The BBC News has an article on a 1970s drama series, about an armed revolt in Scotland.
It sounds like the most dramatic news story imaginable.
The battle for Scottish independence has taken a violent turn after paramilitary “soldiers” of the Scottish Liberation Army (SLA) took over the town of Fort William.
Troops from English regiments of the British army are massing north of Glasgow to turn back an expected assault on the nation’s largest city.
The prime minister is meeting his cabinet in London. And the leadership of the SNP, the party which recently narrowly missed out on winning a majority in the Westminster parliament, has yet to condemn the actions in the Highlands.
I wasn’t aware of this series, but I am intrigued by the similarity to the article I wrote thirty years ago about a possible modern era English Civil War that was published in Wargames Illustrated.
” … its six o’clock, on Tuesday the 27th October 1998. This is the Royal Somerset Broadcasting Service, and now the news from Wessex and around the world. The headlines: Scotland has seceded from the British Republic, fighting has broken out along the border. Royalist army and volunteer militia units have pushed back across the border an armed incursion by Democratic Guards into south-west Dorset last night. Bristol Docks were once again the target of bombing over the night, but damage has been minimal. The United States has once again confirmed its commitment to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Wessex and Duchy of Cornwall.”
Sadly the Scotch on the Rocks series was never repeated, the real SNP complained about their fictional portrayal in the drama. Also not all the episodes are available. You can get the book on Amazon though.
I wonder if they would remake the series (still have it set in the 1970s) or reboot the series to a modern day setting.
There are lots of gaming ideas in this concept. Something I hope to explore in a later blog post.