Thanks, guys - It really is a massive honour to have even been considered for this award, and no... I had
NO idea it was coming.
When the video makes it online, you will see what it looks like when someone who left the bar at ~3am on Friday night, 5:45am on Saturday night, and 4am on Sunday night - With ~8am alarm calls each morning - looks like when they attempt to make a heartfelt speech in response to a wonderful surprise.
What follows is the Director's Cut of that speech. ( Hopefully the restoration will be more Blade Runner than Star Wars! ):
[ Prologue : Cut scene. Skip if you like :p ]
Five years ago, I and a few local acquaintances from an internet forum I frequented, decided to buy some plastic armour and head down to a fun-sounding event at the National Space Centre.
There was talk of an Alien War type thing going on, and given that I've been a massive fan of the movies since I spent my birthday money on an Aliens comic in May of 1988 ( I was ten! ) and had been through the original Alien War more times than anyone else, I felt obliged to attend!
As it was, when we got there the Encounter was pretty well in hand... Members of the UK Garrison with a few Aliens Legacy folk had it well in hand.
So we socialised!
I toyed with the idea of joining the Garrison, until some smartarse came up with the idea of forming an actual "group", with a name and everything. Thus, the UKCM was born.
The slovenly Yin to the UKG's pristine Yang 
That was half a decade ago. In the years since...
What started as a disorganised rabble in green tupperware and black rubber has become... Well, we're
still a disorganised rabble in green tupperware and black rubber but we're also a family.
I don't bandy that term around without being fully aware of the emotional connotations of it. And I mean it when I say, I love you guys.
A lot of you have met my kids - Morgan ( Newt ) still talks about the time you all crammed into my lounge after Collectormania.
She loves Costuming as Newt, and her little brother Lee wants armour.
It's fairly obvious from that that I AM a massive nerd, and I live for two things... My family, and my family.
Monday morning was, quite simply, mental.
I half expected to wake up right after Fish handed me my "badge", with Clay standing over my bed going "Bloody hell, Scapey, you're late
again! get up!
The fact that you guys consider me worthy of the award still blows my mind - But I should finish by pointing out that [clichebuttrue] it would never have happened without the Wall Crew.
Clay, Stew, Bolty... And everyone else on board - None of the prop displays, none of the last-minute mini-drops, none of the trips to the cinema in full kit could have happened without you guys.
Since I ended up organising the Scottish drops, and the 'Wall crew has grown to the size it's now at, that crew have become my very best friends, and my brothers in (plastic)arms.
And the rest of you, those that I only see at English drops... ( We ARE only a few hours North you know! Don't worry about the polar bears... me and my squad of Irn Bru fuelled badasses are here to protect you!
And we've trained the penguins to fight on OUR side! ) seeing you lot and getting the whole group together has been the highlight of my year each year since we started. Fish, Troon, Gareth... Everyone that's been there from Day One, and all the new blood we've corrupted since - We are the UKCM, and we're here to stay.
[ SRS BIT ]
I've been through some rough times over the last few years, and I can honestly say that the UKCM played a major part in getting me through it all and keeping me sane.
The irony of me saying, in effect, "A grown man stayed sane, by dressing up as a space soldier and pretending to fight rubber aliens with a toy gun" isn't lost on me in the slightest.
I thought it'd be easier to express how I feel about this honour when I had time to sit at a keyboard and take my time to compose my thoughts.
You know what? It's not. I'm still miles off from how touched I really am by this, and coming nowhere near explaining how much you guys mean to me...
So once again, I'll resort to 4 letters and a semicolon.
TL;DR
I love you guys. Thank you very much. It's an honour, and I'll do my best to continue earning it every day in every way I can.
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) a Gold Award.
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