In February this year we finally took the plunge, upped sticks and moved south to Kent, an absolutely beautiful county full of greenery, fresh air and of course, history. A far cry from the more industrial midlands. We are now completely settled in and loving every moment. Ten minutes walk from the town centre where there is every major outlet except that in amongst all of them are some independent traders and some original half timbered buildings. There is even a stone building that dates back to 15 something or another.
YO got herself married in April, her and her affianced decided to take it abroad and tied the knot in Sorrernto, Italy. Ma Subs and myself went over for the week and, to be honest, for most of the time the weather was sh*te...apart from one day, the day of the wedding. Perfect blue, cloudless skies, excellent food and with Mount Vesuvius as a backdrop, what more could one want? MO -who by the way got himself married last November at Browns in Mayfair, quite a swanky joint and now lives in Chingford- managed to get there but his wife couldn't make it as she had been on the wrong end of an RTA and had been shunted into an estate agents window the day before they were due to fly out. Bit of a dampner but fortunately, she has made a full recovery. OO couldn't make it due to prior work commitments. For everyone that couldn't get to Sorrento they had an English reception in early June so it meant another trip back up to Brum -the previous expeditions up the M1 had been in March for a suit fitting and April to get the plane from East Midlands airport for Sorrento. More than 250 people turned up and it was an absolutely fantastic night.
OO moved south with us, lived here for a while then got himself a job in London so has moved into a flat in Woolwich. So now it's just Ma Subs and moi rattling around. She was extremely ill back in March and spent a week in the local hospital, fortunately she is well on the mend so it's all good now.
Wargaming wise, since Derby last year, where I went probably for the last time because it's at Donnington Park quite close to the racetrack and, similar to Salute, it's in the equivalent of an aircraft hanger but noisier with the cars going round the track. Didn't enjoy it too much. The only real upside was a pre-arranged meeting with a number of wargamers on the WD3 forum; really great bunch of people and a good couple of pints were enjoyed by all. Met up with a gentleman I had not spoken to or even thought about for at least 25 years -blimey, doesn't time fly when you are having fun- after finding him on t'interweb. Amazing. He now lives just over the river in Essex so we are in the process of arranging to have a game in the next couple of months.
Last month my mate -who moved here in August last year and once again only lives across the road- and I went to Broadside in Sittinbourne where -long story short- he bought some Medieval Polish and I bought some Medieval Russians...in plastic. Now before you completely poo-poo the idea take a look at some of the pics below. Using a new painting system of white enamel undercoat, brown wash to accentuate details, block colours and then another brown wash for shadow, since early June I have painted 48 infantry and a dozen cavalry; for me it's almost speed painting!. I'm so impressed with this new -to me at least- method that I am going to try some 15's or even 10's later...I will keep you updated.
These two are just a taster. I have taken other pics but they are still on my camera so I will post some more next time.
That's about it for now, I'm off to enjoy some lunch in the sunshine in the county known as the Garden of England.
No comments:
Post a Comment