I have been taken unwell and am currently awaiting tests to determine specifically what is wrong.
Unfortunately this is rather serious and it is likely that my Wargaming and blogging will need to be suspended for a while.
Sales of figures advertised will be on hold as I'm not able to pack and send them. I apologise to those who got in touch and asked for specific armies, but events have overtaken me somewhat in the last week.
Back soon.
I heard from a friend of the passing of Graham Cummings on Friday. Graham had posted on his blog of health issues and like others I assumed that despite their serious nature that he would be back gaming soon and I'd get to catch up with him again. Sadly that was not the case.
Graham was a very kind generous person and always had a smile. As the owner of Crann Tara until sold to Caliver, he not only carried my two books but also arranged for figures to be sculpted to match the sometimes unique troop types found therein. He was very supportive and encouraging of both projects and it was always a pleasure to sit with him for a game or just a chat. Graham was a wargames gentleman.
He will be sore missed by his family and friends and by those in the Wargaming community who knew him.
Please take a look at the for sale page.
There will be more to come.
Proceeds from the sale will all go to charity and there are some lovely figures.
Well I didn't manage to end the year with a game as my car broke down on Hogmanay, scuppering our plans, but we had a fine Chinese takeaway and watched Jools as the bells came in so a nice relaxing end to the year.
We first footed the Hilditch's on the first after being picked up by Graham and whilst our better halves chatted we kicked off a game with Graham's 40mm SYW figures. Nothing planned - we just threw down some terrain and picked a force of Reichsarmee and a mix of Prussian Fusiliers, line and garrison inf and hussars.
Using Jim Purky's one page SYW rules we were soon under way with Graham's horse charging my leading unit of Fusiliers while I tried to get the rest of my infantry up the table and off the line of march into formation. My cavalry, two units of hussars had no one facing them so off the galloped hoping to get round the rear of the allied force and cause plenty mischief.
Despite a battering my fusiliers held and despite being forced back were themselves able to drive off the Reichsarmee horse. Graham's foot, a Swiss unit and a German one were now pressing down on my Prussian line while the garrison rgt formed up, refusing its flank. A small detachment of jäger managed to get off a few shots which delayed the allied La Mark rgt and gave me a breathing space while my battalion gun shot up another unit, further blunting Graham's attack. The hussars continued their ride....
On my right I was able to get both fusilier units into line and stabilise that flank. The last of Grahams cavalry took a volley and turned for the rear. In the centre La Mark had reformed but now had a unit of my hussars on their flank which effectively pinned them. The centre was still a bit of a tangle but odds were equal.
There we left it as the smell of cooking and rumbling tummies got the better of us. But we will continue just as soon as we're able.
Graham's was kind enough to give us, our sons dog which we were looking after, and our bags etc a lift home yesterday since we didn't have a car (worst time to break down, thankfully it was only a couple of down yards from the flat and not on the country roads). Now we are back I have started to put my 40th anniversary plans into action and have ordered what will become the Ziggurat and some more plastic conquistadores as I've used up all of mine making pike and shot units.
Good to get '24 off with a bang!
Next year is the 40th Anniversary of me starting gaming. I was 11 and although I'd come across Featherstone and Grant in local library it wasn't until I came across a copy of White Dwarf 53 in the newsagent where I did a paper round that the wheels were really put in motion.
With the money from my paper round I bought figures from Black Donald's in Waverley Place in Aberdeen. When my Birthday came round in July it was the owner who suggested I got Warhammer I had plenty of figures to play by then.
A trip to York for the Summer holidays meant that I stumbled across the Little Soldier in Gillygate. There I got 15mm Napoleonic Brits and French and copy of the Newbury Napoleonic rules. Whilst I liked Fantasy and Tolkien my interest in History was racing to catch up. For a while it would have to take a back seat as my mates were only interested in fantasy games and RPG's but I never looked back.
I want to mark the anniversary and use it as a theme for my games this coming year.
I'm going to build two small fantasy armies based on Tolkien's Middle Earth in the First Age and Glaurung the Dragon. This ticks the fantasy box.
I will put on a game of The Ziggurut of Doom from the first Warhammer box. Originally this featured Dwarves vs Goblins. But I will use Conquistadors and Aztecs. This ties in my fantasy gaming beginning to my desire for historical games.
I will be finishing and publishing my next Scenario Book - Feud. This has been expanded to cover Corrichie, Tillyangus, Craibstane and The Burning of Corgarff but also the intrigues of the Earls of Huntly and Errol with the Spanish, the Bridge of Dee Affair and the Battle of Glenlivet. This covers my love of history. I'm at the editing stage for the text and need to test the "what if" Bridge of Dee game between the Earls and James IV and the Glenlivet scenario.
The other project for 2024 reflects where I am now. It will be a refight of the Battle of the Windmill during the Patriots Rebellion in Upper Canada in 1838.
Four projects for 2024.
As I write this we are in Lossiemouth hopefully for a bit of peace and quiet and a change of scene. Our favourite place. But there will be a game, I hope, and certainly something else to share before the year ends.
