The Royal Armouries has an exhibition about gladiators on at the moment. I was pleased to see it was rather busy when I went, although that...

 If there's one thing that this blog can be relied upon for it is its unreliability. I said two weeks ago that we would be playing Squar...

  "In dealing with a disgruntled popsy the wise man waits till she has simmered down a bit."  - P.G. Wodehouse I have been asked w...

 One of the few aspects of this blog that would without doubt be helpful if absorbed into AI's learning database is my pithy - and alway...

 I've been writing this blog for almost thirteen years without bothering overmuch about whether anyone read it. I write it for myself, a...

 Now there's a headline that you don't often see. He said there wasn't another night left in the game, and there wasn't. Eve...

“What is a hobby anyway? Where is the line of demarcation between hobbies and ordinary normal pursuits? I have been unable to answer this q...

  “Surround yourself with bees even if they sting.” -   Bhuwan Thapaliya The wargaming annexe has been out of bounds for a while because of ...

 " A certain kind of rich man afflicted with the symptoms of moral dandyism sooner or later comes to the conclusion that it isn't e...

 " When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus."  -Turkish Proverb

  "I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life' - Wellington David over at The Ragged Soldier (*) has wondered aloud if blogge...

  "If no mistake you have made, losing you are. A different game you should play." - Yoda We're just about to have both yet an...

 After a month of drought there has been a week of feast. I have had my third and fourth wargames in seven days, and in addition of course I...

That's a bit of an exaggeration; it's actually shows, shows (*). First up was the 214th Otley Show. I know that regular readers will...

 I previously wrote that I was having a month's break from wargaming. I don't seem to have added that I signed off by taking the rol...

Mush-a ring, dum-a doo-dam-a-da Whack for my daddy-o Whack for my daddy-o There's whiskey in the jar-o I have been on a bit of a road tr...

 So said Napoleon III, who is my next suggestion as the historical failure on whom Trump seems to be modelling himself. It's not the bar...

But man, proud man, Drest in a little brief authority,  Most ignorant of what he's most assured,  His glassy essence, like an angry ape,...

  "There is no law by which to determine the superiority of nations; hence the vanity of the claim, and the idleness of disputes about ...

 

  “TARIFF, n. A scale of taxes on imports, designed to protect the domestic producer against the greed of his consumer.” - Ambrose Pierce, T...

 If most of you will excuse the self-indulgence, this is a message specifically for the reader who has recently been reading a particular su...

 Culture has been to the fore at the Casa Epictetus recently, in a tasty salmagundi of film, gospel music, calligraphy, West End musicals an...

 In my last post I said that the opening scene of 'Owen Wingrave' contained a reference to Austerlitz. I nearly made a smug comment ...

 And so to the opera. Regular readers will know that going to the opera is as close to my heart as indulging in a bit of toy soldier action....

 The usual list of mostly new-to-me games: Antike : Yet another game of civilisation building around the Mediterranean. This one hinges on w...

 No sooner am I back than I am going away again. However, I do just have time for a little wargames coverage, illustrated as usual with one ...

 Apologies for my absence, but this retirement malarkey doesn't leave one any free time. Amongst other things I have been to Largs and t...

 " There are no galley-slaves in the royal vessel of divine love - every man works his oar voluntarily!" - Saint Francis de Sales ...

 " And a thing is not seen because it is visible, but  conversely, visible because it is seen" - Plato We finally got round to hav...

 Actually, it was exactly the same cowboys as the previous time. Plans to expand the game foundered on a lack of the correct paperwork. The ...

 As previously mentioned, we have been intending to play with some of Peter's collections which never saw action while he was alive. My ...

 We played Ravenna again last week. The French won again, this time without even reaching the barricades of the Holy League, let alone cross...

 

 There has been the first wargame of the year, the snow having cleared and Storm  Éowyn not having yet arrived. We are going to have a run o...

  "Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again." -  Andr...

 Back to the Mexican Revolution, but probably not for long. So, I bought some 20mm Mexican Revolution figures on eBay for a price that I tho...