Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast

Episode 32 - Chris Flowers - Doing It, In the Grand Manner

Here is my 32nd attempt at getting a Podcast right !

Today my guest is another old friend and fellow Big Gamer, Chris Flowers. Last week I got on my bike and went to speak with him face to face in his wonderful wargames room.

Chris grew up in a military family and stand by for a couple of awesome name drops at the start of the show.

Chris has been putting on large display games on the UK Wargames Show Circuit since the early 1980s. Beginning with the S.O.D.S group he was part of an amazing series of exclusively Napoleonic Games which were truly In the Grand Manner and a regular highlight at many of the events I attended.

Chris moved on to putting games on under his own name, then with the Bramley Barn Group and more recently with Legendary Wargames (see Episode 2 of this Podcast), he has diversified from solely doing Napoleonics to covering 1950s Cold War, Ancients and ACW at shows but his true love I think will always be games like Eylau and Waterloo.

All the regular features are here including a new Desert Island Wargame Section so sit back with a good brew and enjoy.

Chris doesn't have a website etc so there is no link this episode, you'll just have to go and see him at a show.

Next episode will be a Catch Up so lets see who, from my previous guests answers the phone when I call.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 31 Giles Allison - Tarleton’s Quarter

Welcome to the 31st Episode of The Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast and today my guest is Giles Allison.

Giles had a big influence on my American War of Independence collection as I was building it up through his excellent blog Tarleton's Quarter, that influence was felt by many others and I would rank Giles blog as one of the best out there. Full of information and inspiration for the AWI and many other periods, all available for free at the click of a button.

The show is in the usual 4 part format and as well as talking about wargaming we tackle heady topics like, is Avocado a Vegetable or a Fruit as well as the exact location of the North / South Avocado - Mushy Peas Line.

Hopefully the show has persuaded Giles to go back and keep adding to his blog and complete his AWI Collection. The blog can be found on the link below

Tarleton's Quarter (gilesallison.blogspot.com)

Hopefully I will be back in a couple of weeks chatting to an old friend and reet proper Big Gamer Chris Flowers.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 30 - Carlo Pagano - The Sands of Sudan

It's been a month or so since the last episode so it's great to be back with another Big Game Chat.

This time we are off to Perth, Australia to talk with Carlo Pagano about wargaming in general and his reconstitution of Peter Gilders Sands of Sudan Rules.

As usual we had disappeared down a rabbit hole within 15 minutes of the start but I'm sure you all tune into wargames Podcasts to discover the difference between Crown and Flat Green Bowling anyway !

It's back to the usual 4 part format, we learn about Carlos' wargaming history and his love of Big Games. Whilst the Quiz reveals yet more food choices from your Local Fish and Chip Shop as well as what pet hate has been banished into Wargames Room 101.

The Big Topic is all about Colonial Wargaming, something we haven't covered before on the show so there is a good chat about that before we move onto the Sands of Sudan Rules.

Carlo has managed to piece together the rules from old scraps of paper left at the Wargames Holiday Centre and information provided by former players. The rules have never been formally published as they were used as a bit of a palette cleanser between Big Napoleonic or ACW games during the Wargaming Weeks that Peter used to run.

Carlo has his website at

https://withpyjamasthroughthedessert.blogspot.com/

The rules can be obtained in the UK from Caliver Books

https://www.caliverbooks.com/bookview.php?ohv1los7ubv6b8hvnp80l19ea7&id=27069

And directly from Carlo in Australia.

it's great to be back on air and I've got guests booked in now till Xmas and pencilled in until Feb 2023, having too many guests is a nice problem to have.

My next guest is Painter and Author Mark Hides, a Yorkshire Lad, Tune in, in a couple of weeks time as we find out more about life as a Professional Figure Painter.

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Episode 29 - Brews in the Binyard - Summer Special Part 2

Its only been a week I know and you are either eagerly awaiting the second part of Brews in the Bin Yard Summer Special or still recovering from the first one.

Either way its here and in this part of the show we answer questions from different members of Yarkshire Gamer, Gods Own Scale and Storm of Steel audiences and try and keep you entertained. If you don't enjoy the first 30 seconds of the interview then its going to be a long two hours !

As always my guests for Brews, I say guests but they are more part of the furniture now, are

Sean Clark of Gods Own Scale Podcast

https://godsownscale6mm.podbean.com/

and Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel Utubes

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNUYwNznn-ZuNMoHoF3urwQ

Next episode we will return to the normal format and I hope to be speaking to my first guest for a while from Australia, Carlo Pagano and the story of him bringing back to life Peter Gilders Sands of Sudan Rules.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 28 - Brews in the Binyard Summer Special Part 1

Welcome to the Podcast within a Podcast, the irrelevant chat of three middle aged men who are old enough to know better.

In between mentions of 80s TV detective Eddie Shoestring, Avocado Bathroom Suites, the sad demise of Bob Point and of course Sean tells us more tales from his deep in depth knowledge of the Mexican Revolution, there is on occasion some wargames chat.

But if your looking for some informative discussion on your early medieval army list options for your next competition then much, much more serious podcasts are available. 

We catch up on what the boys are doing with their channels before we take a deep dive into the Wargames Room 101 entries of my previous guests and see if any of them can be rescued from the Vault.

With nearly 4 hours of material recorded I decided once again to split this episode in half, with the second part released next week. So if you put a question forward it will be answered in the next episode.

WARNING - This episode contains some bouts of mild cursing, all references to that lot over the hill have been removed in editing.

My guests are of course Sean Clark of Gods Own Scale 

https://godsownscale6mm.podbean.com/

And Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNUYwNznn-ZuNMoHoF3urwQ

Until next week, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 27 - The Dark Side of the Crack with Martin (7th Son) and Ste (On Point HQ)

If you have recovered from the first part (Episode 26 Crack on Lad) then its time to conclude my marathon chat with Martin and Ste from The Plastic Crack Podcast.

This is the normal final section on the show and we chat with the guys about their own Utubes channels, their accidental arrival on the show and how they are still technically squatting !

We discuss the musical merits of Jazz as a background to videos and the typical Wargamers timeline going from Project to Collection to Obsession and finally Divorce.

Its a one hit show without the normal breaks so if your of a certain age you might want to visit the loo first before pressing play.

Thanks again to my guests, Martin from 7th Son

7th Son - YouTube

and Ste from On Point HQ

On Point HQ - YouTube

The next episode will hopefully be a Brews in the Binyard Summer Special, stay tuned !

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 26 - Crack on Lad with Martin (7th Son) and Ste (On Point HQ)

Its time to meet the other half of the Plastic Crack Podcast Crew, you heard the story of Dom and Ken in Episode 20 so now its time to hear the truth from Martin and Ste !

It was a monster of a recording tipping in at nearly 4 hours, so rather than cut it down I've split it into two episodes so this one covers the usual Intro, Quiz and Room 101 sections, tune in next week for the main topic, PCP and Crackcon.

It wouldn't be a Reet Big Wargames Podcast without the odd diversion and this week we treat you to the wonders of Serial Killer Top Trumps and the northern culinary delight that is "Pea Wet".

Martin runs the highly successful You Tube Channel 7th Son, covering lots of different periods but probably best known for his Wars of the Roses features, you can find his channel here,

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgF5_KhcgdvNiRcrI0ZSJCg

Ste is the owner of the On Point HQ Channel, he is well known for his Bolt Action 28mm armies as well as the weirdness that is Turnip 28 !

https://www.youtube.com/c/OnPointHQ

Hope you enjoy this half of the episode and we will be back next Friday for the second half, in the meantime to save you Googling it, heres a link to the Top Trumps

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Notorious-Serial-Killers-Quartett-Spiel-ber%C3%BCchtigsten/dp/B076WLNRW3

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 25 - Stephen Barker - The Flying Sikh

25 episodes done ! and for this, Yarkshire Gamers Silver Jubilee I have gone back into the mists of time.

My guest Stephen Barker is not only a Historian, Author and Battlefield Guide he is one of my oldest Wargaming friends. So if you want to hear a couple of old chums, being all misty eyed, talking about their Big Game origins, this is the episode for you.

Stephen has been away from Wargaming for quite some time now and it was interesting to chat with him about his observations on the hobby after a lengthy gap and how he is enjoying his rebirth into the hobby. We had met up at the Partizan Show (May 2022) the day before our recording and that influenced the conversation and was a good reference point for our chat about the state of the hobby today. 

We come back to earth with the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz and Wargames Room 101, listen as another pet hate is banished to the Wargames Tip !

The usual Big Topic Chat at the end of the show covers a number of topics. Stephen runs a number of Battlefield Tours around the Oxford area featuring the English Civil War and The Great War covering both general histories and Battlefield Tours of Edgehill, Naseby and Cropredy Bridge. Walking these hallowed fields is a topic we haven't covered before on this Podcast so it was great to get an insight behind the scenes.

Stephen has also brought out a couple of books, his first a history of the 8th East Lancs Battalion brings to life on of those short lived units of the 1st World War.

Lancashire's Forgotten Heroes, 8th (Service) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment in the Great War: Amazon.co.uk: Stephen Barker, Christopher Boardman: 9780752448121: Books

Then finally after a couple of hours of chat we get to the title of the episode. The Flying Sikh is the title of my guests new book which has just been released. It tells the fascinating story of the only Sikh airman to fly with the RAF/RFC during the First World War. We discuss the origins of the book and get some tasters of this unique story. The book is published by Pen and Sword and can be purchased via the link below,

Pen and Sword Books: The Flying Sikh - Hardback (pen-and-sword.co.uk)

 

I hope you enjoy my chat with Stephen, it explains a lot about my own Big Game obsession. I plan to be back in a couple of weeks time with the other half of the Plastic Crack Pod Cast, Martin (7th Son) and Ste (On Point HQ) will be my guests.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Episode 24 - Iain McDonald - Flags of War

This episode we are back to the usual interview format and my guest is Iain McDonald who runs the company Flags of War.

Just like it says on the tin Iain supplies a huge range of 28mm flags from right across the span of history to wargamers throughout the world.

If that wasn't enough on top of a full time job and a family Iain has branched out into producing 28mm figures. Starting with figures covering the Gangs of New York inspired by the Warriors movie. He has moved on to cover the Jacobite Rebellions and has one of the most complete ranges available for that period. 

Iain produces figures for periods he loves himself and that clearly shows, he has ranges of War of the Austrian Succession and The Border Reivers in the pipeline.

But as with all my guests we don't just talk shop, we cover Iains wargames history, cover the Venn Diagram of Wargaming and of course have a bit of Big Game Chat.

The Quiz breaks down into a discussion about Fish and Chips whilst we get another successful entry into Wargames Room 101.

Iain was a great guest and its always great to hear from enthusiastic people who run smaller companies for the love of the hobby. 

Flags of War can be found at,

Flags of War

Thanks for listening and if you haven't already please subscribe to the Podcast (it's free) it helps to increase the profile of the show to a wider audience.

I hope to be speaking with my old friend, Historian, Author, Battlefield Guide and Wargamer Stephen Barker in the next Episode.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 23 - The Second Reet Grand Catch Up

As the Episode number ends in a 3 its time to dip back into my list of previous guests and give them a ring and see what they have been up to.

This is also the first ever "Award Winning Episode" following Yarkshire Gamers win in the Best Podcast Category so if you are new, welcome onboard. 

First on my list is Rules Author and Big Gamer, Simon Hall from Episode 8. Since we spoke Simon has been a busy boy releasing two more sets of rules, Divisions of Steel for WW2 and Renato et Gloriam for the Renaissance 

Divisions of Steel (divisions-of-steel.co.uk)

Renatio et Gloriam – Renaissance Tabletop Gaming (renatio-et-gloriam.co.uk)

But that's not all he's been up to, in some very exciting news Simon is working on a boardgame version of the all time classic computer game Rome Total War, the production looks amazing and I'm sure it will do very well,

TOTAL WAR ROME: THE BOARD GAME — PSC Games

 

Next up I speak with the owner of the Wargames Holiday Centre, Mr Mark Freeth last time we spoke we were in the middle of lockdown and the Centre was just about to move venue so things were very much on hold.

We find out what new games are on the menu for this year and chat about the upcoming Donald Featherstone Weekend, an Italian Wars extravaganza which will be attended by yours truly.

Below is a link to the weekends at the centre, hurry up though places are very limited,

Home - War Games Holiday Centre (wargameshc.co.uk)

 

My final guest goes back to Episode 3 and everyone's favourite Arnhem and Scottish Medieval History expert Dr Chris Brown when we spoke last time Chris was planning his annual wargames event in Arnhem (on the anniversary of the landings) set in a hotel was was fought through in the battle.

Unfortunately the Phobon Plague prevented the event going ahead but things are going full steam ahead for this year and we chat about his plans for the event.

S.P.I.T. Wargames: The Return to Arnhem! - Warlord Community (warlordgames.com)

(6) S.P.I.T. Wargames | Facebook

Chris has also recently discovered one of my favourite wargaming places in the UK Common Ground Games in Stirling. CGG has a huge gaming area, a well stocked shop and a great cafe and is a must visit every time Yarkshire Gamer is North of Northallerton. 

He is organising a Normandy themed gamed day this summer, with plans for other days including a Vietnam themed event.

If you are ever in the area pop in and pay a visit

Tabletop gaming venue Scotland, Stirling 40k, fantasy games tables UK (commongroundgames.co.uk)

I'm still waiting for confirmation of my next guest but there will be a new episode at the end of the month, I know, 2 episodes in a month I am spoiling you !

Until next time,

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire |Gamer