Potpourri

Bit of a mixed bag this post. Not much wargaming activity at the Schloß recently. I have however taken part in two remote games chez Freitag of the Battle of Fornovo, 1495. These were my first forays ever into the Italian Wars. 

The first was as part of the Italian league fighting the French, where my command (the left wing) got badly beaten up by a resurgent Napoleon Dave. For the 4th game in a row, my table top character was killed. The Italians came out ahead in a close fought game. If you haven't already pop over to Jon's blog for AARs and pictures of his wonderful Renaissance figures, here and here.

The second was in sole command of the French versus Ray, Surjit and Lee of Posties Reject renown. This game was decidedly not a close run thing. The Rejects played a canny game and I don't think the overall result would have changed even if I had better luck. And I took my personal record up to 5 games with my character being killed! Here's one of the previous occasions: https://mudbloodandsteel.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-king-is-dead-long-live-err.html Second time in a row my character has been killed in a campaign run by JBM. 

In terms of army and terrain preparation myself, not much has happened. (Notice the use of the passive voice, like a politician apologising, to disguise the fact it's me who hasn't done much). I sprayed one side of my 'battle cloth' to make it a bit lighter. Cans of spray paint don't go very far, especially when you're spraying outside. I bought a second can in Lidl at the weekend to do the other side.

Punic Wars. A couple of weeks ago I placed an order with Heroics & Ros for Romans and Carthaginians. I was beginning to wonder when they would arrive, and today I got confirmation that they have been posted. So they could be here by Saturday. 

I have a bit of 1:1 terrain making to complete first, however. I am helping the Margravina prepare a vegetable plot. She seems to have decided it would be wise to prepare for the collapse of commerce by turning over a large part of the Schloß' grounds to agriculture. The ground has been prepared and we are giving the wooden frames that will surround the veg patches a protective coat of paint, before laying weed control, filling the frames with earth and compost, and finally surrounding them with pathways of gravel.

On Saturday I will be going up to Salute for the first time in several years. I should be meeting up with David-in-Suffolk, the Ragged Soldier himself. That's not casting any nastursiums on his appearance by the way, it's his blog. Hopefully I'll be able to meet other bloggers in person too, particularly Posties Rejects.

A lot of my attention, and some of my time has been occupied with Grimsby Town's plight at the wrong end of the Football League. With 4 games to play, they could still be relegated (for the 3rd time in 14 years!). So if anyone was wondering how I could keep smiling through lots of poor dice rolls, I've had plenty of practice dealing with bad luck! Last month I had attended 3 games in close succession. This month I have tickets for 2 of the 4 games, Colchester on Tuesday night and Crawley on 27th. One of the benefits of reaching a certain age, is that ticket prices start to come down. Not everywhere, but Crawley is one such place where over 60s get in for £10.

Favourites to go down are Forest Green and Sutton. Selfishly, I would rather Colchester go down as the ground is awkward to get to, being out of town, and Sutton is a bus journey away for me.

Last night I managed to watch the 2017 version of Tuntematon Sotilas again. It really is one of the best war films out there. The storyline is believeable (the novel is largely based on the author's own experiences and other real events), the acting is superb, and not too many liberties are taken with the plot. Special effects and cinematography are also excellent. Highly recommended.

People who have seen All the Sins (Kaikki Synnit, a Nordic Noir TV series) might recognise Johannes Holopainen. He played the posh lieutenant Kariluoto in the war film and the detective in All the Sins.

Finally, here are a few pics from a trip with the Margravina to the south coast.

On the cliffs at Southbourne

Avon Beach, near Christchurch (Dorset)

Wonder what these could be? (cliffs above Avon Beach)

One of 3 explanatory panels. Seem to have lost the photos of the other two.

Outside the entrance to the former research establishment above. This fossil is about 1/2 metre across.

Isle of Wight can be just about seen at top left

Sentry post at ADRE

The grounds are now a nature reserve

Looking back down to the beach

Highcliffe Castle, a 19th century stately pile.

Looking back west towards Medford Spit and Hengistbury Head. By the time we got back to the carpark, that part of the beach was rammed - people are lazy. They won't walk far to get a nice spot on the beach. Lots of open water swimmers around - mostly women of a certain age and build. Suggesting that the Margravina would soon be old enough to join them was not the wisest thing I'd ever said.

Entrance to Christchurch Harbour

Aha!

View through the MG port

Vent in the roof of the pillbox