It rained , it got hot, it was big and it was spectacular – it was Reading. The 193rd Rifle Division once again made its annual trip to the Reading Airshow on June 5, 6, 7. This may have been the biggest Reading yet, but it started out rather inauspiciously. Unit members who arrived on Thursday were able to get the majority of the camp set up before dark. This was good, because the rain set in that night and continued all day Friday. The only planes that were flying were the regular commercial and business flights. A few hardy spectators came through and wanted to talk, but the day was mostly spent trying to stay dry and warm.
Saturday, however, was a totally different story. The sun came out and began to dry things out, although it never became insufferably hot. With the sun came a huge crowd of spectators, the largest that I can remember in our Red Army camp since I have been attending this event. We were even visited by a Russian TV crew who filmed several of us giving our usual presentations. They also interviewed a couple of the real Russians who are in the group. Over all, it was a highly successful day. Sunday saw slightly higher temperatures, (still not as bad as last year) and somewhat smaller crowds. At one point, the 193rd, urged on by our Politruk, fought a valiant battle against the vile hordes of SS, who were camped next to us. We died gloriously.
There were the usual bureaucratic glitches that usually plague this event. Thursday night, after everyone had collapsed into sleep from a strenous afternoon of putting up the camp, the event sound man apparently decided to do a sound check by playing loud Rock music over the PA system after midnight. Some of the reenactors had a few words with him about that and it did not happen again. Also, there were the usual stories of over-zealous volunteers at the gates, being unnecessarily arbitrary with reenactors. However, in many ways, this year’s event seemed to go more smoothly than some of the others that I have attended.
Reading isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, but it does provide the opportunity for a lot of quality living historians to get together for a weekend (along with a large number of vendors). The chance to visit with so many old friends, by itself makes this weekend worth it for me. A round of thanks and a big Uraahhh! to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s effort!
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