Pull Your Socks Up Man!

Well I missed the big nosh up last night, I had harboured a slight hope that despite everything I would still limp along, but it was not to be, after opening the shop and dealing with at least a dozen customers and coughing constantly I had lost the will to live.

I couldn't really speak yesterday and just as I hit my low point two old biddies came in, nice people but not if I am firing on only one cylinder. Margaret talks for about five minutes before noticing I am smiling but silent, an interrogation begins on my health as I nod or shake my head. After trying her bus pass, Nectar and National Insurance cards she eventually finds her pension card, two failed tries later she realises she has the number written down, ta dah! Then her husband cannot find the slot for his card, I cannot tell him as I am speechless, several tries later we have lift off, NO! don't pull the card out yet Les! Weary smile, pop your card in again Les, no, plenty of time mate. Margaret berating but not helping to the side. I have a lot of time for these two, which is just as well as it took maybe twenty minutes to give out two pensions.

I finish up with the news at 1800, I sink further into my chair, we really are doomed.

Anyway, socks pulled up, I had intended to game today but Kevin has last minute visitors, which to be honest suits me as I am only at 95% efficiency, so we have decided Thursday will be our first game of the new year come what may. I have got back to painting and perhaps with a  good run at it this weekend that third phalanx will be ready for varnishing and basing at the start of next week.

The missus is away on Wednesday for about five days or so so Stewart is coming through for some games, the first will be Bolt Action, the first in a long time, I intend to get quite a bit of equipment on the table which normally doesn't manage it. If I keep doing this I might have to add a couple more infantry squads to each side at some point. On the Sunday we have a large War and Conquest game lined up, 3,500 points each, normally I fight Stewart's Carolingians with my Saxons, I had planned to use the Romano-British this time but at those points he will have quite a bit of cavalry so I will match that with my Patrician Romans. Stewart always moans about 'Roman Tanks' forgetting his own army is quite a tough proposition and certainly superior to the Saxons.

The earlier Roman armies are not tanks but well balanced forces, unless you are barbarians of course, but the later armies do not have this flexibility while still being fairly well armoured according to the sources, certainly better armed than most of their opposition. The real strength of the Patricians is their choice of cavalry, they have some superb if expensive options, but if you lose that you have had it, you get Adrianopled. Mind you one of the guys put forward a list for a Mid-Imperial army of the 3rd C. and that is tough in anyone's books, there may be room for discussion with some of the troop types but overall I liked it, I think he captured the flavour of the next big transition from the early army to the work horse of the middle period, it only needs suitable figures to come alive (yes I know A&A do such but ....).

Roll on next week.