2023.. a review...

By way of assuring my reader that I really haven't shuffled off this mortal coil ... as we say every year... "here we go again"...😁

I'm still (still) not really a 'blowing the trumpet', 'review your triumphs', etc etc type of person (I leave that to the business corporate types I used to work with), but like my 'end of the year' review on the sailing blog it is kind of nice to cast my eyes over the year gone, and remind myself of the ups and (this year, mostly) downs.... and besides everyone else is doing the same thing...

So by way of a joining up of the threads, and a bringing to a close of the last year, let's push on...

First, how did I do against my expectations [clicky]?? Note: I never, ever, make 'resolutions', just 'set  expectations', and thus when I inevitably fail to meet them yet again, it is not too demoralising or depressing an event.. 😏

1/. Play more games..

Poor... there were three table top games in 2023.. c/w these in previous years..

 

2022	5
2021	2
2020	3
2019	4
2018	6
2017	8

• ECW - "Hatch End" - from a scenario I found in an old copy of  Wargames Journal magazine [clicky] - setup is here [clicky] and game here [clicky]

• Western skirmish - "Skirmish at Long Bute Farm" [clicky]
• ECW - "Battle of Grimpen Mire" [clicky]
• WW2 - Western desert - no pictures or report, and not counted, as it was a a bit of a damp squib all told. I played using the new version of Blitzkrieg Commander, but as sometimes happens with these rules, on move one the British armour moved forward to take a hull down position, and the Italians then passed 5 separate command rolls on their armour, and blew them to pieces.. game over move 2..  😒

.. DG and I were also playing the Bunker Hill scenario from the Rebels and Redcoats board game at the beginning of the year, exchanging moves via Dropbox and email. We last played this in 2005 and this time the game ended in an honourable draw..  we'd forgotten why we hadn't played it in as long as we had, once we re-discovered the rule book.. 😏

We're also playing 'Scenario: No. 23 from "One Hour Wargames"' - 'Defence in Depth' using the trusty and not rusty AWI Rues by Will McNally, with Battle Chronicler to exchange move files - the game is currently in hiatus as DG's PC's exploded (or at least stop working) and he's currently sourcing a replacement

2/. Blog more

Abject failure..

While it is very noticeable that the hey day of Blogger has now long gone - other platforms, new year diary syndrome, ennui, "can't be bothered", call it what you will, the sheer quantity of blogs is now much less than it was, and I am no different..  blogging takes a fair amount of effort, and sometimes it's just easier to put up a 3 line entry on Farcebook, or Twitter/X, or in my case do nothing....

That said, I'm happy with Blogger, I like to write and it suits my ordered mind, but I do need creative inputs to prompt posts, and as much as I have an array of interests, this is primarily a wargaming blog and I simply wasn't feeling it in 2022... I do like my new format of weekly posts based on a variety of inputs, it reflects my various interests (books/beer/local history occasional game reports/painted output etcetc) - if no one knows where the title comes from by the way, "Firing into the Brown" was a regular section in Wargamers Newsletter, where Don got to put random snippets that had caught his eye in the publication period..  always something interesting there..

Anyhoo, there were 11 posts including this one in 2023, which compares as follows

2022	25
2021	21
2020	32
2019	49
2018	35
2017	45
2016	58
2015	69
2014	68
2013	84
2012	85

... which is is atrocious, and the downward trend is noticeable but having said that this year marked the 17th Anniversary of the first ever blog post here on the "Random Musings" so I'm still here, and as I said at the time, where the hell did those years go???! 😱

3/. Try to keep up my painting efforts..

I would say I did "very poorly" with this one - my painting months tend to be the beginning and end of the sailing season, I did 46 points worth this year which compares with

2022	100
2021	200
2020	253 (ECW project still kicking)
2019	294 (ECW project kicked off)
2018	82
2017	78
2016	8

... not even close, not even a sniff of the cigar humidor... a definite fall off in painting efforts, in fact, given most of last years points were for rebasing,  I realised out that Thomas Ballard's were the first new troops I'd painted in something like two years.. improvement needed!

Date (click to go to post)	Item description	Period	Make	Scale	Points Value/Total Pts
4/12	Thomas Ballard's Regiment of Foot	ECW	Peter Pig/Iron Fist	15mm	24@1pt for 24 points
16/12	Five cowboys, wagon leader, and wagon with four horses	Western	Peter Pig	15mm	6@1pt, 1@3pt, 4@2pt for 17pts
23/12	Five more cowboys	Western	Peter Pig	15mm	5@1pt for 5pts

Total to date: 46 points (100 from 2022 to beat)

4/. Continue reading more non-fiction... 

If I did nothing else in 2023, I did read (just as well, as I wasn't blogging here!)...  thank goodness for books...  

One more title than last year, but the quality was extraordinary I thought. There are three ten's in the list, two of them plus's.. difficult decision to decide between them (the Sherwood Foresters book is also 'un-putdownable') but Malta GC takes it this year....

For this coming year I already have Len Deighton's book on "Blitzkrieg" on the go - this is an analysis of German armoured operational doctrine from the rise of Hitler to the fall of France..  old, but still gold..

Book	Comments	Score (out of 10)
	I've always wanted to know a little more about Eugene than the bare basics that you tend to pick up as part of the accounts dealing with the better known Marlborough. I was aware that Marlborough had a huge amount of respect and trust for him, I was aware of his involvement at Blenheim, I was aware that he was widely accepted to be one of the great generals of his age, but know little more than that really.. So when James Falkner comes along with a book on the man, I bought it as soon as it was published (from memory I think I pre-ordered).. Falkner is a good read, I particularly recommend his other books "Marlborough's War Machine" and "Great and Glorious Days: Marlborough's Battles, 1704-09" plus the two smaller Battleground books on Blenheim and Ramillies. So how was it? Well, I have to say I was a little disappointed but I'll start with the good I know a lot more about the man now than I did before, and in particular about his campaigns in the East against the Ottoman Turks. I understand a whole lot more about how big the Austrian Empire was at this point (they included huge tracts of the Balkans and Italy as part of the Empire) but also how fragile they were, there was never enough money to fully fund the campaigns Eugene undertook in Italy and the Balkans. His armies seemed to trust and like him - despite almost always being in arrears of pay, poorly clothed and fed, he managed to keep his polyglot armies of Austrian and German troops in the field far longer than you would normally expect. He was undoubtedly a military genius, having that ability to move troops quickly to the enemies weak point before the enemy even knows they have moved. What you don't get in the book though is a flavour of the actual man, and what he was like, he's almost an enigma and there are few first person accounts of what kind of a man he actually was, but in Falkners favour I think a lot of that is down to the man himself.. from what you read, he was not the outgoing socialite that Marlborough was - I get the distinct impression that this was a man dedicated to his trade, a bit of a loner socially(?), capable but not comfortable at court, happier with his army on campaign, never married (though there were rumours that he had a long term relationship) and died a bachelor with a large library at a good age. Recommended though..	8
	Probably would have been better calling this Quatre Bras, which was a battle in it's own right, rather than Waterloo part 1, but, there's an argument either way...  this was part of the Osprey COVID free giveaway they did during the first lockdown, and I remember being very grateful for their action as I picked up a half dozen free titles, but I've only just got round to this one. So, standard Campaign format, OOB's, thumbnail portraits of the opposing commanders, battle, and maps of each of the key stages..  did I learn anything new? Not really, though the Price of Orange comes out better in this volume than he does elsewhere..  Was it clearly laid out for someone coming fresh to the battle, unequivocal "Yes". The prose is a little errr, 'dated' in places (no idea why it's a 2014 publication) but it was an interesting read on a piecemeal, feed them in as they arrive, kind of battle..	8
	The story of one tank regiments war from D-Day to the Fall of Berlin..  utterly brilliant - a unit history full of first person accounts of the crews of the Sherman's and Firefly's of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (being a territorial regiment as opposed to regulars) the regiment had what I think are a number of unique distinctions, they were definitely a bunch of characters the like of which you were unlikely to find in a regular regiment - but their strengths when combined into a fighting force were formidable. Throughout WW2 they fought in three roles, they started the war in Palestine as cavalry, were converted to artillery in time for the desert war (and were at Tobruk in that role) before being converted to the armoured formation they continued to the end of the war.. the book touches on these earlier roles but only in as much as it reflects on their deployment in France and Germany - the change of mind set and tactics required to switch from their methods in the wide open desert to the enclosed bocage f Normandy is fascinating..  stunning book..  also the first book I've read where we have multiple first hand accounts of what it was like to fight in a Sherman, and despite their reputation the crews were generally favourably inclined (they were fast, mechanically reliable, but the thing they liked most was the rate of fire)..  very much recommended..  whether you're a tank head or not..	10
	Stunning - Holland is swiftly becoming a favourite military historian as he has a very easy, readable, style. For this one he covers the events immediately before and just up to the Falaise Gap campaign. He touches on all branches of the campaign, all levels of seniority from tank drivers and privates to Eisenhower. Discusses planning, supply, and how in his opinion, despite the supreme efforts of all branches of the armies involved, it was overwhelming and crushing air superiority that in the end was the telling difference, along with the Allies logistics ability in replacing tanks and armoured vehicles..	10+
	One of the books Black quotes as a source for the stories he uses in the Harry Gilmour books was this one by James Holland - and on a whim while in town I spotted it  in Waterstone's while browsing, so bought it. SO pleased I did - the book is riveting and is my third "10 plus" of the year - it tells the story of the siege of Malta through the many eyes of both combatants and civilians engaged in the conflict. Nurses, pilots, soldiers, anti aircraft gunners, submariners, admin staff, entertainers, but also lots and lots of civilians having to live their lives in hellish conditions. The books is divided chronologically, and cover each of the phases of the siege (roughly, attacked by Italians, then Germans, then left alone for a bit, before being attacked heavily by the Germans) covering the air war, the vital importance of air cover for both defensive and offensive reasons, the submarines (of course), and the role of Malta not just as an island in the Mediterranean, but as the base for vital Allied operations against first, Rommel, and secondly when that campaign was won, the second front against Sicily. Absolutely wonderful - can't recommend it enough..	10+

5/. Salute, Colours and/or Warfare...

Didn't make any of them.. worse, I had no inclination to go, and wasn't bothered I'd missed them either... 😏

What drives my interest and participation in a wargame show is different to others I suspect..  I am not a social gamer, I prefer solo or the good company of DG, I have a minute lead mountain as I paint for specific units in specific projects, so there is no butterfly to satisfy, mail order is orders of magnitude better than it was in the old days, etc etc etc..

I suspect I will probably never go to Salute again, purely because of the sheer costs of attending; Colours and Warfare are possible if DG is up for it, but I won't go on my own, and for DG it's a long way to come..

6/. Tangmere visit

Done! Grandson and I had a cracking day out (Gromit 😀) earlier this summer - very much recommended and staffed by some very knowledgeable and friendly volunteers..

English Electric Lightning..  mucking HUGE!!

7/. Edgehill walk...

.

..still not done, but as I am now (supposedly) retired and have a shed load of time available (apparently), this one must be nearer the front burner's, surely!? On balance this one is closer to completion this year than any previous one's..

8/. Spend less time on Facebook - it's wasted time, and it's too easy to lose an hour that I could use doing something else

...funny how you change your focus when your horizon's close in to the computer/virtual reality as a result of pandemics and what have you - all the events/things I would have going to were not happening, and shifted to virtual..  so Farcebok became a ways and means of keeping in touch rather than trite entertainment..  and tbh, with my lack of interest in attending shows then the 'soshul meeja' [sic] platforms are kind of doing the same thing for me.. 

9/. Lose 3 stone - fed up being a fat bastard...

A partial success.. as of this point in time, two days after the Christmas blow out, 32 pounds lost in the previous year.. 😏 I feel better for it, I am fitter, walking more - I'll continue next year..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...there you go... you may beg to differ, but as it is my blog I can once again report that all (achievable) targets and goals were achieved ...! Hurrah!!  

In summary?? I've got to say that on the personal front 2023 was a significantly better year, than previous one's.. the weather in the summer was on the whole, stonkingly good..  lots and lots of time spent either on my boat, or other peoples boats, but the downside was that the loft was unbearably hot and stuffy, and yet again my wargaming hobby pulled back and retrenched on books and reading - sitting in my hammock chair under a tree with a book, or drifting with the wind with fishing rod in hand on the boat, was far more attractive! 😁

Stuffy loft, or out on the boat with a fishing rod.... difficult...  let me think about it.. 😏

On the (wargaming) hobby front I'll say it was another poor year...  no Salute/Colours/Warfare with DG, a massive dose of wargamers block (pffft.. it happens..) but on the plus side there were a lot of good books..

…apropos of absolutely nothing (I only have the number as I like to put reviews on the blog), 69 books were read in 2023, compared with 

2022	40
2021	51
2020	63
2019	55
2018	43
2017	52
2016	54
2015	46

... so despite distractions aplenty I had a massively enjoyable reading year.. also interesting to see the effect retirement has had in the 'up tick' this year 😁

Favourite fiction books this year? Well these were my 'perfect 10's' of the year

Book	Comments	Score (out of 10)
	Awesome, a new Robert Harris! The imagined narrative documents one of the greatest manhunts in history, specifically the search for two Puritan army officers who were signatories to the death warrant of Charles I. Following the Restoration (of Charles II) Parliament passed the Act of Oblivion (more properly The Indemnity and Oblivion Act) which was intended to draw the line under the Civil War/Cromwellian Commonwealth, and pardoned all parties who had acted against the Crown, with the exception of the Regicides who had signed the warrant or contributed to the death of Charles. Most of these regicides were already dead, but a significant number remained who were arrested and executed (hung drawn and quartered)  - they even dug up the corpse of Cromwell and beheaded him. The book though is about two of the regicides who escaped capture and fled to seventeeth-century New England. Fantastic - my first 10 of the year...	10
	I've mentioned before how much I like Nevil Shute's books - he may be considered slightly old fashioned these days, but he is what I call a "story teller" - he writes big books with compelling, page turning, addictive stories and this one is no exception, and is my first 10+ of the year. Set during and after the Second World war, the book tells the story of Janet Prentice, a 20'ish year old girl who on the outbreak of the war joins the WRNS where she trains in ordnance maintenance (Oerlikons especially) - the book is about her time in the service, what she did, what her life was like, love, death, what we would now call PTSD, tragedy, and told through the recollections of the many people she worked, lived and served with...  very much recommended.	10+
	I enjoyed this one...  set in the immediate aftermath of the war, Bernie has a job as the concierge for a n upmarket hotel in Cap d'Antibes when he is recognised and approached by an old adversary from the war..  the guy is a serial blackmailer focussing specifically on homosexuals, and has a scheme to blackmail local writer W. Somerset Maughan who has a villa in the area. It then starts to get very cloudy, as Maughan, as well as being a recognised author, worked for the secret services during the war, and was acquainted with Philby, Burgess, McLean and Blunt..  excellent..	10
	Stunning...  72 hours from the first person perspective of a convoy escort commander, mid Atlantic, and under attack by U Boats.. this was filmed fairly recently as "Greyhound" with Tom Hanks, but as good as the film was the book is amazing. Exhaustion, grit, confidence, self questioning, determination, and the sheer physicality of fighting an unseen enemy for almost 3 days..  having to coordinate a task force of four destroyers to both attack the enemy while still defending the convoy..  and the very likelihood of attacks being pressed so hard that convoy escorts could run out of depth charges, and indeed fuel..  just excellent...	10
	Start of a holiday in Greece and the Kindle was loaded!! 😀 Back to my circumnavigation with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin..  just love these books, the humour, the historical background, the stories, the characters, simply beyond compare good..  Jack has been reinstated on the navy list following the uncovering of the conspiracy that had lead to him being struck off, but also coupled with his brilliant success in command of a privateer. Along with  his old friend Dr Maturin they are given secret orders by the Admiralty for a mission to southern waters..  excellent!	10
	14th book in the series, and Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin begin it stranded on an uninhabited island in the Dutch East Indies, attacked by ferocious Malay pirates. They contrive their escape, but after a stay in Batavia and a change of ship (the aforementioned "Nutmeg of Consolation" or "Njutmeg" to the crew), they are caught up in a night chase in dangerous tidal waters and then embroiled in political and other conflicts in the penal settlements of New South Wales.	10
	Jack finally finds himself re-united with his ship, the Surprise (which has been away on a separate mission under the command of the trustworthy, Pullings), but out of touch with his crew. Sailing away from the hated Australian prison colonies, pondering on middle age and sexual frustration he soon becomes aware to his astonishment that the Surprise has a stranger aboard, Clarissa Oakes, who has stowed away with one of the masters mates. Brilliant book, describing so well the many conflicting emotions, temptations, and difficulties of sailing with an attractive female on a sailing ship in the middle of the ocean and how even unwittingly Clarissa strikes divisions and jealousies in the officers, not the least because of her tragic upbringing ...	10
	Set in South America where Maturin has finally been able to get to in pursuit of the secret mission he was given two books before, the story opens with Surprise in pursuit of a privateer sailing under American colours through the Great South Sea. Stephen's mission is to set the revolutionary tinder in South America ablaze but given they are under the government of Spain, at the time a British ally, the mission is fraught with danger... throw in the nascent was with the United States, and the picture is far from clear. The descriptions of Stephen's travel's through Peru are stunning..	10
	Jack Aubrey's long service is at last rewarded: he is promoted to the rank of Commodore and given a squadron of ships to command. His mission is twofold -- to make a large dent in the slave trade off the coast of Africa and, on his return, to intercept a French fleet set for Bantry Bay with a cargo of weapons for the disaffected among the Irish. Taking eighteen ships in the campaign against the slavers (where Maturin catches, but survives, yellow fever) Aubrey and his small fleet then manage to catch the French off Ireland	10
	The book starts with news that Diana, Maturins wife, has been killed in a carriage accident. He re-joins the squadron at Madeira after burying her. Aubrey's squadron meets at Gibraltar with Admiral Lord Keith, who orders him first to defend a convoy of merchant ship, and then to proceed to the Adriatic Sea to destroy any new ships being built to support Napoleon. Maturin, learns of a plot to send sufficient gold through Algiers to fund Muslim mercenaries who would block the Russian forces from joining those of the other allies Aubrey's squadron is successful in defending the convoy and  proceeds toward the Adriatic, stopping at various ports to learn of the French situation. Near Porte di Spalato they meet a French frigate, whose captain, like so many, does not want to declare for Napoleon but fears he will win. A plan to bribe disgruntled dockworkers with gold to burn new French ships along the coast, is hugely effective and completes the second mission he has been given. In Algiers, Maturin meets the Consul and the Dey's Vizier at Kasbah, the Dey's palace. While hunting, Maturin saves the Dey's life from an attacking lion but that doesn't stop the Dey from acting to order the gold for the mercenaries to be shipped as soon as possible. Maturin discovers his duplicity and re-joins Aubrey in Port Mahon, with Admiral Fanshawe, they agree Aubrey needs to pursue the xebec. The Surprise lies in wait in the Straits of Gibraltar based on information received and in the subsequent battle, Bonden is killed (I quite literally had to put the book down when I saw it - so sudden, with no notice, and a giant of a character is gone). After a long pursuit, the xebec hides at Cranc (Crab) island, where Surprise unable to follow the galley into the shallow lagoon, blocks the exit. A gun from the Surprise is hoisted up a cliff, where it can fire unopposed on the galley. The galley's crew, seeing the situation is hopeless, surrender. Returning victorious to Gibraltar, the Surprise sees the town exploding fireworks, and learns that Napoleon has been beaten at Waterloo. The gold is shared out in Gibraltar as prize money, and Aubrey is ordered to Chile.	10
	Last one in this series as sadly the author died just before this book was released.. Set in Berlin in 1928, during the dying days of the Weimar Republic shortly before Hitler and the Nazis came to power, it is about Bernie's first cases for the Kripo (the criminal investigation department of the German police). Bernie is a young detective working in Vice when he gets a summons from Bernard Weiss, Chief of Berlin's Criminal Police. He invites Bernie to join KIA - Criminal Inspection A - the supervisory body for all homicide investigation in Kripo. Bernie's first case is to investigate the Silesian Station killings - four prostitutes murdered in as many weeks. All of them have been hit over the head with a hammer and then scalped with a sharp knife, but he hardly has time to acquaint himself with the case notes, than another prostitute is murdered. Until now, no one has shown much interest in these victims - but the girl's father runs Berlin's foremost criminal ring, and he's prepared to go to extreme lengths to find his daughter's killer. Then a second series of murders begins - of crippled wartime veterans who beg in the city's streets. It seems that someone is determined to clean up Berlin of anyone less than perfect.	10
	First book in a stunning series featuring the Naval career of Harry Gilmour, a young and naïve ex-student who joins the Navy at the start of WW2 as RNVR. The books are about what it must have been like to serve in the wartime Navy as a volunteer, and very much the newcomer. His first ship is a battleship engaged in the offensive in Norway, 1940 where his inexperience leads to allegations of neglect/inattention during battle. Thankfully, he receives excellent advice from another officer and ends up doing an advanced navigation course which in turn results in him joining "The Trade" as submariners call their branch of the Navy.  This book covers in fantastic detail life in a WW2 era submarine, in combat conditions, and is utterly and completely recommended..	10
	Harry has passed the "Perisher" and is given his own submarine at last but has been assigned to a submarine flotilla commanded by his old skipper - a man who has sworn to destroy him and his career as a result of Harry's knowledge of his role in the sinking of his first submarine while drunk. The truth about his old skipper is beginning to get out there, though, and in a Royal Navy still largely divided between regular and volunteer, Harry has made some strong friends...	10
	Last in the series - it's 1944, and Lieutenant Harry Gilmour is recovering in Beirut from wounds received in an ill-fated British campaign to seize the Greek Islands. After four years at sea, he is expecting a shore job as his next appointment but is given urgent command of HM Submarine Saraband. His new command has just arrived there en route to the Indian Ocean and the war against Japan, but there’s been trouble on board, ‘Conduct prejudicial to naval discipline,’ and the skipper and first lieutenant have been summarily removed. Harry has to pick up the pieces of a sullen, uncooperative crew, while navigating Japanese convoy routes through the shallow, treacherous waters of the Malay Archipelago. There, endless, sweltering hunts for targets through the island chains leave Saraband’s crew even more exhausted and demoralised.	10

..so an absolutely outstanding year for good stories and so difficult to choose a favourite, so I won't..  but what I will say is that the Harry Gilmour and Jack Aubrey/master and Commander series are both utterly excellent, and 'Requiem for a Wren' was totally evocative of a period and time now long gone. For Gilmour/Aubrey, in both cases it was my second 'circumnavigation' (ie. re-read of the series), and I have no doubt there'll be a third...books are like mates, you want to keep seeing them, and err, taking them down the pub.. 😁

The worst lowest scoring book was still better than anything I could write, so I refuse to comment here on it..  authors work long hours, and they don't need someone like me who has never created a book, to 'diss' their efforts..

This year?? Well I intend to keep pretty much the same expectations (with some exceptions/additions)! Fingers crossed...  

1. play more games
2. blog more - there I said it..
   
3. try to keep up my painting efforts.. 
4. continue reading more non-fiction... it is the heart and core of the hobby..
5. Complete the documentation of the Hilsea Lines
6. I'd like to walk the circumference of the Chichester city walls
7. Visit HMS Alliance at the submarine museum in Gosport
8. Edgehill walk - unlikely but if we don't aim, we don't even shoot... (just call me Confucius the Wargamer....)
9. Spend slightly less time on Facebook - it's too easy to lose an hour that I could use doing something else
10. Continue losing some weight - fed up being a fat bastard...

So finally, Happy New Year to all my reader - may the dice roll as required, your brushes always keep a sharp tip, the beer be hoppy and bright, and the books all page turners...  oh, and your water pot never dry out.. 😃