Surreal

I stood basking in the warmth of the late afternoon sun yesterday, watching the people go by. A rotund man in English civil war period costume walked along carrying an eighteen foot pike. Behind him strolled a German SS officer, side-by-side with a sergeant in the red beret of the British Parachute regiment of 1944, complete with Sten gun and grenades. They greeted a Russian tank commander, who led a pair of Confederate soldiers dragging a small artillery piece behind them.

It was surreal to say the least.

The scene was the annual Military Odyssey, held in the middle of Kent County Showgrounds. The 3-day exhibition featured a hundred stalls full of memorabilia, books, photographs, badges, clothing, even genuine weaponry - deactivated of course.

There were re-enactments of battles from numerous periods in history, from jousting tournaments, English and American Civil War scenes through a Wild West shootout, to Vietnam and WWII re-enactments. The finale, a very noisy half-hour re-enactment of an Allied-v-German encounter shortly after D-Day was absolutely stunning.

An amazing day out.