing some beautiful scenery along the way especially the lights of Wengen twinkling in the distance.
                  The evening was finished of with a visit to a local pizzeria and the consumption of a delicious anchovy and black olive pizza washed down by a weissebeer dunkel(dark beer)which I didn't know existed.That set the seal on a perfect day'
                        Speak to you soon as I'm just planning how to escape Blofeld's last bastion of a scoundrel.

What a difference a night makes!

Sat 30th January.

         What a contrast to our arrival last night.Dawn broke about 7.30 with the sun creeping over the mountains giving as chocolate box view of the mountains and the village, so after a late breakfast we headed up the hill to Wengen village with its swarms of skiers and skateboarders heading for trains and cable cars to take them to their intended slopes.

         We decided after perusing Wengen (all of 15 mins) to head down the mountain railway.These trains are fantastic and British health and safety is replaced by Swiss common sense.Our first stop was Lauterbrunnen nestled in the valley and the terminus for our train and then  we switched trains for Interlaken which is so named as its on a piece of land situated between Thunnersee and Breiner see.

             The trip was amazing especially as this railway doesn't let a little thing like snow get in the way.The way down from Lauterbrunnen was dotted with chalets and winter barns for the cattle.

              For the military history bods like me we passed an old military airfield just outside Interlaken which flew F5s before it was decommissioned a few years ago leaving it for the model aeroplane fliers.Before that it flew Hunters.

            On arrival into Interlaken I thought I had arrived into back into Hong Kong as it was full of orientals.At least I'll know where to come back for dinner later on in the week.

This was a  Japanese garden in the mainstreet

            We had a daunder between its two stations looking at shops along the way as Lady Watson had decided it was a good idea to break the zip on her anorak so we were now on a mission.We succeed in the last shop (as you do).
                               

Another Japanese garden pic

 Our plan after shopping and sightseeing was to head back to Wengen for dinner before the hungry skiers had came back from their endeavours.When we arrived at Lauterbrunnen station they were just in the process of hitching a snow plough to the front of the train and this was done in about 3 minutes without any huing and puffing I woud expect from British railway workers

.It is a thing I'll repeat again this week no doubt.So once again after 3 train trips back up the mountain we ended up in a restaurant which served up a delicious goulash soup followed one of the most unusual main courses I have seen-Swiss military noodles-They even  came served on a solid fuel camping cooker.Put it this way even I was struggling to finish it.

Just the thing to keep these Swiss squaddies warm

                                   We waddled back to the hotel looking forward to the promised snow of the following day.Speak to you later.

Switzerland or bust

Saturday 30th January

        Lady Watson likes to get away for her birthday and this year was no exception but this year I was a bit self indulgent as we headed for Switzerland and the Jungfrau region.Which just so happens to contain the Schilthorn mountain which is topped by the Piz Gloria made famous when it was used in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.Now you know where my self indulgence comes from.

             We decided to come by train as it gave us the opportunity to see a bit more of France and Switzerland.This involved six trains of varying styles from high speeds to the mountain rack railways of Switzerland.We started off from Edinburgh on Thursday afternoon,stayed in London overnight so we could catch the first Eurostar to Paris which was nice and quiet.

The taxi trip was the usual Paris taxi trip driven by the usual one time racing driver.

A brief respite in Gare de Lyon was followed by a pleasant trip through the French countryside courtesy of a Tgv calling at Dijon(and not a jar of mustard in sight) and then on to Basle where we caught a connection to Interlaken.

By this time darkness had fallen and the rest of the train journey seemed uneventful apart from the mode of transport which was a rack railway all the way to the mountain village of Wengen where our base of operations where to be found-Hotel Edelweiss.This hotel was just as I imagined it would be with the large chalet look from the outside and the minimalistic interior look that I love about Central Europe.

            Since we had been traveling all day it was just a matter of dinner and the turning in for a good night's sleep in anticipation of the morning view from our south facing bedroom.

                Gute Nacht Von Wengen

Scottish Battlefield Wargame show 2016

              A new one for the calender!