About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Friday, December 6, 2019

Z is for Stumps!

Another board-game, but this one has some age, as it seems from the box-lid blurb to pre-date the whole National/International Team Competition era, mentioning the Australian 'Test Team' as being a separate entity to 'English Teams' (isn't one of them from Wales? No Mr. President; no; not the big 'fish'!) without mentioning any other national country?

Board Game; Board Game Cricketers; Board Game Playing Pieces; Boardgame Pieces; Cricket Board Game; Cricket Game; Cricketer Toys; De la Rue; De la Rue & Co.; English Teams; Game; Game Counters; Game Playing Pieces; Game Rules; Indoor Game of Cricket; Playing Board; Playing Piece; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Stumpz; Stumpz Board Game; Thomas de la Rue;
The contents consist of a playing board, rule-set, score-book, arrowy-thing, various cards for the batsman (who doesn't seem to get a representative figure which is a bit odd) and the nub of the set as far as we're concerned; a set of 23/25mm (HO'ish) figures in lead. De la Rue now - of course - famous for making a high proportion of the world's paper (and increasingly - Polymer) currencies, and based down the road, just outside Basingrad.

Board Game; Board Game Cricketers; Board Game Playing Pieces; Boardgame Pieces; Cricket Board Game; Cricket Game; Cricketer Toys; De la Rue; De la Rue & Co.; English Teams; Game; Game Counters; Game Playing Pieces; Game Rules; Indoor Game of Cricket; Playing Board; Playing Piece; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Stumpz; Stumpz Board Game; Thomas de la Rue;
Of particular interest is the playing surface, which despite the lack of batsmen, bowling or batting apparatus (that's what all the cards are about) or balls, has been given a flocked surface in three colours, each immaculately printed with no fuzzy boundaries or colour-bleed. But then if this was made between the wars, in the Edwardian period, flocked wallpaper had taken flocking 'tech' to heights it has only retreated from ever since!

Board Game; Board Game Cricketers; Board Game Playing Pieces; Boardgame Pieces; Cricket Board Game; Cricket Game; Cricketer Toys; De la Rue; De la Rue & Co.; English Teams; Game; Game Counters; Game Playing Pieces; Game Rules; Indoor Game of Cricket; Playing Board; Playing Piece; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Stumpz; Stumpz Board Game; Thomas de la Rue;
Close-up of the playing pieces, they can - with exceptions - be moved between balls or overs, and the reason there is a bowler when there are no batsmen, is that the fielding-player can vary the run-up and ball toss.

The figures are semi-flat and probably full of lead, with four poses, standing and squatting fielders, wicket-keepers and the bowler. A lovely set and many thanks to Adrain who let me shoot it at the recent Sandown Park toy fair.

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