A Grand day out etc

 On the 21st January Ronnie and l went to a day of lectures set up by the Falkirk Battlefield Trust. It was a fascinating day. Here are the photos with brief comments-

The tartan expert answering questions. He was only there due to someone being unable to attend but he was such an interesting speaker. He was happy to answer one to one questions too.

Above one of the speakers in full flight.

An original piece of eighteenth century on top of a replica made of it.

Another speaker entertains and informs. Notice Ronnie’s purchases on the table…

What might turn out to be the oldest tartan in the world, currently undergoing dating. 

Our final speaker , an art historian, talking on his work with paintings. Interesting article about him here      

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/feb/21/bonnie-prince-charlie-portrait-found-bendor-grosvenor

Some of the fascinating portraits on display on the day.

Anther speaker above and an interesting book to try and track down below.

All in all much to think about. The tartan expert said red was the status colour of the period to which folk aspired. In battle the Jacobite front rank gentlemen would be in red tartan, the middling sort in say blue/yellow tartan and the back rank fellows in muted tartan. A thought for painters perhaps? One speaker talked of clan pipers giving their pipes to their ghillie and then drawing their swords to get stuck in. Again new info to me. Finally one speaker reminded us of the fact Bonnie Prince Charlie’s grandfather was John Sobieski who delivered Vienna from the Ottomans. He mused upon the fact this might account for BPC’s personal courage…

In other matters I am enthralled by BBC 1 “ Happy Valley “ with its great characters, enjoying “Wednesday “ which is a fun filled romp and fascinated by “ Andor” which I initially was sure of but am completely absorbed. There is so much world building, fascinating asides and a great plot in it. The gritty everyday life is created with such detail not to mention customs , it is soo good!

Sitrep

 Not much happening on the hobby front here in the Duchy. I developed a UTI which has left me feeling like doing very little at all.. Medication is helping but I am on such a variety of tablets and powders that l feel a tad nauseous much of the time.. Hobby projects surround me but I have little or no desire to do anything like that.

I have however been enjoying Patrick O’Brian on Audible , Father Brown ( played by Andrew Sacs)  on BBC Sounds as well as the podcasts Zero Ducks Given and Off Menu.

I have  been, as ever, captivated by the birds that come to the garden. During the first Lockdown they became important for me and the interest hasn’t waned since. It is the big garden bird watch this weekend and not too late to sign up- 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/

Hopefully some hobby news next time…

The postman always rings once

 Finally managed to organise a redelivery of two parcels that came last week. They arrived this afternoon. 

The first contained a most generous gift of two cogs from DC ( not David Crooks) for my Lamming medieval games. This means that three ships will take to the table for naval warfare and hopefully some amphibious landings too…

I look forward to getting these ready for a game…

The second parcel contained some figures for the 1790 Tradgardland project-

These are from my painting service who have done me proud so far -

https://www.paintinghistory.co.uk/

Finally a gratuitous Ladybird book photo from a book I loved as a boy -

P.S thanks for your kind words in the previous post, most kind and greatly appreciated.

Papa’s got a brand new bag

 I’ve been away for an overnighter in my local hospital. That old friend urinary retention  came back to visit. As ever the nurses, auxiliaries, doctors and consultants were excellent. I got out late morning and am glad to be home for a rest. 

Incidentally here are a couple of photos I took before l went away-

Greenshirts or boys from the Banat - MLS again

 Been working on some figures for the Banat of Samovar-

The above are reservists, wearing old fashioned uniforms supplemented with personal items of attire.

These are Social Credit Party of the Banat of Samovar Militia or “Greenshirts “ as they are commonly known-

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_Party_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_Ireland

Well organised militia with heavy machine guns.

Finally working on some officers -

I stuck them to bases so that they could be easily identified on the battlefield and when leading units. I also have decided to have five figures per 4 inch hex or square as opposed to four as I like the look it gives. This is a busy week so l doubt if I will have a chance for a solo game for a few days…

Donnybrook essentials

 I bought Donnybrook years ago , read it with interest and filed it as a “one day” project. The rules were interesting, glossy and full of potential. Now I see the authors are about to sell a no frills version of the rules reminiscent of the style of yesteryear-

https://leagueofaugsburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/donnybrook-essentials.html?fbclid=IwAR1Y1TvflyrgapczEtMAV1-p8a53qnakvlb4zB3uM5_eD2Qe4wmsso1SJHY

I am delighted to read this and hope it works well for them. I loved the amateur, simple , booklets ( rules or army/uniform info) of earlier hobby days. I for one am going to buy a copy, what about you?

Glue

 Years ago l used Araldite to fix weapons and shields to figures. It worked well, too well if you wanted to get them off again. Since then I used superglue but find lately that shields/weapons ping off if you so much as touch the figures. Maybe superglue isn’t as super as it once was or is it my imagination? Anyway what do you use in the way of glue?