I won't lie to you, the temptation to start this article off by flexing the old creative writing muscles was a very genuine concern. There's something about the breach of the city of Bristol, during that first siege in 1643, that warrants a bit of pomp and spectacle. Bristol, at this point, was the second city of the country. Charles was determined to get control of a decent port through which he could ship in reinforcements and mercenaries from abroad (the abysmal state of t

I will confess myself very ignorant on the matter of the 1st Foot Guards. When the re-enactment regiment was first raised a few years ago, as an offshoot of Prince Rupert's Bluecoats, a number of fellow Bluecoats took great(ish) pains to point out the historic legacy of the regiment. Being a callow youth, I completely missed the point and thought that everyone was up for it because they got a glamorous redcoat (I'm still not entirely convinced that that isn't the case). I'll

It was the 16th of May 1992, the sports hall at Woughton Campus, Milton Keynes; I was 16 rising 17 and, as a keen role-player, I was attending the Milton Keynes Wargames Society annual ‘Campaign Weekend’. This was 2 days of solid wargaming and fantasy role-playing games (the latter being more my cuppa tea, make of that what you will!) alongside a large market and exhibition area. As I entered the hall at what was my second ever MKWS Campaign my eye was caught by some shiny th