A Week Of Little & Much

 What a busy week it's been...

The first 8 days of my holiday seem to have shot by, with only a couple of poutings for the purposes of cultural fulfilment. Of particular note was the trip over to Bradford, which is not perhaps where you may expect to find culture, but in act at Cartwright Hall art gallery there's the Hockney gallery and some of the best of Black British art (the very best being in Manchester) as well as a cheeky little Warhol and some rather nice landscapes and portraiture.

At present, there's also a nice little exhibition on the fashions and music of 70s and 80s Bradford, which was the home base of more acts than you might think. 















You then take a light lunch in the rather excellent little cafe there and skip 2.2 miles over to Saltaire and Salt's Mill, wherein you will find many, many works by David Hockney, a rather splendid craft jewellery shop, a bloody massive art and art book store and an equally massive bookshop up on the 2nd floor.


 

Wear comfortable shoes!

However, I've been at home quite a bit, and so, I have of course been at the same desk I spend my working days at, getting my 28mm Perry Miniatures, 2nd Afghan War, Afghans based up. I completed them on Friday, and I'm pleased with them. I just need to get the flags sorted:


















It's a healthy sized force, comprising 17 Irregular units, 3 Regular and two artillery pieces. I'll be adding a bout 5 or six more units and a couple more artillery pieces to round it out.

A commentator said that he thought I needed to have individually based figures for skirmish gaming. As you know, I don't 'do' skirmish gaming, and nor do I 'do' casualty removal. He also took exception to my bases sizes, at which I just pointed out 'Rule 1' as I always do. Rest assured I take great care in selecting base sizes for my armies. I am beyond the WRG 'to the millimetre' school of gaming these days.

Yesterday also saw a surprise visit by my builder, who had the missing pice of my new gaming room - a window - and who then set about completing the rest of the construction, so that it was complete yesterday.




Next Tuesday the joiner will be building the tables, and then we can get the plastic sheeting off the carpet which was fitted this last Tuesday. 

Then September will see the back yard fully resurfaced and extended in places. Not a bad Summer's work, and at last my own place of gaming indulgence.

Right, if you will excuse me, I need to go and shower and then pop out for a light breakfast with the Memsahib...


TTFN

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave your praise and vitriolic commentary here...

Popular posts from this blog

How, Over 40 Years Ago, A Guy Called Andy Changed My Life With 5 Words, And Other Reminiscences...

Image
 Of late I have been having long and vivid dreams wherein, I am often walking or travelling with people I have known, some living, some passed, talking over things we had done or said. I confess that it's been eerie but also very liberating. These coversations have been so real that I have awoken in the morning (more usually, half way through the night) and been confused at my surroundings.  Last night I was speaking with Dave Hoyles  - very much alive and kicking - of Q.T Models/Museum Miniatures. The only thing I have noticed is that is often been snowing heavily in these dreams. One of my latest dreams was of the late Ian Smith, another the comic book artist Paul Green - who, thankfully is still with us. This pattern began a few years ago when I had a similar experience with the recently deceased Pete 'Greblord' Armstrong. It was a very cathartic experience for me, as I had much which needed to be said. I may have written of this before, but this particular dream was d...
Read more

A Serious Post And Another Obituary But With Some More Positive Stuff At The End

Image
 I am at an age where I would expect the odd death of someone I know, but I am starting to realise that it's the younger end of the line which is getting culled.  This week I found out through a good friend that another friend in the hobby from the old days had taken his own life, bringing the total friends lost to 5 and drom that number the number lost to suicide in the last few years to 2. Now, I've been close to that I think, three times, but I've been lucky enough to be able to turn my illogical brain around and decide that the world and my enemies will not be happy if I thrive and stay alive. So, that has been my stated mission, to live long and be hated that much longer. The first time I was taken with thoughts of suicide, was when I was banned from Games Workshop Sheffield in the 80s (see my book or earlier posts) and my so-called friends allowed themselves to be bought off, trading silence as to what a set-up it was in return for part time jobs at the store. That wa...
Read more

The Passing Of A British Wargaming Legend

Image
It is with genuine sadness and heavy heart that I must record the passing of Sheffield Wargames Society founder member and long time Chairman, Steve Roberts.    I was 13 when I first met Steve (some 43 years ago, now). It was a chance meeting. I'd been playing Dungeons & Dragons for about a year and had taken some Citadel FTZ Zombies back to my Junior school to show my headteacher there, who'd always encouraged the creative arts in pupils.    He was impressed (as you'd expect) and told me that a wargames club met at the school now, on Monday nights run by a chap called Steve Roberts.    Well, of course I was interested, and together with my friend Alan Staniforth, I attended the club, to find there was no D&D...   What there was however were historical games, played by local kids with 'Big Steve' the only adult. But he ran that club like a champion, providing all the models and simple rules, which was just what you needed to hook kids in. ...
Read more