The road less travelled in Charge- Militia

I had to go home via the doctor's today having spent ages on the phone a.m trying (eventually successfully) to get through for an appointment. I have had probs in the past with celulitus and felt my leg going down that road again. Thankfully I was given good advice and medication and all should be well soonish....

Last night I was reading Peter Young's tome and thought that I had never seen his Militia organisation in photos/on the wargames table. I had hoped to remedy this tonight but a lack of batteries for cameras and this dashed leg has stopped this happening here in the Duchy. I did however wonder if I had just not looked carefully enough on blogs and in the book but I think I am right. I also wondered why this was. Perhaps the Militia organisation is deemed "too small" by Charge aficionados! I look forward to laying the figures out at the weekend and hopefully capturing that photo. I would be delighted to hear from you if you have thoughts upon the matter or have used Charge Militia yourself. Roll on the weekend -too much death by paperwork and change for change sake!
p.s could resist this cartoon even if medically incorrect...

Worth a look...

Gentlemen
I invite you to have a look at this interesting Living History blog pertaining to the 18th century:
http://manskerman1780.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!

Of lead and books...

Just a quick shot of what I have been working on yesterday- 28mm Nordic Bronze Age for Impetvs and 54mm Army Red/White cyclists for Funnylittlewars. In the background you see one of the very,very few bookshelves here at the Duchy which have a theme.No prizes for spotting the theme I'm afraid. Mostly my stuff is distributed randomly- however I can usually find a book no bother if I need to. Occasionally I forget which books I have retained and which have long since gone- must be an age thing I guess. By the way just watching Downton Abbey on dvd and Outcasts on BB1 - both well worth viewing I'd say.

Cakes,Coffee etc

Today ,being half term for us all, we went into to Edinburgh to celebrate my daughter Zoe's birthday ( belatedly from Candlemas) by having a wander about and coffee and cakes at the fantastic German baker/cafe/cake maker Falko in Bruntsfield. I recommend it to you all - they have a shop in East Lothian too. Fabulous cakes and coffee and a lovely atmosphere- go on you deserve a treat!

Earlier in the week Jan and I walked around Linlithgow loch ( I'd forgotten about the cranogg islands) as well as a nostalgic drive in the lands between there and Edinbugh- my old stomping ground. Many ideas for a small unit campaign of VBCW formed in my mind as a result- not to mention pouring over 6inch to the mile maps online courtesy of the National Library of Scotland...
My Impetvs chaps are proceeding well with Pathians and the aforementioned Scandinavians moving forward. Perhaps this weekend I will set up some 18th century game if the weather precludes outdoor activities in the garden or further afield. Anyway what ever you are doing this weekend I hope you enjoy it!

Impetus from Impetvs

My trip to the club on Sunday has given me the impetus to get an army ready for Basic Impetvs- apologies for the awful pun...

I have started with some late bronze age Scandinavians which I have had languishing in the garage for years. I loved the material culture of the period when I visited museums in Denmark and Sweden around 17 years ago - I am a sucker for Lur horns in particular! Some effort and they will at last take the field- I can't wait!

A trip to join the Legion...

Today ,after an absence of many months , I finally returned to my local wargames club- Legion Wargamers who meet monthly in the local British Legion hall here in Dunfermline. A friendlier and more welcoming club you would be hard pressed to find. Yesterday members were playing Flames of War , Basic Impetvs and Command and Colours Napoleonic. Having been working with Minitanks of late the 15mm tanks looked tiny yet beautifully made. It was good to see Command &Colours in the flesh having read about it in blogs recently. High production values were evident and it looked a most interesting system. The other offering was one dear to my heart in terms of period- ancients, I have loved since boyhood trips to Hadrian's Wall and Airfix Romans v Ancient Britons! A game was being played in 28mm between Late Romans and Hairy barbarians. Beautiful figures and excellent vignettes due to the large 120mm frontage bases on display. I left resolved to paint at least one army ( 7 to 10 bases and eminently possible even for me) very very soon. Role on the next meeting on the 13th of March.

Old School and Off School

Half term has arrived with the promise of nine days away from jargon, paperwork and educational Newspeak. I am tired and need to catch up on sleep and r&r. It is Saturday morning and I am up earlier than I wished to be. Hopefully tomorrow I will be deeper into the break and sleep better tonight.

Last Sunday I broke forth the cereal packet and cut myself a cardboard river. I am trying to save money and do the enjoyable thing of hobby diy. Also included is an intact/ruined bridge that came from James. My memories of the big Bellona battle diorama sets have returned. I gamed enthusiastically over a ruined town one and a harbour one many,many moons ago.They were about 2 feet square if my memory serves me right and just right for ww2 in airfix 20mm.

Time etc permitting a couple of solo games are planned here- probably 18th Century and possibly ww2ish. I hope to get making some "Grantian" measuring sticks ,protractors etc over the weekend. Have a good one one and all!

Matters of Natural Philosophy

“And so your Grace, fellow members of the Ducal Society and honoured guests I hope I have proved to you that there lies not a shadow of a doubt that there, housed within menagerie of Moribund the Burgomeister in the town of Altdorf within the Undisputed valley lies treasure of incalculable wealth in matters Natural and Philosophical. Nothing less than the last breeding pair alive of what our Dutch friends call the dodaerse as found in Captain Willem van Westsanen's journal of 1602 which lies open upon this very table!” exclaimed Dr von Halstadtt to a hushed gathering within Tradgardstadt. No sooner than his last word was uttered uproar ensued with the room dissolving into chaos as members disputed the truth or falsehood of his claims long into the night…

The following day Duke Karl Frederick called his councillors together and sought their opinions upon the controversy of last night’s meeting .The earnest and grave men were divided as to the trustworthiness of Dr Halstadtt and revelations. However after much thought the Duke, as befits a natural philosopher of the first order, decreed an expedition should be mounted as soon as the current storms had abated and the season moved further towards Spring herself. He dictated some letters to be sent immediately to the Ducal Society and to the commanders of diverse militia regiments…

Syldavia Calling....

"This is Syldavia calling.... Units of the Syldavian army have made for the Border with Borduria following the invasion of yesterday. Among them are the Guard Armoured Regiment and elements of other infantry and mobile units. Bordurian armoured colums have been sighted along the main roads and motorised infantry have already passed through villages on the way to the Capital. All eyes of the world are on us and aid from our allies is sought. Slydavia awaits..."

Last Sunday,prior to going to a family gathering, a large parcel arrived from James of OSW.Due to tiredness and mountains of paperwork it was only unpacked(with relish I might add) this morning .Joy after joy emerged from paper and packaging.It contained further help towards the current Grant inspired project. Once more a big thank you ,once again,to James for his kindness and enthusiasm for the task ahead here ...