AVBCW: The Hereford Campaign
24/03/2014 2 Comments
Byakhee JP has posted some of the outcomes following our latest Big Game – The Second Battle of Foy.
The BUF (Cavalry under Captain Arrowsmith’s command pictured), along with their nominal allies the Royalists having been disarmed and ejected from Foy, there was a wider pattern of allegiences being forged.
This year, I hope to have some more games, where I actually get to play “my” faction, the Malvern Hills Conservators (MHC), so I’m eyeing those white patches of unaligned Parishes on the eastern fringes of Hereford. I can feel a good scrap or two being fought over them between Royalist, LDV, BUF and the MHC.
Threats of intervention from Shropshire have been made by several of those local factions, along with insinuations as to the nature of the relationship between Sir Gilbert, his wife, and his secretary (Miss Sweetmeat), and others.
The (newly installed) Suffragan Bishop of Ludlow rejoices at the return to the true faith of certain parishes in Herefordshire.
Contemplating the future from the highest tower of his HQ (and transport park) , Ludlow Castle, however, a burning question remains.
In fact, two.Where now is the Archbishop of Herefordshire ?
Has the dastardly Foy regrown his moustache ?The Suffragan Bishop is now regretting placing his intelligence gathering machine in the hands of a local farmer, Bartram Simpson, as not even considerable expenditure at the crowded bar of The Feathers Hotel over the last few weeks has resulted in any useful snippets of information. Bart would find answers on the back of postcard a real face – saver (and job – saver).
Meanwhile, Arthur Snout, the fiercely independent proprietor and editor of “The Ludlow Leader” is not interested in the answers to either of the above questions (although he will devote a column or two to the answers if they arise). True to the traditions of Fleet Street, the editor seeks to fill his (wartime reduced – save paper !) pages with an even more pressing regional (not to say, national) issue : what are the precise domestic arrangements of Sir Gilbert ? Was Miss Sweetmeat really an exotic dancer in the nightclubs of the Turks & Caicos Islands before taking her Pitmans Shorthand Course (by correspondence) and being engaged as Sir Gilbert’s secretary ? Has Lady Hill really taken refuge (together with considerable solace) in the arms of not one, but two, of Sir Gilbert’s gamekeepers (Messrs Mills & Boone) or is she party to an exotic continental arrangement with Sir Gilbert and Miss Sweetmeat herself ? Opinion at the bar of The Feathers Hotel is divided : the presses of “The Ludlow Leader” cannot long stand idle….
More is to be revealed…
In the face of this anarchy and aggression, the MHC under the tender stewardship of Sir George Moonbat and Sir Johnathan Porridge have decided to make a move to secure the western flanks of the Malvern from aggressive factions in Herefordshire and Shropshire in order to extend their warm and welcoming embrace of environmental concern and ensure stability and conservation of the natural order are continued.
The Lost City of Carcosa 
Which begs the question – what the heck is going on in Worcestershire, on the other side of those carefully conserved Malvern Hills, right now? Just wondering, as the Severn flood plain is much better tank country…
AFAIK, there is some fighting in Worcester itself – socialists based at the docks and industrial area. Further north there has been some fighting with socialists again, coming out of B’ham but is still dominated by Royalists. Anglicans got as far as Bredon hill but Royalist Guards kicked them back promptly and a defence line east and south of Evesham has been established. Most of the Severn valley and vale of Evesham is in the hands of Royalist regulars with a good supply of tanks sent up from Bovington. BUF and English Alliance camps are also numerous. So pretty much everything south from B’ham down to Gloucester is in Royalist hands.
I’ll drop off the sourcebook for you to read when I come pick up those CDs, probably tomorrow.