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'A gaping silken dragon,/Puffed by the wind, suffices us for God./We, not the City, are the Empire's soul:/A rotten tree lives only in its rind.'

Monday 7 October 2013

On watch...

It is late summer in the ancient town of Brnad, once famous for its monastery and beer but now fallen into genteel decay. Even the political and military tensions between its mother country, Maltovia, and neighbouring Lovitzna seem to have past the old ramparts by. Only a small half regiment of garrison troops, Les invalides, keep watch over the rolling countryside and border forests. It is quiet, but old Major Vlasov wonders, in time honoured fashion:


'Is it too damn'd quiet?'


He might have a few regulars with the latest Maxim, but the old walls weren't made for modern, Nineteenth Century warfare, and his men aren't as young or hale as they used to be; or as he used to be, come to that.


The old bastion, and the half demolished walls, although from the border trees


Brnad still has something of its strength about it.


My apologies, dear readers, for the dreadful lack of posts of late. I will not bore you with trials and tribulations, but there have also been good reasons why I have slacked on the blog front. Firstly, the keen eyed might notice that the coming Maltovia-Lovitzna clash has been set up in a new environment. I will no longer clutter up the dining table, as I have, finally, finally, decluttered my shed and equipped it for table top war. 

Also, as the nights have closed in on the still beautiful days of this early English autumn/fall, I have been sipping imperial ale:


and reading absolutely first rate yarns. Gavin Lyall's last four novels:


were undoubtedly his best. They tell the imaginary tale of Britain's new 'Secret Service Bureau', just before the Great War, and they are a delight. In fact they are only rivalled by the fine 'Mamur Zapt' series by Michael Pearce:


 Both series are heartily recommended to the type of chap who likes toy soldiers, yarns, history and good beer.

10 comments:

  1. Brnad is very impressive! Love the Maxim, new fangled technology or not (give me a trusty Nordenfelt)! :)

    The Gavin Lyall books intrigue me - luckily they have a number of this series on Audible (I like to listen to books on my long commute). So I will give one of these a try.

    Great work!

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    1. You said it - 'new fangled technology'! It had a clear shot at a regiment in column, in the open, and, yes, it jammed first round!

      Lyall wrote over quite a long time and his earlier ones are a bit dated now, but the Harry Maxim (!) books are ok, and the last 4 British Secret Service Bureau ones are top banana.

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  2. Brnad is a great set up.Found my Vauban walls ( identical almost to yours) yesterday in the shed.It just shows what can be done with them.They work so well with the 40mm chaps.The buildings are home made,do tell us more.
    The shed is now a permanent set up is it? Great ,that de cluttering was really worth it.
    In one picture there appears to be a wood burning stove.We are considering one and I wondered if you could tell us a little about it...

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    1. Yes, the Vaubans are very versatile - I intend (and some point in the next x number of years) to use them for a version of Calais 1940. The church is foam core and the house is wood, both finished toy soldier style.

      Well spotted on the stove front! It's a Jotul that I got off e-bay. Jotul are the best, Norwegian things that start at around £1200, but I got mine (perfect condition) for ... £200. Bargain of the year. It's going to be plumbed in (or whatever one says) next week - not so cheap... £900. I'll let you know how it goes, but it's absolutely key to being able to use the Hobbit bunker over the winter.

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  3. A lonely and no doubt undervalued job, standing watch. Bit what a grand fortress to watch over!

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    1. Yes, a decent man, heart of lead alloy. He did think he had a job that was a case of 'duty without glory', but things are looking different... (all Rattle of Dice of course!).

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  4. Nice looking pics and figures!

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    1. Thank you, kind sir. They're Irregular Miniatures 42mm, sound chaps every man of them!

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  5. At last, your own man cave. Nice little setup and the ale looks good too. Have you sorted out heating in the shed? I believe it is going to turn a bit colder tomorrow.

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    1. Yes ! The delight. And it's only taken me 10 years to get it sorted! Heating ? All planned - see my response to Alan above. Jotul heaven. I hope.

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