To the Scottest!

This weekend we enjoyed a 28mm To the Strongest! tournament in Scotland, very kindly arranged and hosted by David Imrie, and named "To the Scottest!". It was held in the Leven Sea-Scouts Hall which turns out to be a fine venue for wargaming, with bunk beds, on-site catering and its own cannon. Above is the setup- we had six tables, five 6x4's and a 6x8 for a big Wars of the Roses game that David brought. All photos will enlarge if clicked; I have "borrowed" a couple of photos that Dave Soutar kindly sent me.

Simon Purchon (above), Steve Dover and I travelled up from Kings Cross- took us around six hours, and we talked wargaming all the way. Simon used his Sassanids to proxy Sarmatians. Do not be fooled by his pleasant demeanour; he did cruel and 'orrible things to my poor Romans (10:2 victory).

Above and below, Simon is playing Howard Litton who travelled all the way from the Isles of Arran, with Philip watching sagely from the sidelines.

Chris (left, above) is playing Ken Pearce (right). Unfortunately, the way the draw went, I didn't get to play either of them which was a pity. Below Steve Dover plays David Imrie.

Below Polybians battle Carthaginians (I think).

Above Peter Mearns and David Soutar, again, sadly, I didn't get a chance to play either.

Here are a couple of shots of David Imrie's lovely Wars of the Roses collection and stunning buildings. I especially covet the latter, I need something similar for my ECW collection....

Above Simon Purchon chats with David Imrie. It was an extremely affable event- there was quite a bit of socialising, especially in the evenings. On the Sunday I was nursing a massive hangover...

Above, me in my "shirt of war" battling Philip Marshall (below). Philip (current World Champion) took my army apart with surgical precision in around 40 minutes (10:0).

My Polybian Romans were numerous and not too shabby!

Above Howard is playing Simon Purchon, and below David plays Steve Dover.

Above the final scores on the doors; I avoided the wooden spoon by one point. I had played three of the best players in the world, so I didn't feel to bad about this, but I clearly need more practice!

Above Philip Marshal was the well-deserved winner. He strangely forgot to wear the victor's laurel wreath in the pub, afterwards! Below, Howard is presented with the wooden spoon prize which he pipped yours truly to win by a mere one point.

Above are most of the players on the quarterdeck of the Sea Cadet Hall.

On the Sunday morning we played a nine-player game- the empty seat on the right was mine. 

My Polybians advance boldly (top)- far too boldly, as it turned out- since Steve Dover smashed my wing and Howard Litton routed my legions. It was a fun game though!

It was a great weekend and I'd like to think we'll do something similar next year. Huge thanks to David for suggesting the event and organising it, and to everyone for coming! We also owe a debt to the Sea Scouts who were great hosts and cooks!