THRRRRRRP!

 It was a sad day yesterday, with the funeral of the late Steve Roberts. 

Even sadder was the attitude of some of my former friends and gamers after the service, at the wake which followed. I'd reluctantly decided to go to it for an hour or so, after paying my respects to man who - despite  he furore following comments I'd made privately about Sheffield Triples - demanded and got my eternal respect. He was a big man in every way, surrounded by smaller and pettier men.

The memsahib and I arrived at the wake and were invited to join two of the newer (30 years or so ) members, and a 'senior' member, who upon finishing his drink, ordered another and went and sat with a group of similar hardcore 'Party Members' after ignoring us for half an hour.

And this folks, is the attitude - or one of them - which screwed up a great show, a fantastic club and some great friendships. Of course, my pointing out a few glaring issues, didn't help, but if those issues didn't exist, I'd not have been prompted to...

Thankfully, I'd expected this.

We did however, enjoy the company of Mick Rothenburg and Lloyd Powell. Earlier, Mick had given me sage advice not to 'bite'. It wasn't needed, but as usual it was good advice - I didn't.

The three of us later joked that I must have mistakenly put on my shirt with 'UNCLEAN' and a red 'X' on the back.

In fact, whilst I am on my Summer break, I shall be having a couple of shirts printed with exactly this message on the back, to be worn at shows where I know some of these bitter old men with their bitter old opinions will be in attendance. Let's see if they get it.

*EDIT*

No need to get one printed as I can actually get one already done:

 


If you see me wearing this at a show, wander over and say 'hi', or feel free to sneer, as seems to be the fashion in the Steel City.

Anyway, I had a pretty rough night, and during those 8 long hours, I have mulled over ways to bring this whole sordid situation to an end. The only way seems to be do so head on and 'call out' those who are happy to point a finger, but never towards a mirror, as I myself have done.

Next year is I think the tenth anniversary of the Triples That Killed Triples, and whilst Chillcon returns to a new venue, it looks as if Triples has been buried at the crossroads, staked through the heart. This is a shame... But don't blame me, blame those who treated it as a 'done deal' and ignored the fact that the marketplace was changing.

To those who were the friends I have always considered them to be - Thank you. To the rest of you miserable buggers - 'THRRRRRRRRRP!'

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave your praise and vitriolic commentary here...

Popular posts from this blog

How, Over 40 Years Ago, A Guy Called Andy Changed My Life With 5 Words, And Other Reminiscences...

Image
 Of late I have been having long and vivid dreams wherein, I am often walking or travelling with people I have known, some living, some passed, talking over things we had done or said. I confess that it's been eerie but also very liberating. These coversations have been so real that I have awoken in the morning (more usually, half way through the night) and been confused at my surroundings.  Last night I was speaking with Dave Hoyles  - very much alive and kicking - of Q.T Models/Museum Miniatures. The only thing I have noticed is that is often been snowing heavily in these dreams. One of my latest dreams was of the late Ian Smith, another the comic book artist Paul Green - who, thankfully is still with us. This pattern began a few years ago when I had a similar experience with the recently deceased Pete 'Greblord' Armstrong. It was a very cathartic experience for me, as I had much which needed to be said. I may have written of this before, but this particular dream was dif
Read more

The Passing Of A British Wargaming Legend

Image
It is with genuine sadness and heavy heart that I must record the passing of Sheffield Wargames Society founder member and long time Chairman, Steve Roberts.    I was 13 when I first met Steve (some 43 years ago, now). It was a chance meeting. I'd been playing Dungeons & Dragons for about a year and had taken some Citadel FTZ Zombies back to my Junior school to show my headteacher there, who'd always encouraged the creative arts in pupils.    He was impressed (as you'd expect) and told me that a wargames club met at the school now, on Monday nights run by a chap called Steve Roberts.    Well, of course I was interested, and together with my friend Alan Staniforth, I attended the club, to find there was no D&D...   What there was however were historical games, played by local kids with 'Big Steve' the only adult. But he ran that club like a champion, providing all the models and simple rules, which was just what you needed to hook kids in.   Steve allowed us
Read more

A Serious Post And Another Obituary But With Some More Positive Stuff At The End

Image
 I am at an age where I would expect the odd death of someone I know, but I am starting to realise that it's the younger end of the line which is getting culled.  This week I found out through a good friend that another friend in the hobby from the old days had taken his own life, bringing the total friends lost to 5 and drom that number the number lost to suicide in the last few years to 2. Now, I've been close to that I think, three times, but I've been lucky enough to be able to turn my illogical brain around and decide that the world and my enemies will not be happy if I thrive and stay alive. So, that has been my stated mission, to live long and be hated that much longer. The first time I was taken with thoughts of suicide, was when I was banned from Games Workshop Sheffield in the 80s (see my book or earlier posts) and my so-called friends allowed themselves to be bought off, trading silence as to what a set-up it was in return for part time jobs at the store. That wa
Read more