Nearly went for a good meal.

My weekend started off well, with a 40K war game in the Chimera shop with Jock. We had 4 players turn up who played the early game, two of them very young there 1st proper war game. Of these Jock looked after the one that was very intent and lisened to what was said while his dad watched on not realising a war game take about 3 hours, the other child I looked after was I'm afraid the opposite he was playing his own game making up his own the rules as he went along, moving random distances, throwing dice for no particular reason, and goading the other children with the size of tank I was shattered by time we had done the 1st game. For 2nd game we only had the 2 older children who knew a bit about the rules and Gabriel, this made a far better game, and while we my side lost big time, Gabriel knows how far to move and listens to advice, although he seems to like throwing 1's, that is except when 1's are needed then he throws six's, I enjoyed the game unlike the morning game which I found hard work.

Sunday I was going for mid day meal to celebrate my sister birthday, I picked my Mum and sister up and was driving along when I changed down gear as we approach a set of red traffic lights, I felt a shudder through my clutch and could not find gear. I put the clutch in and manged to keep enough momentum in the car to keep it going through the lights and round the corner onto a industrial estate, as I tried again to find gear again. I then heard and felt a bang as the clutch pedal snapped to car floor. I had just got the car back from the garage 3 days ago having had the clutch arm replaced due to difficulties finding reverse gear. I phoned the recovery service and my mother and sister arranged with my brother to picked up and to go on for their meal while I waited for them to turn up.
The recovery guy turned up 2 hours later with me feeling rather hungry probably because my mind was all set on some good pub grub.

Prognosis the new clutch arm had shared off, the mechanic waddling the nice new clean and shinny part in front of me on the end of the Hydraulics cable, "not be fixing that" he says showing me where 3" of metal had just snapped, needs a new part and your gearbox out again.
So since he couldn't tow a 4x4 and the car wanted sending back to garage for repair anyway which was 10 miles in the other direction to my home and shut until Monday, I got a lift home and left them to organise my cars transport to Derby.
My warranty as well as providing recovery also provided a free hire car in case of breakdown so I phoned them up only to discover because its Sunday only the East Midlands airport is open and I either have to get there (they did offer to pay for a taxi) or wait until Monday for a car, so tell them to forget it and arrange a lift to work, I will then phone Land Rover Monday am to find out what they intend.

So I arrived home 3 and 1/2 hours after setting out and raided the freezer for food.

My sister did phone me up later to console me on missing a good meal.

Cars!

Day off

On Tuesday I went to see Cloverfield, a movie made to look like it was all filmed as diary on a hand held camcorder, I won't tell you what happens but its a sci-fi Horror set in New York, and very harrowing. I enjoyed it if thats the word since can a movie with not laugh to be found, just lots of traumatic scenes be called enjoyable.

Then yesterday I had the day off work to wait in for the electric supplier, to swap my meter and also to take my car to the garage for a gear selection problem which turned out to be clutch problem.

I took my car to garage and was back home by half eight and set myself to wait in for the electric supplier, they turned up at 10 and were gone by 20 past, so I managed to get out house, after painting a few figures I visited Chimera and few other shops.

My car is still at the garage and I have the courtesy car for a extra day, while they replace the clutch arm (whatever that is) under warranty.

Oh and I saw my neighbor for the 1st time in 3 years since he abandoned his renovations, started 8 years ago, he never moved in. He had been burgled while I was in York so he was cutting his hedge down, which seems really odd, now hes done it, I can see the road, I'm not sure yet if I like it over the privacy his tall hedge created, but he thinks it will help security since people will now be able to see his house from the road. Its also seems his extension did not pass planning permission which was why it was abandoned it with just the walls up to mid height.

Mullered

This weekend I travelled to York for a AscendancyLRP event, Dave arrived by train and we travelled up in my car arriving early, no traffic issues, and so did everyone else so time in started 2 hours earlier than usual.

It was a good event, that had lots of issues for those with a conscience to cogitate over, although some people wanted it to be black and white, good and evil, it was well written plot which meant no such luxuries were available.

By the mid afternoon Saturday my character was that mullered through circumstance beyond his control that he was 1 second from death and only saved by 5 other players keeping pressure on his wounds while the medics worked away. At that point the character was so weakened that he dropped out of game and I became crew for the rest of day playing various combats bunnies, although I did get chance to play a undead man servant called Ingrid to a undead Queen, Ingrid loved flowers particularly wilting ones, and was learning to cook, but failed to grasp the living preferred their food warm & fresh, not cooked a week earlier.

The weather was lovely warm sun all day, but dry clear skys so cold nights, we built smokey fires in the huts, but they don't help much, other than giving all your clothing a nice wood smokey smell, and making your throat sore.

I delivered Dave home since otherwise he would have needed to have left his gear at my house, then found a suitable weekend train and was home by 7pm, time enough to type this.

What did I do this weekend?

I had a quiet end to week, apart trips to the shops I've not left the house, my produce for the weekend appears to be yet more painted figures, yet more figures to paint courtesy of volunteering to help AndyL with his army for Ascendancy.

Below is photo of the painted Eldar for my 40K army.



I collected 40 plastic figures from AndyL to paint, which being plastic needed 1st assembling, the smell of glue giving me headache as I spent 2 1/2 hours Saturday evening gluing the 1st 20 together, for the rest I opened the windows and did Sunday morning. I also tried to undercoat them outside, however I did not realise the strength of the wind which blew the figures off the board and the black spray backwards over mind hand, so I gave that up and will try again on a less windy day.

Apart from that I got a haircut, entertained my cat, watched TV, but did no cleaning, no tidying, no ironing, no household chores whatsoever.

Jasmine was pain with both my figure painting and photos wanting to get in on the act of both, as can be seen by the photos below when I tried to photograph my Eldar.



She also decided to drink my pink paintbrush water, (pink due to the red figures I had painted), and knock off the table 10 figure I left balanced (foolishly) while the varnish dried and I made a cup of tea.

Anyway a couple of photos of Jasmine outside having a grass lunch.

Diet so far

I started my diet after Christmas and appear to have lost about 3-5lbs since then, I'm not entire sure, because it seems to fluctuate, perhaps water loss or something, or I need to weigh myself at specific times, anyway on average I'm weighing less.

My Diet plan such that it is, is to to cut down a little on everything and cut out snacks totally except events.

To achieve this no biscuits, cakes, crisps, crackers, wafer exist in my house and none are bought. On the general cut down thing I take 2 cobs in lieu of 3 to work, buy a loaf of bread half the size, and put out smaller portions on my plate. I've supplemented one whole meal for a baked potato with a bit of cheese & swapped oven chips for boiled potatoes.

My nibbles now are only fruit, 2 or 3 apples a day when peckish, plus orange, grapes, I've no fruit juice or fizzy drinks in the house, so its fruit tea or water.

The other area I've cut out is visit to sandwich van which visits where I work, where I regularly purchased pasties, cakes and cheese and bacon melts, which as I've typed this have made me drool.

I'm no diet expert, but it seem to be working, I need to increase my activity, which the spring and summer I hope will do.

Then just need to keep it up loose another 4-6 lbs and by the summer I may be back to where I was in summer 2006 (or better), which was 1 1/2 stone lighter than I was in summer 2004.

Battle plans

This weekend I finally got to play the Ascendancy war game I had been painting figures for, modelling a mine entrance (see photo below of finished mine) for & designing tactics for.

I had everything finished by Thursday although Friday I received an email saying players were sending extra troops meaning extra figures so had to dig into my old figure supply and find something suitable. The only problem area being a female Fey player who generally wears green, having nothing suitable she was represented by a green wraith (see photo below)

Saturday I had early start since I wanted a friendly face to help play the game so arranged to pick up my friend Dave from Coventry, thankfully his other half Julie agreed to pick him up and take him home. I therefore up by 6.30am I collected Dave who wants to write his own rules system, so I him gave lots of alternative approaches to think about and before I knew it our conversation had returned us to Ripley.

The game was taking place in the Chimera shop, my job being mainly to record what happened for a write up post battle for the players. I also looked after the player’s character figures while Andy looked after the bad guys and JohnT and Dave played the main forces Generals.

During the game I was visited by Jock, then an hour later his wife Bridgette who brought me a surprise present to let me make creamy latte coffees ,while Julie also gave a present of another box of Cherry & Cinnamon tea, so thanks to both of them.

The game lasted about 4 and half hours and was evenly matched until the last role of the dice, when the Ascendancy player’s side won, but only just.

Post battle a War hammer player turned up with her army and asked for a refresher course in the rules, JohnT and Dave obliged while I cleared things away, ready for shop closing.

We all then went for bite to eat at the pub, before retreating to Andy house for chat, unfortunately for Julie and Heather mainly about rules and war games.

By 10pm however my early start and war game had took its toll and mentally I was ready to retire so left for home to find my cat Jasmine sitting in the upstairs window of my house, she had been shut upstairs all day, but somehow managed to cross her legs until I got home.

Finding that old tube of glue.

I have been busy painting, modelling and gathering forces for a Warhammer battle based in the Ascendancy world.

My 1st task was dusting off old Citadel miniature figures, lots of dwarves mounted on bits of cardboard with crude by today's standard plaster bases, these all needed the chipped paintwork touching up and then re-basing on Games workshop plastic bases.

Then I needed to help with the opposing forces, so found some old chaos thugs marauders which I had based but not painted, so these 30 figures were painted, varnished and made ready.


The scenario is based on a bolt by forces from a remote unprotected mine to safety with a ancient artifact, so last night I started scratch building a 1/60 th scale mine entrance to decorate the board, built from cardboard, balsa wood, plaster and rocks.
Building it will be a close call allowing for drying time of the plaster, and paint, so the model had to built last night, unprepared I had no materials, so nipped to the garage for glue, used some exterior filler instead of quick drying plaster, and found myself searching for small rocks by torchlight to decorate the feature, now undercoated, just needs the final paint job and few decorations.


Nearly done, I've collected the other figures, scanned over a copy of the current rules which a similar enough to the old rules I played 20 odd years ago, so that only leaves collecting my opponent and playing the game, all of which I'm looking forward to.

A few of 250 dwarves re-based