“In the Netherlands the cost in euros is numerically lower than in guilders: something which cost five guilders is now two euros,” Ms Bax says. “Often the effect of this is to make something seem like a bargain initially – only for buyers to feel disappointed later.”Policymakers believe one final factor has sapped the popularity of the new currency. In an economic downturn consumers are particularly sensitive to the prices they pay – and right now very few feel better off.. “Vive la France!” yells a cavalry officer, slashing away with a sword as his horse kicks into a charge. Muskets explode close by and the noise is shocking: a series of sharp cracks as the powder ignites in a dozen guns and acrid white smoke stings the eyes, followed by a whump that shakes the ground. History is history, after all – and this fake battle on the Kent County Show Ground is as accurate as the participants can make it.No balls are fired from the muskets and the wounded fall at pre-arranged signals, but the roar of the gunpowder is real. Being this close to a battle is scary even when you know it is pretend, and people do get hurt Not killed, though.

And they probably did not have spectators lined up along crash barriers during the Napoleonic wars, nor burger vans. Infantrymen probably did not wear fluorescent green earplugs then, and not too many Vikings strolled past.This weekend 4,000 enthusiasts have gathered to relive battles from Norse times to the Gulf War. This is one of the biggest gatherings of the year for a scene that has experienced a huge boom in popularity, with up to 50,000 people now involved.The Military Odyssey offers a chance for warriors to mingle across the centuries. Not that they fight each other: a Viking might have bags of aggression and a big chopper, but he would not stand a chance against the Desert Storm Rapier missile system parked in the corner lot.”The beauty is that you can be a bus driver all week and turn into a Roman centurion on Saturday,” says Gary Howard, the event director.

Yes, he admits, it is mainly over-grown boys playing soldiers. “As we get older, our toys become more expensive,” he laughs, brandishing a cutlass.But there are women and children on the battlefields too, and in camp, cooking and living authentically.The hobby has been re-branded as “living history” and offered to schools to bring lessons alive. “Ninety-five per cent of us are not war-like people,” says Gary. “It’s just that battles are what you read about in the history books.”Overnight rain has scared off some of the expected 20,000 paying spectators.