'Stuff'

Since my game of Shadow of the Eagles, not a lot has been happening on the gaming front chez moi, despite my best intentions. The usual reasons of being a full time carer have combined with collecting our daughter from University in Edinburgh, plus the half-term holiday for the schools. Alongside these the garden has needed tending to, which I enjoy, but Mother Nature is a demanding mistress!

Despite all of the above, 'stuff' has been going on in the background, with many plans being hatched, but as yet not seeing the light of day. So as to give you some idea of what's been going on, read on dear Follower, read on.

Some years ago now there were some articles in one of the wargames magazines on the French Revolutionary Wars, specifically the conflict set in the Vendee. These combined with some excellent articles from Colin Ashton piqued my interest in this period. At the time sadlt Pendraken did not have a full compliment of figures to tempt me down this road. However around the start of the first lockdown the launched a 'kickstarter' for some Peninsula War range of figures, which with a bit of picking and choosing, combined with some artistic license, could be used for this period. So a list was drawn up and after some delays, my package arrived in the mail a week or so ago.

With the toys now with me, I dug out my reference books and my original list, to begin to re-acquainting myself with my 'plans' and to tweak things to fit with the excellent 'Shadow of the Eagles' rules. Things are in an early stage still but the following books have proved useful in one way or another.

I think Rob did the original article in the magazine that piqued my curiosity. So when this book came out I snapped it up. Whilst full of very useful information, I must admit I found this a hard slog to read. Still a most useful reference book so I'm happy I bought it.

I've not read this cover to cover yet, but as with all of Griffith's books, it looks to be a great read and will give me much to ponder on for my project.

In short this is a lovely book to own! So many great units to tempt one, but I need to try and maintain some semblance of focus, but the sound of butterfly wings can be heard daily😉.

Picked up quite cheaply a few years ago, this is a great primer for the period for someone like myself who is a 'Nappies' newbie.

After the recent SotE game I dug out my scenario books to try and find something for my next game. I have pretty much decided upon the scenario, but as yet I have been unable to find the time to set it up and get it played out. With SWMBO returning to work tomorrow, I'm hoping I can get things onto the dining table this week. Hope springs eternal!

Books that every wargmer should own IMHO.

When Keith came over for the game last month he kindly left me a copy of the latest WS&S magazine, which was very kind of him and I happily read it over a few evenings. However being a dedicated small scale gamer, there was little to interest my to be honest. 28mm gamers would be in Seventh Heaven I'm sure, but each to their own. It did confirm to me that I'd rather spend my limited pocket money on books than magazines, but then I'm pretty much set in my ways. However for the newer and younger wargamers I'm sure this is just perfect.

Still the best produced magazine IMHO.

This book I bought back in the late 1970's (possibly early 1980's). I suppose looking back it was the equivalent of Google today in terms of being able to find very basic information. It is set out by year, with sections on History, Arts, Literature & Science. For me the fascinating thing is seeing what was going on across the globe in terms of History, but also concurrently with the other topics listed. So for example in 1875, a French law strengthening the army led to a crisis with Germany, but Russo-British intervention prevented another Franco-Prussian War. Certainly the sort of 'what if?' that interests me no end.

A well thumbed copy and one that often gets dragged down from the bookshelf for a general perusal when I only have 5-10 minutes to read something.

My general reading on the Russian Revolution continues apace through the following tome, which is proving to be an incredible and enlightening, yet sober read. I'm learning so much that I simply didn't know and it is a real page turner.

If you get one book on the Russian Revolution, it really has to be this one.

So there we are. Lots of plans afoot, some of which I hope begin to see the light of day soon. One can but hope. So until next time, stay safe and keep healthy!