Episode 9: in which Mike once again attempts to remember how the heck the Heath Robinson-esque collection of RSS feed generator, local webspace and heaven knows what else all hooks together. And attempts to get caught up, and rambles about a 40-year old wargame... Links from this episode Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro filament printer XTool S1 laser cutter Tales From The Periphery - my new podcast The BattleTech portal page Brutal Cities MDF terrain Read more ..read more

  ...after last night's AGM. Which, unlike last year, I actually managed to attend.  Per a sidebar with Reuben, I note that this is the start of my second decade as chairman. I also note that my blog is much more reliable than my memory for this kind of thing :D ..read more

I have plans.  I'm definitely not stupid enough to expect these to survive contact with the enemy but, hey, we can hope, right? So, on the todo list: Finish the Dux Compendium :D (attempting to achieve headspace for that at present) Paint a lot more BattleTech stuff (no, more than that, the Kickstarter's arriving Q2 and, erm, well, I may have indulged in considerable retail therapy....) Run campaigns at the club What a Cowboy (deferred from 2023 for obvious reasons) - Q1/2 BattleTech: Alpha Strike - details TBC - Q3/4 Run RPGs @ home. My long-running (since 2019) weekly sanity brea ..read more

The best laid plans, as they say... Do feel free to go read my 2022 end of year post and laugh - probably somewhat hollowly.  For those who missed the story - we were called up to parents by neighbours at the beginning of January, as Mum had had some kind of fall. Found her not brilliant (with hindsight, she may have had the first of a few minor seizures) and Dad seriously unwell with what fortunately turned out not to be a stroke. Dad to hospital, wife and I up to care for Mum for the next month while we tried to convince her she needed carers in. (How on earth Dad managed to look after ..read more

We have spaces at #PoshLard this Sat due to folks having to drop out. We can offer What A Cowboy, What A Pirate, S&H and/or SP 2 (sadly, IABSM at Chef-du-Pont is fully booked). Yours for £5. Booking available here ..read more

 Right.  Ducks in a row. Cats herded. Venue booked. Website updated. Announcing Posh Lard 2023 - Nov 25th at the George Allcock Centre, Peterborough. https://www.peterborough-wargames-club.org.uk/2023/06/16/posh-lard-2023-saturday-november-25th-2023/ for more details ..read more

It's only taken most of lockdown (if you don't count the Virtual Hereward video post) but I'm on a podcast. Not mine, I hasten to add, but the fabulous Henry Hyde's Battlechat episode 101, where you can find Henry and I discussing everything from my personal gaming (and non-gaming) history, through Southend, Fleetwood Mac, IABSM, Dux, the club to putting on mad crazy games at shows. I had a fabulous time, even if I had arrange it round getting Dad to the opticians and thus bring up a holdall of podcasting kit to his living room. Thanks to Henry for a fabulous hour and a bit, and for generally ..read more

 Ok. The dust has settled enough on Real Life that I have managed: to help run a game at Salute to make it back to club regularly to help get the show set up for Sep 3rd to have a very nice and, actually, very motivating chat with someone I really ought to know better than I do... which you may get to hear in a bit :D to actually think about picking up on various wargaming projects (Compendium? schmompendium :D). More of all the above on subsequent posts. In short summary of the non-wargaming bits of life: Dad has been out of hospital since mid-February, and Mum sadly passed away (peac ..read more

The best laid plans, as they say... Currently 100 miles from home looking after mum because her full-time carer (dad) is in hospital. Wandering the labyrinth of NHS, carers, occupational therapy etc. If you don't support the NHS' right to work to rule (it's not actually a strike) for better pay and conditions, come live my life for the last week and then see what you say. Starting the year with the best intentions re blogging, Dux etc, but... evidently the world is conspiring against me. Pro tip for those of you with elderly relatives - when they say "there's no need to visit, we're fine, and ..read more

as no bigger mugs have turned up ..read more