Thursday, 4 June 2020

News and Perspectives

There's a lot happening at the moment, and I count myself lucky that I can enjoy time with my hobby, as well as all the other things in life.

On Monday, as lockdown restrictions here in England eased, I decided that a 'day out' was in order...
I chose to visit somewhere that I haven't been to for decades, but which has fond childhood associations; namely, Burton Dassett.
This is a picturesque spot in south Warwickshire: unspoilt rolling hills, with fantastic views.
For the first time in 3 months, I paid actual cash for something (ice cream!)… and no jokes about moths and my wallet... and it felt like normal times again!

There's also some history to the place:


It is a natural defensive site... with the hills forming a fortress like enclosure, each acting as a bastion against any enemy attack. I was intrigued by the discovery of the 6thC Saxon graveyard, and started to imagine a hillfort type action in early Mercia...

I suppose that had something to do with me recently having received this book direct from the author who still had a couple left in stock...



Thanks James Morris.

On the way to Burton Dassett, I also stopped off to take a couple of photos of our local windmill... well, you know me and windmills.



above and below: Berkswell Windmill, in glorious sunshine.



Meanwhile, I have a fair amount on the wargames workbench, including a new battalion for the Pils-Holstein collection, which should be finished within the next week or so, at which point I'll share pictures.
I'm also working on a game for the Northleach show/ open day, assuming it will go ahead as planned. Fingers crossed.

And, I'm holding off on buying figures for my autumn/ winter project. This will be an army of around 120 figures (a WAB ancients army). I'm itching to get started to be fair... The clue as to what I'm looking at is contained earlier in this post, and you don't have to be any sort of super-sleuth to work it out!

Oh, and yes, amongst all that, I've just published another book (nothing to do with wargaming, but it's on amazon, and a search under my name will lead you to it).

This weekend, we have the Virtual Wargames Club again... Saturday at 1700 UK time.
Last meeting was the best yet, I think, and it's growing steadily all the time, with wargamers from Sydney, Manila, and many parts of the US joining us Brits and sharing hobby news and plans. The contribution from members means it's relatively easy for me to simply rock up and enjoy, once the tech side of things is set up.
So thanks to all the members... see you Saturday.


8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It certainly was Alan... I even managed to squeeze in a visit to to a garden centre on the way home! Best rgds. Phil

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  2. Having never stopped working (key worker status in the food industry - we all have to eat) I quite envy those who didn't have to get up with the morning chorus and go into work. Especially with all the good weather

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    1. Well done for keeping things going Paul. I am fortunate in one way in that running my own business means I can arrange my own schedule. And yet, the downside for many who run businesses is that these are uncertain times. I do know that I am lucky. But it's not always that easy, and certainly I have to work pretty hard most of the time. Cheers. Phil

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  3. It looks like a lovely part of the world. We're hoping to get over to England to visit family, once this COVID-19 nonsense is kicked into touch.

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    1. Cheers AJ. There are many lovely spots all over the UK. You'll enjoy your visit, I'm sure. Best rgds. Phil

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  4. Good to see your lockdown restrictions are easing. Things here are also easing with some domestic air travel and maybe an Australian / New Zealand air bubble coming into effect. Cheers Greg

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  5. Good luck with all your projects Phil. Glad to hear you are keeping well.

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