2025

 The year started off with a very large U-Turn, I had decided not to build anymore armies, however a Christmas gift set me off on a new and large project, a third Roman army to cover the crises of the 3rd C. Did I need another army of this type, no I didn't but that would be succumbing to commonsense, besides I had seen just such an army on a blog by Phil Hendry, but I had never forgotten it, Phil's army covered the East but mine would be a Western force. I already had five War and Conquest armies and found it hard enough to get them on the table so the project was a bit of a vanity one for me with my fingers crossed for future games.

On the game front the Italian Wars seemed to run out of steam while Chain of Command came to the fore, the latter was vastly improved by the new Second Edition, no rule set is perfect but there is some clever stuff in the new version. It is still wrong to put Bolt Action and CoC up against each other as they are simply completely different games but you still find this nonsense around. I had a bit of a sit down with myself re my wargaming, I have in the past joined in all sorts of games at the club and realise there has to be a bit of give and take for the club to work, however recently I have kind of retreated to attempting to play games I like. Some of the lads play a new game every week almost, also Warlord Games rules are a favourite at the club but I simply do not like them, a rule set which can allow a Napoleonic square to form up in a farmyard or potentially cause a Roman cohort to run from a single slingshot hit is not for me, not any longer I have decided. I have a very short wargame span, ACW, Ancients and WWII but these are what made me a wargamer and I want to play them more although I realise I will have to make more of an effort on this front.

I have been fortunate to have a couple of guys who are more than willing to turn up on a regular or semi-regular basis to the Bunker, 2025 saw a number of these immensely enjoyable games, I hope to continue this trend in 2026. So if you read this and want to visit, let me know. 

Last winter I kicked off an ACW campaign set in the Shenandoah Valley hoping to pass away the dreich days with battles. We managed four battles which I also managed to take part in and they were a lot of fun, I had not intended the campaign to run until this winter. As with all wargame campaigns they do not always, or do they ever, go to plan and at times I was left with no orders due to circumstances beyond my control, I therefore decided to close it down. I called a Confederate win as they had won most of the battles and had the Union command on the back foot. I also had my own real life problems to deal with by the end.

 My Chain of Command campaigns with Matt are still going strong and have all been very satisfying, I see no reason these will not continue.

Round about October I eventually finished my new army, Emperor Maximinus Thrax took the parade and the men were enrolled in my order of battle. The whole army was from A&A Miniatures and the firm excellent to deal with, the sculpts need the odd bit of tidying up as they have been around a while but nothing over the top. I am busy planning an opportunity to lead them in January. 

 

 Since hanging up my paintbrushes, is that a thing, I have been slightly lost, to this end I have not given up entirely and am now concentrating on bits and pieces, terrain, vehicles, small teams etc. this does help but I will admit to there being a void after 60 odd years of building and painting. I also gave up all my map projects apart from the new Arab-Israeli atlas, I am more happy with this as it takes pressure off, there are still about 60 maps to do this coming year before the book will be ready.

 You will all know of course that I continue to have problems with my liver which we had thought had gone away, it looks like they won't. The good news is that I am recovering much better and quicker after this latest surgery. I also very much appreciate all the good wishes which came my way, many thanks.

Highlights of the year for me was Rob Broom's visit and a full War and Conquest gaming weekend, Matt Crump's continued visits, and good friend Robert Thomson's visits from Scotland and being a phonecall away when I needed bouyed up.  

I am starting to try and book the first games of the new year to kick in once all the festivities are over. The future is still pretty much open wargame wise, more games here if possible, I do have a couple of ideas, many moons ago I bought an excellent boardgame called 'Robert the Bruce' for £5, I might at last get around to redrawing the map and replacing the counters with 28mm figures.

Merry Christmas all and a Happy New Year. 

Operation, the sequel

 It is all over for now, more to come next year. The op was done robotically with the robot being controlled on some kind of PS5 hand control, the Doc is obviously not a Noob player as it all looks pretty good. I was taken to a general ward the evening of the surgery and to my surprise it was much better than my previous experience. It really is a small world, the guy to the left of me had served on HMS Kent, my brother also served on Kent, the guy opposite him was a local funeral director and had buried one of my neighbours, the poor man opposite me who had been in for going on four months built 1/35 military models.

I was told I could get out Wednesday night, I had surgery Monday afternoon, but much to my chagrin my wife cannot drive in the dark due to night blindness and having no one on speed dial to help I settled down to one more night of NHS hospitality. My son and Evelyn picked me up the next morning and here I am, much better than the last time as the op was not as major so now wondering how to fill up my time as the main bind is a bit of tiredness and no heavy lifting, all my troops being metal of course.
I am not a fan of the NHS and believe it needs a complete overhaul before it implodes, set against this is the care and sympathy at the sharp end, it could not have been better, from the auxilliaries to the consultants. I will admit to the food being disgusting and for me inedible, my missus kept me supplied but I am still to find my appetite even now.

Obviously no wargaming for now, although I can see this returning far quicker this time, I treated myself to a new book 'Pearl Harbour: Japan's Greatest Disaster' after watching the author on WW2TV, I fully realise that these books rely a lot on hindsight but nevertheless their lessons are worth absorbing. I am still waiting for my new vehicles to arrive but did take collection of my German Marder crew from Perrys, three of whom will do well for the upcoming Nashorn.

It is my birthday tomorrow, a sprightly 73, yes I look good but you should see the inside. Son Stewart went his own way this year and surprised me with a Royal Navy rugby top, I do not like sport of any kind but do look good in navy blue with a white ensign. My other son we will see just before Christmas so a bumper time for me.

The boat is being run out this year as I am getting an up to date iPad Mini, my own one which I have had for years now cannot upload modern versions of many of the Apps I use and it is now of limited use which is getting worse as time goes on. 

So there we are, back in the land of the living with another stint of hospital time next year. I might manage to get a game organised after Christmas if someone is available albeit my missus will have to set it up but she has been a star so far. I will probably do the usual ode to the past year at some point, if not before Christmas then I hope you all have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year.