Professor Tony Pollard has been a guest on this show previously, when we discussed The Great Game giant refight of Waterloo and the amazing work being done by Waterloo Uncovered, both in uncovering the archaeology of that famous battle and the terrific benefits for the veterans and service personnel taking part in the dig, many of whom suffer from PTSD and other mental illness related to their service.
But what brought us together for this recording is our shared interest in health issues, both physical and mental, facing in particular the many men of a certain age (think 40 upwards) involved in the hobby – not for us the ‘head in the sand’ approach, so we decided to bare all in the interests of our fellow wargamers.
We discuss the physical and mental challenges that both of us have faced in recent months and years, our differing outcomes, our attitudes to these problems and our hopes that other gamers will heed our call to go and get themselves checked and pay more attention to both their physical and mental health. We also talk about the enormous benefits that the hobby confers in so many aspects, be it painting, modelling or playing games, as well as some of the risks of perfectionism and the anxiety faced by so many who are essentially introverts.
The recording suffered a number of technical challenges (thanks Skype!) as well as some unexpected interruptions, particularly from Ralph the dog! However, I have deployed my special editing squad and I think I’ve managed to smooth over most of these. Be sure to listen all the way to the very end of the podcast!
My thanks to Tony for coming onto the show to speak so frankly about the issues he has faced and I hope that you will find the show entertaining as well as informative.
Henry
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