I always told Fidel, “When humans are pushed far too much, our true human spirt will always be seen and then there will be revolution!”

We had to leave early, hiding in the morning mist, to the unknown lands for the clash with the Mighty Dragons. We were twelve and our Granma boat was broken, but spirits were high. Comandante Rimmer’s (aka Fidel Castro) approach was simple – I want to go back with my head held high and if we wanted to start the revolution, it would be on this side of the season!

The start wouldn’t be what we expected. The Dragon bit us on our backside as soon as we stepped on it’s tail. 0-1 after four minutes.

Five in the trenches – Stu, Tom, Colin, Paresh & Bhav; - came under heavy fire and the strategic placements of the soldiers meant that there were fewer casualties. We got a lot of help from Comrade Jason to keep us safe in the trenches!

Commandos out of the trenches, lead by Mike, were running in circles and avoiding any eye contact with the Dragon. Matt, Rich, Sam, Olly, Harry along with Mike were fast and sneaked into the Den to have multiple shots only to be saved by the Dragon’s big legs. Olly and Sam had a good combination going when we earned out first Close Encounter (aka PC).

Mike kept a close eye on the Dragon’s Den and as soon as the Dragon tried to come out, he was poked in the eye!

Matt’s shoes were worn out but he knew that he was part of something big! Comrade Matt, the revolution will remember your sacrifices and diving tackles to tame the Dragon.

Rich’s beard was growing fast and the Dragon didn’t dare come close to him! Scary face Rich!

Lieutenant Colin and his aerial fire power was something we lacked in our previous campaigns; welcome back, Lieutenant. Radio man Tom was shouting instructions to Sniper Paresh; Paresh used his extra-long stick to keep the Dragon at bay. This really wound him up and the first half of the campaign would end when a Close Encounter was “Luckily saved by the Dragon’s extra padded legs!” Bhav was playing propaganda mind games for the revolutionaries! Lucky Lucky Lucky indeed!

0-1 and thirty-five more minutes of battle were left.

Comandante Rimmer asked for one extra push and a slight change to the attack was planned. Santa Clara and Trinidad were under us but without Havana our revolution wouldn’t be successful. Harry, Matt, Olly and Sam were combining even better. We were able to penetrate in the Den and earned two Close Encounters (aka PCs) but, alas, we had to pull back our troops to have one final push.

In a move very, very late in the revolution, Harry, Olly and Sam combined extremely well to hand the fire back to Sam. Sam brought down the Dragon with a special trick between its legs. It was 1-1 and we had entered Havana.

Last two minutes of the revolution will be remembered when the Dragon and the Revolutionaries shook hands on a 1-1 draw.

Walking back en route to the dressing room, Harry (aka Raul Castro) & Sam (aka Camilo Cienfuegos) were seen smoking their cigars with a smile which reminds me of my childhood days in Argentina.

Mike was awarded the Revolutionary of the Revolutionaries Cross for the sacrifices he made. Bhav was rewarded with a cigar to smoke for winding up the Dragon!

2016 will be remembered for the death of a Gorilla at the start and the death of a guerrilla in the end! Bring on 2017!

Hasta la victoria siempre!