“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.” -
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I have been away walking. The photo is of me climbing up the Long Mynd, or to be precise of me taking one of quite a few breaks as I climbed up the Long Mynd. I should perhaps have done some practice climbs up Otley Chevin before I went.
Sine my return I've only had time to catch up with the absolutely essential stuff: listening to the cricket, going to the opera, reading Private Eye etc. In the Rotten Boroughs section of the last one I was interested to see a reference to Magister Militum. The specific target of their criticism (you'll have to buy a copy if you want to find out the details) is the Tory leader of Wiltshire council, who it transpires is the owner what the magazine describe as the toy soldier supplier. I'm normally very happy to use the term 'toy soldiers' in these pages and elsewhere, but I wouldn't give 15mm figures to real children, as opposed to overgrown children.
Hmmm... Wargamers in charge of a county council? 'Do you think that's wise, sir?' Though a 'saving throw' for your council tax bill could be good. Someone has posted the Eye article on Lead Adventure Forum, for those not wanting to enrich Ian Hislop..
ReplyDeleteSurely you mean 'those not wishing to fund investigative journalism into the side hustles of hobby members for fear of being exposed themselves'? Anyway, after the Economist featuring the Perry twins a few years ago, we've definitely gone mainstream.
DeleteThere haven't been an election to Wiltshire Council - which despite the name is apparently not a county council because it doesn't cover Swindon; we've all learned something - since 2021, undoubtedly explaining why the Tories haven't lost control yet.
Touche. I have no 'side hustles' , nor any hustles at all, I should add. Maybe publicising the article will introduce some new wargaming readers to Private Eye?
Deletebtw Swindon is of course home to Andy Partridge of XTC, who is certainly a model soldier collector, and perhaps also a wargamer..
always enjoy your blog. Too long since I visited.
ReplyDeletere: the Kierkegaard quote, which I realise now I've come across before (I know little about the guy apart from the Python (?) off-hand ref to him in a sketch (there's a comment on modern culture I guess ...) )
Love the idea of what he says; although would have to supply a little contextualisation and observe that it 'depends' ... .
as ever, if you're not part of the 'mainstream', and particularly, in superficial terms, rather more associated with something 'undesirable' in terms of knee-jerk reaction to appearance, the 'long walks' in the countryside doesn't really work unless you've got a suitably thick skin.
Anyhow, as I say, love the idea of what he says, and am happy for all that find it so.
That is funny (not sure why tho'.!) about the Magister Militum owner.
Have dealt with them a few times - but thought the co. had been put up for sale, and was winding down (effectively).
Think that was the case last time I looked (earlier this year sometime).