Balaclavas On The Line

The following is an exert from former Brigadier 'Mad Jock' McCoist's Autobiography, published in 2002:

<i>'I moved down to the town of Sunderland with my Da in 1965, settling in the poverty stricken East End, very close to the River Wear (the river that runs straight through the town). Rarely did I attend school, choosing instead to get up to all sorts of petty crime and mischief, ya know how it is: vandalism, street scraps, setting small fires, stealing sweets and crisps from the corner shop.

When I turned eighteen, I signed up for Her Majesty's Armed Forces as a mechanic, spending some time in West Germany, close to the city of Hamburg. The town I returned to, however, was not the friendly County Durham town that I had left. There was a clear divide within the once jovial community. In 1978 Da was diagnosed with lung cancer, having been a life long smoker, and died just before Christmas of that year. He'd always told me not to take sides, to always turn the other cheek, but I just couldn't let it lie, if and when I had kids, I would want them to know a place of peace. Ultimately, I joined the East End Brigade of the SDF, becoming one of their top guys.

By 1980 our campaign was in full swing, a patrol group, vigilant group would be a better word, frequently watched the East End day and night. </i>

Mural in the East End (taken in 2000)

Oy Vey!

So I'm finally in a good position physically, mentally, and spiritually, to finally get back into the swing of things. As I've previously said (about a year ago) Mark from Winterof79 kindly sent me a shed load of 20mm miniatures and for that I am forever in his debt. I will be working in both 20 and 28mm, mostly 28 due to being partially blind in my right eye so it's quite hard to see what I'm painting!

I've got a number of colourful characters in the pipeline, including a Republican Indian Sikh, named simply Tiger Singh. He's a no nonsense commander with a fiery passion for fighting, and his brother Sanvir who is a little more reluctant to fight but is a valuable member of the movement nonetheless.

Until next time,
Sean.

Update: An Apology

Hi guys, long time since I've posted here. Please accept my apology! I've been having problems with my mental health recently and I've been evaluating my future. This blog has always been at the back of my mind, however, and because of the release of the Winter of '79 rules, I've had a peak in interest! I'm currently looking at applying to university to study film. Fingers crossed.

Until then, Godspeed!