Saturday 11 September 2010

A Strange to do with Durham Wargames Group?

I remember years ago in the magazines Miniature Warfare and Wargamers Newsletter an account of a big dispute regarding some allegations between two wargamers that led to legal action.Letters passed between the two litagants with claim and counter claim.  At the time I thought the whole thing pretty riduculous,as it concerned the playing with of toy soldiers. Also over the years I have also witnessed fallings out between wargamers over rules and the interpretation of such.Again I thought it really sad,because really its just meant to be a game,nothing more, nothing less.
 Which leads me on to the cause of this rant,because really that is what this is.
 I am the member of several Yahoo discussion groups,amongst them is the Durham Wargames Group,which is the group nearest to where I live.Most discussion groups are pretty innocuous and usually are about being in contact with like minded people. The group have been around for many years and its fair to say I have come to know quite a few members. I never joined the group,hence my blog title Independent Wargames Group but I always put a demonstration game on at their show,and also have gamed at their club when invited.
  However this year I didnt get an invite to put a game on,which whilst I thought a bit strange suited me as I was out of the country at the time of the show. John my long suffering wargame opponent decided to go through to the club prior to the show,to check to see if we had our normal table,where no one actually said we didnt have a table,mind you, no one actually said we did, ergo no one spoke to John at all!
  Needless to say John was not impresssed by the bad manners shown. I put it down to a new committee and tried to laugh it off.
 Which finally leads to this rant,.......... Our local council each year encourage local people to go to public buildings that are normally excluded from the public,amongst the buildings is the Durham Wargames Group one,which is the old 68th barracks in Durham, a fine old building. 
 However a member of the group posted a trite and sarcastic message on their site warning of this impending event and basically calling for members to go to the building to 'guard' the centre.He also likened the council to the 'Stasi' of east German fame, more like Herr Flick fame I'm afraid. 
 The mistake I made was to suggest that  it would be a great oppourtunity to stage a couple of exhibition games at the group to perhaps recruit some more members and would be wargamers.
 I did expect a reply, but not to be kicked out of the discussion group!!!
 I know its petty,I know its not important,but I also now know how those two guys felt like all those years ago when they went to the courts. Anyway tomorrow I am excercising my right as a member of the public to get a tour of the 68th barracks in Durham. I will keep you posted.

7 comments:

  1. As my great grandfather used to say (I have been told) "There are no words!" On a brighter note, what is the make of the delightful Irish soldiers pictured at the bottom of your post? I recognize the mounted colonel as one by RSM95 (ex-Pax Britannica), but what about the others?

    Best Regards,

    Stokes Schwartz

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Doesn't surprise me, I've been a member of too many clubs where the committe forget what the club is all about and what they're there for.
    I do go to Middlesbrough Gamers who cater for everyone but not on a regular basis, I prefer to game with a close circle of friends. However I will be supporting Smoggycon and I know you will be invited and your attendance appreciated.
    All the best
    Graham C

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is such a sad story . . . if you are friends with some of the DWG members you might want to email them and ask what's going on . . . I suspect that this was not a "group decision", but a personal one . . . and that most group members wouldn't even know that it happened.

    I look forward to your report.


    -- Jeff in Canada

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rob, did you get in? been thinking of rejoining durham after an absence of 10 years but not sure any more if some of the members have a strange attitude.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Please accept my resignation. I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member". Groucho Marx... :o))

    ReplyDelete
  7. Annoying but not surprising, sadly - it's why I gave up on wargames clubs years ago. Wargaming with friends (or, if necessary, alone!) is much better.

    Cheers,

    David

    ReplyDelete

My 6mm Napoleonic set up.

My 6mm Napoleonic set up.
Austria 1809.

Austrian Hussars

Austrian Hussars
Hinchliffe figures

Austrian Grenzer

Austrian Grenzer
Austrian Grenzer

Smoggycon 2013

Smoggycon 2013
Smoggycon 2013

Smoggycon 2012

Smoggycon 2012
Smoggycon 2012

Smoogycon 2009

Smoogycon 2009
My French getting another beating