The Miller's Tale - Episode 10

Episode 10: In which the podcast reaches double figures, and Mike has his first ever guest, namely James Morris!

Links from the episode:

• James' website: mogsymakes.net
• James on social media: Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram and probably mogsymakes anywhere else you can think of!
• Midgard Heroic Battles videos from TFL:
• Midgard Heroic Battles. An Introduction
• Midgard Heroic Battles Part 2: A Look at a Typical Force
• Pre-orders:
• From Too Fat Lardies/Reisswitz Press in the UK
• From Karwansary Publishing in Europe
• James on the 20 Sided Gamified podcast
• That Partizan backdrop.....

Catchup, news

Two days after the
burst water main. From
our bedroom window.
And yes, they worked
overnight all week.

Just about got over the house being flooded at the end of May - last carpets/etc went in at the beginning of September (which means we're no longer trying to fit N+1 rooms worth of people and stuff into N-3 rooms) , and the new kitchen goes in later this month. Life has been... um... interesting for a while, hence the partial radio silence.

So. 

Time for a catchup.

• Just got back from the Innsmouth Literary Festival in Bedford at the weekend, where the club put on 'The Battle of New Innsmouth', a scifi retake of watery weirdnesses attacking a coastal settlement. Photos below.
• The club put on a game at Sutton Hoo over the summer (thanks to my good friend Andy Hawes) - watch this space for more, or see it at The Other Partizan. Come say hi!
• We also put on a game celebrating Operation: Market Garden (specifically the actions around Nijmegen involving the 82nd Airborne), in the Lincolnshire village of Folkingham, from which they originally took off. Martin S-C's excellent photos are on the club Facebook page.
• Posh Lard has sadly been cancelled (due mostly to a lack of spoons (see above) on my part). Back next year.
• So, sadly, was Hereward Wargames Show, but this time due to a lack of roof on the venue! Again, we'll be back next year!
• Ran a bunch of BattleTech games for the club, shows and even as far afield as Shetland. Again, pictures below, but most of my BattleTech stuff can be found on Tales From The Periphery, my BattleTech podcast and occasional blog.
• Re podcasts, I have two episodes of The Miller's Tale lined up for later this month - and they will both have actual living breathing guests! (and relevant ones, at that!)
• The club's weekly Wednesday evening 'Paint and B***h' session chez moi continues (apart from a break for a month or two when the workshop was full of furniture and guitars (again, see above)), and is a welcome weekly sanity break - thanks guys.

The Battle Of New Innsmouth

Assorted BattleTech:

The Miller's Tale - Episode 9

Episode 9: in which Mike once again attempts to remember how the heck the Heath Robinson-esque collection of RSS feed generator, local webspace and heaven knows what else all hooks together. And attempts to get caught up, and rambles about a 40-year old wargame...

Links from this episode

• Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro filament printer
• XTool S1 laser cutter
• Tales From The Periphery - my new podcast
• The BattleTech portal page
• Brutal Cities MDF terrain

Still chairman...

 

...after last night's AGM. Which, unlike last year, I actually managed to attend. 

Per a sidebar with Reuben, I note that this is the start of my second decade as chairman. I also note that my blog is much more reliable than my memory for this kind of thing :D

And here comes 2024...

I have plans. 

I'm definitely not stupid enough to expect these to survive contact with the enemy but, hey, we can hope, right?

So, on the todo list:

• Finish the Dux Compendium :D (attempting to achieve headspace for that at present)
• Paint a lot more BattleTech stuff (no, more than that, the Kickstarter's arriving Q2 and, erm, well, I may have indulged in considerable retail therapy....)
• Run campaigns at the club
• What a Cowboy (deferred from 2023 for obvious reasons) - Q1/2
• BattleTech: Alpha Strike - details TBC - Q3/4
• Run RPGs @ home. My long-running (since 2019) weekly sanity break Zoom-based 5E campaign finished in December, and I'm aiming to split my time going forward with two fortnightly ones:
• a 5E campaign set in a different corner of my world
• a BattleTech RPG campaign set on - well, that's a secret for now
• Start on the Epic ACW plastic (and MDF) pile
• Finish the 15mm Bulge forces and buildings, consider an IABSM Bulge narrative campaign later in the year
• Get someone else to paint my 28mm British and French, and play some Sharp Practice 2
• Play with the laser cutter
• Blog and podcast as and when.

Yes, that's a fair bit, but, to misquote Robert Browning, "a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a hobby for?" (hands up who thought that was Kipling? - I did)