Weekly Musings # 2 - ACW rules thoughts..

Trying to get into the swing of regular posting, so a weekly post, antholog'esque in style (anyone remember "Firing into the Brown" in the old Wargamers Newsletter??😊), seems achievable even if on some occasions they may be short... 

Before we launch, the spammers are also strong this year, so apologies I've added the "I have to approve" thing for if my reader needs to comment..  apologies again, it's a pain but it saves everyone being offered Cialis/Viagra..  though some of the recent offers were decent prices! 😂

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..I've been giving some thoughts to including officers in the ACW rules DG and I worked up (link [clicky]) from those in the Neil Thomas "One Hour Wargames" book..

As I mentioned in the last post, the use of officers to convey/gift strength points back to a unit mid-battle at first sight is a little counter intuitive given that the whole point of the rules is to get a quick game, and adding points will extend the game, but there are some counter arguments..  and besides it's always fun to tinker..

Also I can think of a few scenario specific reasons for doing it in some cases..  for example, I am looking to recreate a particular battle or skirmish where:

1. the actions of an officer had a significant effect on the outcome, or 
2. a unit/regiment/whatever, that on the day performed in a super human way, and remained active far longer than would normally expect,
3. .. etcetc. 

 Anyway - the rule would be optional - I can't see it being needed for every game - and my current thinking is leaning towards including them in a couple of ways...

First - as per the last game, give them a fixed number of strength points they are allowed to gift to any unit, the officer has to be attached to the unit they are gifting (as in base to base contact), and while doing that they can potentially be adversely affected by any casualties the unit takes from firing or melee..

Second - the same, but give them a variable number of strength points they can allocate (say 1D6 worth, or half a D6 worth rounded down, etc)

Movement would be at cavalry rate.. 

While attached to the unit the officer figure would be subject to any damage the unit takes while in combat or under fire..   there's a handy little rule in the AWI McNally rules I use that will cover that nicely.. 

Risk to Generals/officers

If the general /officer is with any unit that suffers losses from melee/firing throw 2d6

• 2 - 8 No effect.
• 9 - 10 Suffers a light wound and moves at 1/2 speed.
• 11 - 12 Dead.

If a general/officer suffers a second light wound he is incapacitated and is removed from play.

Job done..  on a shallow level it also means I have a use for all those officer figures I painted.. 😁

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Finished off a few bits and pieces on the paint table from last year..  by the by is there anything sadder than a water pot that has dried out?? 😏

These were tail ends of the WWII skirmish re-basing for the French - I need to go back and check but this rebasing project may now be complete...? (post edit - yes, the French are complete - need to crack on with the Germans)

Before...

After..

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The Christmas Dickens is now finished, as above, it was "Our Mutual Friend" this year and what a monster of a book - took me weeks! LOL..

I think that completes most of his works for me now and funnily enough this is apparently the last complete novel that Dickens wrote so it is kind of serendipitous that the two events should conjoin...

Quite good I thought (Dickens and "quite good" in the same sentence anyone? 😏) the story concerns one John Harmon believed lost at sea/murdered, and heir to a not inconsiderable fortune that in his absence transfers to his aged (and much loved) guardians the Boffins. The story is basically about how Harmon clears his name and struggles with how he can reclaim his fortune given it will deny his guardians the money while along the way he enrols as their secretary (without them knowing as they haven't seen him years), falls in love and eventually marries ..  but while that is a fairly simple story, along the way there is a simply huge cast of associated and not associated characters that allow Dickens to really go to town on the social inequalities of the time...  "the satire is strong in this one, Obi Wan"... read the passages about the Veneers (what a brilliant and wholly illustrative name for a character) and you think as you (don't) watch "Made in Chelsea/Essex/Jungle", nothing's changed..  excellent 8/10

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Laters, as the young people are want to say...

Weekly Musings # 1 - ACW mini game

"Hood's men began the assault at 4 p.m., immediately overwhelming Warren's two regiments, the 5th New York (Duryée's Zouaves) and 10th New York (the National Zouaves). Within the first 10 minutes of contact, the 500 men of the 5th New York had suffered almost 300 casualties, 120 of them mortally wounded. This was the largest loss of life of any infantry regiment in a single battle during the entire war. The Zouave regiments had been wearing bright red and blue uniforms, and one of Hood's officers wrote that the bodies lying on the hill reminded him of the Texas countryside when the wildflowers were in bloom..." (from the Wikipedia article on the battle - my highlight..)

First post of the new year.. in the words of the Ramone's.. "Look out below!!"

Without a doubt one of the wargaming highlights of the Christmas period was/is the anthology [clicky] that Norm publishes on his blog - the reader of my end of the year blog/review will have known that there was a curious case of ennui in the Steve the Wargamer loft-waffe over the course of the second half/two thirds of last year, but one of the articles in his anthology has only gone and resulted in little metal men manoeuvring on Steve the Wargamers table top for the first time in 9 months!

The article in question was the skirmish/mini-battle based round the "The destruction of 5th New York Zouaves" at Second Manassas (or Second Bull Run according to your leanings)..  no idea why, but it really caught my imagination, and as I am increasingly these days a smaller battle, smaller game type of wargamer, I immediately hot footed it up to the loft to have a go myself..

So the scenario posits a part of the battlefield where two isolated Union regiments protecting a battery of artillery, are attacked by three regiments of Confederate infantry, forerunners of a bigger Confederate push on the day..

Setup..  

• Rules were mine and DG's derivation [clicky] of those in Neil Thomas's "One Hour Wargames" book
• I went with a number of Norm's suggestions for this game,  so

1. all units start the game at full strength
2. all Confederate regiments were described as 'Veteran', in the rules then they are classed as 'Zouaves' for firing/melee (+1 basically). 
3. On the Union side the unit representing the 5th were of course Zouave, but the other infantry (representing the 10th) were classed as regulars, as were the artillery.

• My rules don't account for senior officers but for this game I fielded them with the proviso they had 4 strength points they could allocate to whomever they wanted throughout the game..
• To represent the initial skirmish in the woods that resulted in the 10th being ejected (and pretty roughly handled) immediately before the main feature, I allowed the Confederates one D6 of casualties on them before the game started - they threw well inflicting 5 points of damage (33% casualties before the game even started!)
• Seven turns  only - the Confederates get a major win if they destroy the artillery, a minor win if they destroy both Union infantry regiments, the Union win by denying the Confederacy either of those..

Game:

Turn 1:

The Confederate infantry started out of range so advanced rapidly - the artillery inflicted their first casualties on the Confederate regiment to their front...

Turn 2:

A fairly early observation was that the Union were throwing well in this game and since that decides not only what unit activates first, but also of course casualties, they were moving and firing first a lot of the time meaning their casualties affected the Confederate units when their time came to activate..

At this point the Confederate regiments had closed to long musket range..

Turn 3:

A real blood bath this turn with both sides dealing out damage, and the Confederates now concentrating the fire of two regiments at the artillery..  they are not getting all their own way however, and the Confederate regiment on the left (following) is getting battered..

Turn 4:

Both commanders allocate their command points, the Confederate brigadier to the aforesaid regiment of foot, the Union commander to the artillery..  

Turn 5:

Further exchanges of fire - the Confederate commander is only waiting for the optimal moment to charge forward..  (in our rules unless it is flank or rear, you need a 5 strength point [SP] advantage over your enemy to be able to charge home) - this move would see that Union regiment on the left (following) falling below the 5SP difference..

In the first blood of the game the Union Zouaves cause the middle Confederate regiment to break and run - sheer weight of firepower has seen them done for..

Turn 6:

...and having thrown well for initiative - the Confederate regiment charges home and despite a retaliatory volley from the Union regiment sends them barrelling off the field, and at the same time opening up the Union flank..  Worth noting, that at this point in time, because of Confederate target priorities the Union Zouave regiment is unbloodied and at full strength. The artillery however is not, and uses it's move to limber up and start withdrawing..

Turn 7:

Talk about down to the wire.. initiative would be key for this move but two against one is always going to be difficult... the Union commander orders the Zouave regiment to turn and face the greater threat but this opens them up to a flank charge from the other severely depleted Confederate regiment - they charge home (and I was sure I could hear a tiny rebel yell) inflicted a huge number of casualties on them (12 for the record - flank and Zouave bonuses outweighed the casualty penalties)...  following up with a volley from the other Confederate regiment and the Union Zouaves were simply destroyed...  as were their historical counterparts..

End turn 7:

Boom.. 

The butchers bill..  exclamation mark indeed..  Pyrrhic victory for the Confederacy

Post match analysis:

• right up to the last move I thought the Union were going to win it, and in fact, they could have if the damn Zouaves had just withdrawn instead of turning to face the onslaught (I think the idea was I was trying to save against any encroachment or fire on the artillery as they were on their last legs) - what a final melee though!
• the idea of the commanders with their "strength point donation" ability has legs.. it goes against the ethos of the rules; they are quick play - and the moment you put in a flavour of  "saving throw" mechanism you extend the game, but it's an interesting mechanic though, and I will write it into the rules as an "optional" (along with some other idea's on points donation)
• Cheers for getting some muscles and synapses working again after a long period of inactivity, Norm!

Further reading:

Destruction of the 5th New York Zouaves | American Battlefield Trust (battlefields.org)

2021.. 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 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..

Major fail... there were two table top games in 2021 (c/w three in 2020, four in 2019, six in 2018, and eight in 2017) which is both atrocious and clearly a downwards trend; 
• ECW - "Ambush" [clicky]
• AWI - John Corrigan Memorial game 2020 - "Ambush - Redux" [clicky]

..but on the other hand DG and I did play 3 (possibly even 4?) games of online DBN/AWI using Battle Chronicler and exchanging moves via Dropbox.

But all in all - still poor, I think...

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

I would say I did "OK" with this one - as is usual with me, my painting months are beginning and end of the sailing season, there's 200 points worth here which compares with 253 points in 2020... close, but no cigar... a definite fall off in painting efforts in the second half of the year though as ennui hit..


On the other hand lots was painted and no one period dominated this year, which I think is excellent.. 

• the Marlburian infantry were a continuation of a theme I started in 2019 as before that I hadn't painted anything in the period for several years..  keeps the project fresh and ongoing..
• there was more ACW - two more regiments of foot join the ranks, but also some ships
  
•  there was more ECW and as I expected the order from Steelfist [clicky] made up at least one of the regiments but despite looking lovely, having to attach pikes was a pain.. Peter Pig for me every time..  😀
  
  

Date (click to go to post)	Item description	Period	Make	Scale	Points Value/Total Pts
1/1/21	Regiment Angoumois	WSS	Minifigs	15mm	24@1 Pts for 24 Pts
8/1/21	Sudan rebasing	Sudan	n/a	15mm	13@1 Pts for 13 Pts
15/1/21	Windmill	Multi	Iron Clad Miniatures	15mm	1@10pts
22/1/21	Charles Chuchill's Regiment of Foot	WSS	Minifigs	15mm	24@1 Pts for 24 Pts
12/2/21	1st Battalion Virginia Infantry (Irish)	ACW	Newline	20mm	20@1 Pts for 20 Pts
19/2/21	62nd Ohio Infantry	ACW	Newline	20mm	20@1 Pts for 20 Pts
19/3/21	Earl of  Carnarvon's Regiment of Horse	ECW	Peter Pig	15mm	8@2ts for 16 Pts
26/3/21	Sir William Pennyman's regiment of Foote	ECW	Steel Fist	15mm	24@1 Pts for 24 Pts
23/5/21	WWII French rebasing	WW2	n/a	15mm	43@1; 3@2 for 49 Pts
.	.	.	.	.	.

Total: 200 points (I had 253 from 2020 to beat)

3/. complete the Sudan re-basing..

It is done, done I say!! [clicky]

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

If I did nothing else in 2021 I did read (just as well, as I wasn't blogging!)...  thank goodness for books...  

Slightly down on last year, and the quality was not as good I thought, though there was one of my 10's in the list..  Barratt, Holland and Holmes take it this year (they sound like a firm of solicitors!) get the laurels this year, Cavaliers and Sicily in particular were very good.....

For this coming year I already have Max Hastings' book on "Operation Pedestal" on my bedside table courtesy of Santa - can't wait - in fact it is next to go after I finish my Christmas Dickens

Book	Comments	Score (out of 10)
	Not finished yet..	.
	A recent publication that caught my eye the moment it was announced.. I was hoping for something a little more than this book actually delivered...  it's not a bad book, far from it, as a campaign resource it is beyond compare good, but it is also exceedingly dull comprising as it does mostly just a long list of numbers and dates - casualty returns, muster returns, dates and transports...  bit disappointed really, some of it was good, but I had hoped to find a little bit more about the human side... even the uniform illustrations were a little "meh"..	6
	After the Osprey on the Hessians, this was an order of magnitude different and better - brilliant book describing the background to the (re) formation of the light troops in the British army of the American War of Independence (after their successful use in the SYW and eventual decline/disbanding after the war completed) - their ideology, tactics, skills, weaponry, organisation and uniforms...  brilliant, and has made me reconsider a few elements of my AWI rules!	9
	A valiant effort to try and explain what is a HUGELY complex subject, and no I'm still not clear! So from what I can tell - every region of the Ottoman Empire had it's own unique troop types, the functions of which were specific to the area in which they were located (would have been fairly useless to have a largely cavalry force in the mountains for example), and the names of which are very complicated and difficult to remember... the Janissaries (coming to the end of their period of control) and Mamelukes appear, along with a host of peasant militia types, and a much smaller number of regulars trained in both traditional and modern methods... you'd need a book five or ten times the size to get a clear idea.. so a good attempt..	9 (for effort)
	I was late getting to this - stupidly. Bought it on the recommendation of one of the bloggerati (apologies, forget who) but it is fantastic and unashamedly recommended for people with an interest in the English Civil War(s) or indeed early black powder warfare...  aimed specifically at the Royalist army the book is in the form of a number of self contained chapters, almost essays, about various aspects of the army, so after a brief introduction to the background of the war there are chapters on infantry/cavalry/artillery/dragoons and logistics - in the second part he deals with some specific organisations and campaigns - I particularly enjoyed the chapter on the Cornish foot (for me almost as stirring as the Wild Geese in French service), the Northern horse (I'd like to have gone out for a beer with them), the Irish army, sieges, even Royalist women...  I need to do some research to see if he did a similar book on Parliament as it would be a must have...  very good..	10
	Fantastic book - I have his book on Normandy in the "to read" pile and based on this one it has moved up a few places towards the top ..  so a concise (well I say concise, but it's actually 600 or 700 odd pages... I can honestly say it didn't seem that long!) but easily read book on what was the first Allied powers invasion into mainland Europe..   very much a learning exercise, that in planning teams was a success beyond all expectations..  good coverage on the naval cover, air cover (an absolute game changer and a significant input to the overall success of the campaign), the politic'ing and infighting between Patton (who I am sorry, and who despite his obvious skills as a battlefield commander, still comes across as a bit of a kn*b) and Montgomery (who could be prickly), and most of all the soldiers on the ground, that despite the Allied doctrine of "steel not flesh" were called on time and time again to attack well dug in, veteran and elite German forces simply because the terrain did not allow them to deploy their significant advantage in tanks and artillery..  fascinating book..  he touches on the Mafia angle (and who knows how significant that was??) but my overwhelming impression was of how quick the campaign was, how important the air cover was, how hard the infantry had to fight, and how well Alexander managed the campaign.	9
	Not sure where I saw this recommended, possibly David Crook's blog?? Either way, I am a huge admirer of the late Richard Holmes, I had the great good fortune to see him speak in person twice before his untimely death, and have always been a believer in the bottom up view of war that he championed..  his view is that the history of war is always best illustrated, and demonstrated, by the view of the individual...  in this book he sets out with four or five companions to actually ride the (exhausting) retreat of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914 from Mons (the furthest they advanced) to the Marne. The book is chock full of anecdotes, personal reminisces and commentary from those long lost soldiers, but at it's centre is the horse - those they rode themselves, but most importantly those the BEF used in great numbers...  an excellent and sobering history of the BEF in 1914. Recommended.	9

5/. Salute and Colours...

Hmmm..  so Salute was a possibility right up to the moment they rescheduled it to the week I was away in Cyprus .... "Mrs Current Steve the Wargamer, would you mind if we didn't go on our first foreign holiday in the sunshine in two years so I can go to Salute? You can come too if you like...." yeah..  indeed... and besides I preferred Cyprus as well, I'm not that mad..  

Colours was cancelled.. rightly I think for the time the decision was being made...   

Which left Warfare, but with DG otherwise occupied I came to the conclusion that the chat and his company was more than most of the enjoyment of the show so a long days travel to go on my own, and the disease risk, just didn't appeal to be honest..

6/. Tangmere visit

...to do...  it has at least re-opened.. 

7/. Edgehill walk - unlikely but if we don't aim, we don't even shoot... (just call me Confucius the Wargamer....)

...ditto like most of the traveling/social based events it's slightly back burner'ish.. 

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 - all the events/things I would have been trying to do were not happening, and shifted to virtual..  so Farcebok became a ways and means of keeping in touch rather than trite entertainment..

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

...I am a stone and a half'ish* lighter than I was this time last year.. all hail the 5:2.. there is still a long way to go...😏

*it's post Christmas.. it may be a little less! 

10/. HMS Victory - been years since I last went ..

...yeah yeah.....  

...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 2020 was not the best year, and neither was 2021..

Not in any priority at all..... work continues to gobble up increasing amounts of what used to be down time, and a change of work location has added an hour to my commute time; while delightful, and I wouldn't have it any other way, the family and grandson also deserve time; there were worries about COVID (all my close family except grandson are key workers)... and yes, I know and accept others have it far worse.... on the hobby front I'll say it was a poor year...  no Salute/Colours/Warfare with DG, a massive dose of wargamers block (pffft.. it happens..) but on the plus side a lot of good books..

There were 21 posts in 2021 including this one (c/w 32 posts in 2020, 49 in 2019, 35 in 2018, 45 in 2017, 58 in 2016, 69 in 2015, 68 in 2014, 84 in '13, 85, in '12) which is poor - the downward trend is back on again. I'm happy with Blogger, even like the new interface, I like to write and it suits my ordered mind, but I need creative inputs to prompt posts, and I wasn't feeling it in the second half 2021...

...apropos of absolutely nothing (I only have the number as I like to put reviews on the blog), 51 books were read in 2021, compared with 63  in '20, 55 in '19, 43 in '18, 52 in '17, 54 in '16, and 46 in '15 - despite distractions aplenty I had a hugely enjoyable reading year.. kind of interesting - I look to read a book a week on average..

Favourite books this year?

Fiction - these were my 'perfect 10's' of the year

Book	Comments	Score (out of 10)
	First book in the Dark Materials trilogy, re-reading it after some considerable time, and as a result of the (truly excellent) second series of the BBC television series having just finished. The re-read reminds me why I am in awe of Pullman's genius as a storyteller - he is right up there with Tolkien, Lewis and JK as far as I am concerned for his imaginative powers, and his ability to pull an entire alternative universe from his head...  so in this book we are first introduced to Lyra, the foundling child living with the scholars at Oxford university and we begin to discover her start in life, her parents (no spoilers for those that haven't read the books) and the alternative England that she lives in where people soul's are external to their body and in animal/bird form. This book deals almost solely with the search for "dust" a mystical substance that surrounds everyone and everything, but is not viewable under normal vision. It also introduces us to the Magisterium, a church like total authority that brings to mind the Catholic Church of the Inquisition period crossed with the 3rd Reich (!). Bring in armoured bears, witches, cliff ghasts, and an aeronaut with his own balloon facing off against gas engined airships and this is an awesome book..  my first 10+ of the year	10+
	Straight into the second book - Lyra's battle against the Authority continues and she gains an ally in the form of Will, a troubled young man from our world, who discovers an opening into a city in another world - this city is haunted by spectres that feed off the souls of any adults so the sole remaining inhabitants are children. They then discover about the knife after Lyra's alethiometer is stolen while visiting Will's world. For its return they are told to steal the knife..  when they do that however they discover that the knife has phenomenal power and strength - not the least being the ability to cut windows between worlds..  no plot spoilers, but the book ends with Lyra and Will about to enter the world of the dead in search of Will's father, and Lyra's long lost friend. an ABSOLUTE page turner...	10
	With Will and Lyra searching the world of the dead, at the same time Asriels war against the authority has kicked off with both sides gathering allies in all the thousands and millions of coexistent worlds. The Magisterium send an assassin after Lyra, but they survive to provide critical assistance to Asriel in the final battle. Meanwhile, a character we first met in the second book (Mary Malone - a researcher at the Oxford University of our world) also finds a window, and arrives in the world of the Mulefa (a kind of tapir/elephant cross that move around on wheels made from seed pods - and I can't wait to see how the BBC show that!) and there discovers the Amber spyglass which allows her to see dust for the first time, and an ecological disaster in the making. Stunning...	10
	Cut forward in time and this book deals with a Lyra in her early 20's..  but a much diminished Lyra, a quite sad Lyra though she wouldn't agree. She is now an undergraduate student at college, but slowly and surely she is losing her optimism and outlook - her imagination as her daemon Pan calls it. she is at odds with her daemon - they have been able to separate since the events of the Amber Spyglass, but now the guilt is beginning to corrode. Pan leaves her to travel and find her imagination so they can be as they were, and after moves by the Magisterium to hunt her down (the reappearance - in a way - of an old enemy from the Belle Sauvage) Lyra goes on the run, and in search of Pan.  I cannot wait for the third volume...  simply stunning...	10
	The book that started it all - the meeting between Stephen Maturin and Jack Aubrey could have so easily gone the other way! Without a doubt the finest Napoleonic naval fiction writer there ever was...  if you don't believe me, try it and immerse yourself in the Royal Navy and society of the 18th Century ... Jane Austen with cannons and sails..	10+
	Jack goes from rags to riches in his usual round about way - it is the Peace of Amiens and having lost all his money in a financial fraud he is declared bankrupt and escapes to London to avoid the bailiffs - escaping again to the continent he discovers from friends in France that war is about to break out again and with Stephen disguised as a bear (superb!) they escape to Spain...  captured..  freed..  given command of an experimental ship...   before finally meeting triumph on the high sea's against a Spanish bullion ship	10
	Missing out on the Spanish bullion prize money on a technicality Aubrey remains in debt..  Maturin goes on a spying mission in Spain and is captured, tortured, but rescued..back in England Aubrey is taken by the bailiffs and out in a sponging house (debtors prison) before Maturin manages to free him with an advance on some of the money he is owed for the Spanish bullion capture. Back in command of the Surprise the ship is destined for India and the Far East..  excellent..   the descriptions of the battle with the French squadron and the East India ships is second to none..  and Aubrey is inching ever closer to marrying his beloved Sophie.	10
	If only temporarily (the now married and with children) Aubrey gets to raise his broad pennant as Commodore of a (small) task force tasked with opposing a much stronger French force of crack heavy frigates operating in the Indian Ocean. Cue operations around Mauritius and Reunion, opposed landing by the British army, but eventual triumph. Aubrey is tasked with taking the dispatches home - a sure guarantee of promotion and favour.	10
	Jack (with Stephen) is given command of the elderly 50 gunner Leopard with instructions to go to Australia to help resolve issues caused by the governorship of Bligh (yes him.. same one) that had culminated in the Rum Rebellion. He is further ordered to carry a number of prisoners, the cover for one particular prisoner that the intelligence service require Stephen to interrogate more closely on the voyage. The prisoners bring jail fever on board (typhus) and in the ensuing epidemic over half the crew die. They care chased by a heavily armed Dutch 74, and having eluded that (no spoilers) are subsequently holed and almost sunk in the ice fields before making it to Desolation Island (the Kerguelen Islands) for repairs...  stunning...	10
	This has been a stupidly good year for books and I need to be careful I don't run out of 10's but I'm afraid this will be another! I have now read 29 of the Maigret books (not including this one) and have to say that this is without a doubt the best so far. Maigret receives a series of strange phone calls from a caller who reports he is in danger, is scared for his life, and cannot shake someone who is following him..  when the (murdered) body is found Maigret sets out to hunt down the perpetrators discovering on his way a gang implicated in a number of bloody and ruthlessly carried out country side robberies...	10
	In my view the best of the four books in the Omnibus that I was reading (the other three follow)..  the books starts with Hornblower imprisoned after a sea battle in the previous book that resulted in his ship being sunk whilst facing overwhelming numbers.He is sentenced to be sent to Paris for trial on trumped up charges of alleged piracy but on the way manages to escape with his trusty side kicks Bush and Brown. Taking refuge with a friendly French family for the winter they are assumed dead by the authorities, and in the following spring travel down river masquerading as a fishing party, before managing to re-capture a British ship taken the previous year in battle. Despite being riven throughout the book by doubts over the loss of his ship in the battle, Hornblower arrives back in England to great popular acclaim, and an honourable acquittal in the required court martial.	10

 

..so an absolutely outstanding year for good stories - out of those, it was a close call but on on balance I think the O'Brien book just takes it..  it starts a fantastic series of books based on the experiences of a Napoleonic naval captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and his good friend Stephen Maturin.. if no one has tried these, you need to, the writing, and the prose style is sublime...  ("Stephen looked sharply round, saw the decanter, smelt to the sloth, and cried, 'Jack, you have debauched my sloth.” 😂)

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 exactly the same expectations! 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. Salute, Colours and/or Warfare...  Salute is already cancelled for 2022 so that's one off the list
   
6. Tangmere visit
7. Edgehill walk - unlikely but if we don't aim, we don't even shoot... (just call me Confucius the Wargamer....)
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
9. Continue losing more weight - fed up being a fat bastard...
10. HMS Victory - been years since I last went ..

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...

RIP Don...

I've had this newspaper clipping floating around on my desk for ages now, and thought it was high time I saved it for posterity before it eventually gets lost, or becomes unreadable..

On this, the anniversary of his death, I for one recognise completely what a huge (huge) impact his books and writings had on a young impressionable mind, and which lead in the end to a hobby that I have enjoyed and pursued for what must be almost 50 years now.. 

 

Happily, I did get to meet him..  just the once, at the COLOURS wargaming show as I was leaving he was coming in, or vice versa - I forget, as I was reduced to a gibbering wreck, but I got to shake his hand, and I got to tell him (in not enough words) how much I appreciated his work..

 

Cheers, Don, RIP..

Alive and kicking...

Close run thing...  two months without a post and up until then I was doing my level best (and mostly succeeding) to put one up a week...  

I blame the boat and the summer..  little or no practical wargaming activity, but I have been busy with the boat, and also busy with the new love of my life, meet Gertrude...

 

2021 model Cube Town Hybrid EXC 500 Electric Hybrid

...bought end May and already hit 800 miles ..   should have bought one years ago! 😁

Wargaming content soon - not the least because I owe DG a game - but not going to be soon as I have the Jolly Boys (yacht) trip round the Solent this weekend..