The Games Table, Norwich

In this blog entry I'm going to shamelessly plug The Games Table in Norwich and take a look at it's new venue in the centre of the city.  Some of the photos and the video are nicked from their Facebook page.  I have no connection with the shop other than being a very happy customer and Kickstarter backer.

Background

Those of you who have have been reading this blog over several years (and surprisingly there are some!) will know that I've developed from someone who thought about gaming into someone who actually gets quite a few games in.  There are two factors in this.  Most recently, due to the COVID pandemic there has been a lot more on-line RPG sessions (and my monthly games summaries show I've been playing a lot!).  But before that came The Games Table.  It was The Games Table that got me back sitting down at a table and playing.

The Games Table opened in (July? August?) 2018 in Anglia Square, Norwich.  From the start it aimed to build a welcoming venue (dare I say, a 'safe environment') where people would come and play table-top games (or even buy a few).  Because of the hard work of Keiran, the proprietor, it took off really well and quite a solid community of gamers has built up.

The old shop

A New Location

Earlier this year, Keiran acquired new premises, twice the size of the old shop and right in the centre of the city.  He ran a successful Kickstarter to raise funds to refurbish and expand the facilities on offer.  It was all very exciting.

Quoting from the Kickstarter pages, here's what was promised.

• Create an amazing space for tabletop gamers.
• Expand our board games library, sorting it into categories that make sense.
• Offer mouth-watering hot food from some of the best local restaurants. 
• Serve the tastiest hot drinks provided by businesses run by military veterans.
• Host other independents, allowing them to showcase (and sell) their products.
• Maintain our unblemished reputation for providing a welcoming space.
• Keep our focus on community-building activities.
• Create expertly painted scenery setups for a variety of miniature games.
• Events, events, events and more events! Constant events. 

That was in March.  Then Lockdown happened.  Keiran was left with two venues, one of which needed a huge amount of work, and an almost complete cut in income.  

Other people would have given up or seriously cut-back on the plans.   Kieran persevered.

He's delivered on what he promised in the Kickstarter (except for the sofas and lounging area, which have temporarily fallen foul of social distancing), and he's coped with the changing regulations.

The new venue opened on 16 September.  Because of work commitments, I've been unable to visit until today.  All I can say is that it looks fantastic!

The Games Library

As of this afternoon (2 Oct 2020), there are 297 board games in the library.  Currently, of course, after play they are removed from the shelves, cleaned and quarantined.

The Games Tables

These are photos of the larger tables (there are several smaller ones for more intimate games).  Future developments will include an upstairs area.

There are perspex screens everywhere - I don't think they came out in the pictures.

This was set up for Painting Night

There are a lot of Warhammer players 
- and a lot of scenery for them to use.

Stuff to Buy

There's that as well!

Photos With People in Them

There was no-one in when I visited on a wet Friday afternoon (though I was glad to see that some passing trade was interested).  Here are some suitabliliy populated photos nicked from The Games Table Facebook page.

And Finally...

Keiran takes COVID regulations seriously.

Terrain Tuesday #7:Ruins (Pic Heavy)

I'll start today with a couple of links to other blogs.

First,Tony Harwood, that master of terrain, has put some basic tutorials on his page - Dampf's Modelling Blog - with Frostgrave in mind.  To quote him

By publishing this tutorial I am hoping that I can raise some money for charity. If you have read and enjoyed this short tutorial, I would ask that the next time you pass a charity collection tin or someone in the street collecting that you donate whatever you think fit and remember this article.

Obviously I think that a splendid sentiment and one worth sharing, but Dampf's tutorials are well worth looking at.

The second link is to a new blog - The Frostgrave Files - which also has some useful tutorials.

Ruins

From the above you can probably guess that my focus at the moment is on Frostgrave.

While walking the dog this week I took some photos of the City Walls as reference pics for terrain.  I thought others might also find them of use.  If you right-click them to open in a new tab, you can then super-size them.

And a few other things that caught my eye...

For some reason this garage appeals to me

Medieval house with C20th additions.  The house next door (blue door)
is undoubtedly also medieval at core, but received a Georgian make-over

A modern nod on the route of the wall

This is where our local Wizard lives

Railway cutting

And here are some I took earlier this year...

A good place for Mysterious Lurkers - there was one there this morning!

Edit

OK, these have generated some interest.  So for more info

Photos from the 1930s-1960 (much better than mine and including parts now lost).  For comparison, the photos I've taken are of the Black Tower and walls from Carrow Hill.

Video tour of the city walls

Happy St George's Day!

OK, no stuff here about why today should be a Bank Holiday.  Nothing about why we should recapture pride in England from the extremists.  Instead, let's look at the True Meaning of St George's Day - dragons!

In the past my 'Only in Norfolk' posts have prompted a lot of interest.  Here's something for the fans of that kind of thing (you're welcome Robert!).

This Snap the Dragon in the Norwich Castle Museum,  Snap is an example of the tradition of snapdragons (and snap-horses* - the best-known is the Padstow 'Obby 'Oss).  

In common with many English cities, Norwich had a Guild of St George, founded as a religious guild in the fourteenth-century to  to honour St. George and keep his feast day, to pray for its members past and present and to offer alms to the poor and needy within the Guild.

On St George's Day, the guild held a grand parade.  George and Margaret, the maiden he rescued, were represented, but the undoubted star was Snap, rushing around, taunting the crowds with wings flapping and smoke shooting from his mouth.  The earliest reference to the dragon comes from the minutes of the Guild Assembly of 1408 at which it was agreed 'to furnish priests with copes, and the George shall go in procession and make a conflict with the Dragon, and keep his estate both days'. 

Norwich Guildhall (with Special Guest)

The guild became one of the most powerful and wealthy in the city and developed close ties to the city government.  By the end of the sixteenth-century the Mayor was the ex-officio head of the guild (now a livery company) and City Aldermen and officials formed its council.  Guild Day merged with the swearing-in of the city's new mayor.  The Company had rooms in the Norwich Guildhall.

Mayor-Making, 2010

The Reformation stripped the guild of its religious aspects, but its civic links ensured its survival.  . Although St George and Margaret no longer featured in the procession, Snap remained** and the procession evolved into a grand civic occasion.   In the 1720s reformers attacked the legality of the Company's actions, the outcome of which was the surrender of all their goods and possessions to the Corporation in 1731.   

An antiquarian has left a description of an eighteenth-century parade:

The outsides of the houses were hung with tapestries and pictures, particularly the new Mayor's house. From here the dignitaries then paraded on horseback to the house of the retiring Mayor where a substantial breakfast of pasties, roast beef, boiled legs of mutton and wine were provided. The procession then set out for the cathedral.  

The way was cleared by six Whifflers and two Dick Fools accompanied by the dragon. Mackerell says 'The Dragon, carried by a Man in the body of it, gave great diversion to the common People: they always seemed very much to fear it when it was near them, but always looked upon it with pleasure when it was a little distance from them'. The Whifflers were dressed in a distinctive costume of scarlet satin breeches, white satin jerkin and a hat decorated with a cockade of feathers and ibbons. They carried swords which they brandished and tossed in the air. Helping the Whifflers were the Dick Fools, who wore painted canvas coats with red and yellow cloth caps adorned with fox or cats' tails and small bells.

Throughout the country such activities were increasingly seen as part of a corrupt system of local government and swept away by the reforming Municipal Corporations Act of 1835.  Snap and his ilk refused to go quietly, though.  In Norwich the tradition was maintained by the Pockthorpe Guild, founded in 1772***.  With the 'election' of a Mock Major and mock officials, the Pockthorpe ceremonies were a a rowdier take on the official ones.  The focus was firmly on the dragon, who would snap at hats and caps in his jaws, holding them to ransom, accompanied by the chant 'Snap, Snap, steal a boy's cap, give him a penny and he'll give it back'. 

Watch that cap!

In 1997 a Morris group, the Norwich Whifflers revived Snap, and as you can see he is once more part of the Lord Mayors' celebration.

Whiffler and Dragon

But the fun doesn't end there!  Since 2008 Norwich has held an annual week-long Dragon Festival of arts and events.

A modern  recognition of Norwich's dragon links in the Castle grounds

Later this year, a sculpture trail around the city will feature decorated dragons****.

A Go Go Dragon (with another Special Guest)

* Writing this reminds me that whippets are also known as 'snap dogs'.  As the flies have been out and bothering Zeppo, I see why.

**  From the 1553 minutes,'there shall be neither George nor Margaret; but for pastime, the Dragon to come and shew himself as in other years.'

*** Then an hamlet, Pockthorpe is now a suburb of the City.

****Previous years have seen similar elephants and gorillas.

Normal for Norfolk #3

Regular readers may remember my posts here and here which caused some to wonder if Norwich was some to wonder whether Norwich was some kind of Lovecraftian theme park.


What then, will you make of this?

Norwich giant inflatable spider startles Halloween visitors

Nurse Cavell Again

For those of you who don't know, Norwich is on the East side of England, and as such gets relatively little rain.  When we do get some though it can be a little dramatic.

As such. The Wife the dogges and I spent most of the weekend indoors...

In other local news...

It's just been announced that a grant of £50,000 has been given to restore the grave of Nurse Edith Cavell (I'm not sure what they're going to spend the money on myself, it looks in good nick to me).

More interestingly, a separate grant of £91,000 has been made to explore the myth of Cavell and how her story is/was used for propaganda purposes.  I wonder if they will explore the mis-use of the Red Cross' neutrality to assist combatants?

Which all reminds me, I must blog about Capt Fryatt...