New Year's Eve

Well it is 5:11pm. Just got soaked walking the dogs, so now I am in my PJs and snuggling down for a quiet evening in.

Don't worry, I have a grear bottle of wine to keep me company while I paint some toy soldiers that Santa brought me.

Have a great new year, however you decide to spend it!

See you soon!

Boxing Day

This has been the best Christmas for years.  Plenty of great food, happy family etc.  The only down side has been the rain which was meant wet dog walks.  Maybe I will rewrite White Chridtmas as Wet Christmas for next year?

I am off to play wargames tomorrow. Should be fun as it is with a bunch I have only met once before but they seem to be nice guys.  The game will be Vlad the Impaler's army against the Turks. Watch out for photos of the game soon.

Watched a great film last night - Cockneys vs Zombies.  Imagine Eastenders with Zombies.  Very funny, for example there is a scene where an old man with a walking frame is trying to run away from the slow, shambling zombies. Brilliant. It should be a classic. Just watch out for the truly authentic Eastend bad language...

Right, contemplating an early night now as I have an early start tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Happy Christmas!

I suspect that this will be my last post for a few days, so have a fantastic time.  Next year promises to be a grand year, including my graduation, 50th birthday and my Grand Tour!  I hope you will all hang around and share it with me!

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a totally spiffing 2013

Rock Chef

Glass half full!

Still Here!

Well today is nearly over and the world is still here - I guess we get Christmas afterall! Stupid Mayans, what did they know anyway?

 

So, while Mrs RC and Number One Son discuss their views on the practicalities of gun control in the USA, I will grab the laptop and do a longer post than my last one.

 

The town Christmas Tree has got some more decorations.  A bit messy, but at least people are showing that they care. 

 

 

Very Charlie Brown, IMO!  Apparently we have been promised a REALLY REAL good tree next year...

 

And today was not just the day that the world was supposed to end, it was also Custard's 7th birthday!

 

Look at that handsome chap!  I snapped this as he waited for his birthday chews.  Bryn and Frou Frou were also treated, of course and seemed to enjoy the day too.

 

We are all ready for Christmas now - I am relaxing on the sofa, typing this and sipping a glass of wine.  Oooh Yeah.  I have been waiting for this! [slurp]

 

Oh, before I go, here are some photos of a wargame I played last night - Egyptians against Hittites, using a friend's brand new, professionally painted armies.  I was Hittites and scraped a victory, after luckily killing the Pharoah.

 

 

The Hitites storming past a pyramid.

 

 

The armies close.

 

 

Having ripped through the centre of my army, these Egyptian Chariots pick on my poor foot sloggers.  At this point I thought I had lost the game, but a lucky hit killed the Pharoah soon after this was taken and the Egyptians lost heart. Of course, in true Egyptian style they would soon be pretending that this defeat was actually a glorious victory (the Anciet Egyptians seeming to have invented "spin"...)

 

Have a great Christmas if I am not back for a few days!

 

Shop til you drop

Then get up and carry on!

Christmas can begin!

 

My local train station - a typical small station, dating to the mid 1800s.  Not much has changed here over the years - the main change that I have seen is the closure of the coal siding which would have been behind me when I took this pic.

 

The good old "moving staircases" that to to the London Underground system.  These were always one of the highlights of a trip to London when I was a child.

 

Waiting for the train.

 

Here it is!

 

Euston - much newer and bigger than my local station....

 

Trying to work out which of the 16 platforms I need to be at...

 

THE TRAIN APPROACHING PLATFORM 16 IS BRINGING YOUR SON HOME FROM UNIVERSITY.