Whilst I am filled with carpaccio of beef, raw garlic and bloody good red wine, let me use it as an excuse to say that I love and respect all of you whom I have known since I was but a youth, and although some of you may think I hold you in disdain, I will say on the record that it is not the case, and that its my way of coping. You have all played your part in my life and I'm grateful and pleased to know you. To my DS3 and latterly FB friends I will say that I do indeed think of you as friends. Coming from someone who only interacts with people whom I find interesting, please reflect and accept my hand. And those of you who have got inside my defences since my forays into gaming in 1980 both as peers and GW 'untouchables' ( you know who you are) will probably know me well enough to know that you are as close as anyone in my blood family. Indeed some of you were regulars at the family manse in the 80s and are every bit my brothers and sisters. Some of you in SWS may als...

If anyone has a copy of the old 'Encounter 2' sci-fi skirmish rules by Starfleet Studies or TTG, and would sell them to me for £10, please drop me a line. Thanks.

As is now pretty obvious, I'm as addicted to railway modelling these days as I am wargaming, so it will come as no surprise to hear that I have this morning, just commissioned two new shelf layouts from my 'go to' builder, Steve Hornsey. As usual I am looking for something different and so, this time I have decided on narrow gauge 009 scale, which in short is OO scale scenics but track which is, in all but the spacing of the sleepers (if you use 'proper' 009 stuff) N scale. The first layout is going to be set inside the walls of a distillery, and the entire groundwork will be cobbled with the rails set into it - something that Steve portrays really well. It has a lot of potential for nice scenery and vignettes as materials, barrels to be filled and filled barrels being moved down to the road transport sheds. The second layout will be set in the 1920s on the estate of a member of the gentry. It will feature his Lordship's private station, engine and carri...

The AGM of SWS was held on 23 November 2016 An entirely new committee was elected as follows: Chairman - Tim Gow Secretary - John Armatys Treasurer - Graham Northing Show Secretary - Pete Scholey Publicity Officer - Cy Harrison It has been speculated that there is a high probability of  a show returning to Sheffield. My personal guess would be 2018 at a smaller venue, lasting one day. It can be seen that for the most part, this new committee could be seen as progressive and 'safe pairs of hands' and I for one, wish them well in their endeavours.

I am really beginning to think that the sooner 2016 is out of the way the better. Real life keeps rubbing up against my hobbies in a none to friendly manner, and I confess it's beginning to really piss me off. Exactly a week ago now my wife's car was hit on the M1 between Leeds and Sheffield by a large articulated truck delivering to Aldi, which, carried her 100 or so yards along the motorway, spinning her sideways and depositing her into (and thankfully there was one) the hard shoulder. The driver accepted responsibility at the scene, and the police informed my wife that they did not expect her to be found alive, but, thankfully she was saved by being in a Skoda Yeti. She spent the next day at the hospital and was not brain damaged, nor was she a 'walk talk, die' case, but she is internally battered about and quite severely whiplashed. Let me tell you, relieved at her survival is not the world. And so, as she was not fit to make it on Saturday and had to also...