One ping only

I watched this recently with the Kinchlets and very good it was too.  John McTiernan’s submarine thriller is taut and well served by its cast.  Basil Poledouris's score is a joy and I really didn't find Connery's Scottish accent off putting, which I know some viewers did.   Alec Baldwin does a good turn as an unlikely action hero and the supporting cast are uniformly excellent.

All in all recommended.

The Kinchlets wriggled enthusiastically to the music which is also a plus.  But they just seem to like anything that's loud.

An Atlantic Convoy laid out on the board

My pal, Dr. Creaner, has a copy of "The Hunt for Red October" board game released by TSR many moons ago.  I haven't played many naval games, but this one seemed to strike the right balance for me - proceeding at a decent clip, but also presenting some genuine tactical problems.

For those who are unaware - The Hunt for Red October board game is superficially a board game of the book/film.  There are eight scenarios in the box, one of which involves chasing the rogue Soviet submarine across the Atlantic.  Having read it, I'm not sure how much fun it would be.

The other seven scenarios are devoted to naval engagements during a Cold War turned hot. Game play is very simple, the pieces are designed to allow the players to see where an enemy is, but nothing more.  Pieces are rated by type (surface vessel, sub, aircraft, etc), attack value and detection value.

Detection is everything, if you can spot your enemy before he spots you, it is likely going to end very badly for him. There is an old saying, which I am probably misremembering but it goes something like this, "Blessed is he whose cause is just, but three times blessed is he who gets his blow in first." No where is that more true than in submarine combat.

Soviet subs attempting to harass a NATO convoy

We managed to play three games in a very leisurely evening, while learning the rules and I hope that we'll be able to give this another go in the near future.  In our first game, I managed to swarm the USN and RN around Iceland and while my Foxtrots and Alfas were sent to the bottom, the exchange rate in Trafalgars and Los Angele's was equal which was very bad news for NATO.

Admiral Creaner considering his Anti-Sub screen

Sydney and Admiral Creaner played a convoy game which didn't go so well for the Soviets. Penetrating a convoys anti submarine piquet is no joke and we worked out that it was far more useful to work out where the convoy needed to be and then lie in wait for them.  This is slightly complicated by the fact that while the US convoy is slow moving and fairly predictable, they do have Los Angeles class subs attempting to disrupt the Soviet attacks - so a Soviet player who is too cautious could find himself being counter ambushed.

An enjoyable game and at a sufficient level of complexity - actually I think it might be fairer to say - of sufficient simplicity  - to keep my interest while still reflecting some of the problems of naval engagements.  Actually, I came across an interesting idea recently in the work of a Canadian academic called Jordan Peterson, which was the idea of the "low resolution representation".  The idea is that people have cognitive structures that they use to deal with problems - essentially stories that they tell themselves. These stories vary in complexity, but what matters is if they are true enough for the purpose they are put to.  A hydrologist might have a higher resolution mental model of currents and movements of water than a fisherman, but that might not matter to the fisherman who will have to make more decisions much more quickly than the hydrologist.  The fisherman's "rules of thumb" might be inaccurate in some cases, but so long as they as mostly true, most of the time, they serve their purpose.

A good game might need to be sufficiently high resolution to capture some sense of the thing that it is representing, while being of a sufficiently low resolution to be playable in a reasonable amount of time. The appropriate level of resolution will depend on what your goal is. 

My father in law put this together while we were all dying of the lurgy. It's solid, the cover is screwed to the timber underneath and then again to the floor. It's on legs so that Arthur Kinch cannot repeat his trick of building a ramp of cushions against it. Something similar was tried by the Romans at the Siege of Jerusalem I believe. 

Unfortunately the Kinch household is just a riot of chest infections, coughs, spluttering, paracetemol and anti-biotics, so we've had to batten down the hatches. Arthur and Gordon have borne it with remarkable stoicism for babies their age, something I wish I could say about their parents. 

Unfortunately, we somewhat underestimated Arthur's ingenuity.  Within twelve hours, he'd managed to pile cushions against the window and wedge himself against the wall in such a way that he could get up to swipe the little wooden bandsmen that went around the tree. 

Arthur Kinch will be getting this for Christmas.  I may have made a terrible mistake. 

Gordon is getting far more sensible LEGO, which she really enjoys (having played with a friends), but which doesn't make a noise. 

Bruneval Raid Documentary

The Bruneval Raid - AKA Operation Biting. 

This is Lewis, who goes by the name of TIK on YouTube.  He got extremely browned off with the sort of nonsense the History Channel were broadcasting and decided to try his hand at making his own Second World War documentaries. 

The production values are very good for a one man band and his presentation is good.  What makes Lewis stand out is that he goes into considerable depth on his subject (the link above is 90 minutes long) and is upfront about his sources (all of which are listed in the video description).  I particularly liked the section at the end of this video where he discusses the discrepancies between his sources and his own interpretation of the evidence. 

Here's another of his pieces on Operation Battle Axe.  There's also stuff on Eban Emel, the Soviet Purges and Operation Barbarossa as well as (computer) wargaming. 

Definitely recommended. 

Raid on the Safe House

The Safe House

We managed to get another Black Ops game in last week, which was great fun. The game was set in my "London Calling" setting.  It's 1979, the Soviets have rolled across the Central German Plain and it's all gone wrong.  The UK has been invaded and occupied.  Resistance is scattered and disorganised and has only limited contact with the government in exile in Canada. 

This is, of course, an excuse to pit the boys from the Sweeney, the Professionals and various TV favourites against the Soviets in a manner similar to the old Invasion! 2000AD comic strip, mixed with a good dollop of the Garnet books and some Secret Army. 

You can see some more of our London Calling games here. 

The Tooting People's Popular Front

The mission was a joint operation between the Tooting People's Popular Front (a Trotskyite group not popular with the Soviets) and the Baker Street Irregulars (a group of disgruntled former coppers and soldiers).  They had learned that an isolated farmhouse was being used by the MVD to interrogate prisoners and store intelligence. They've had the site under observation for several days and determined that there is only a skeleton crew present as there are no prisoners.  The plan is to get in, destroy or steal whatever intelligence is present and get out. 

The Baker Street Irregulars. 

The Bakers Street Irregulars are a group of disgruntled former police officers (many of whom bear a striking resemblance to a certain programme known as "The William") and army personnel who have decided to take up arms against the occupation. Led by the hardnosed DI Burnside, they approached the rendezvous.  One point which I really enjoyed was that Mr E was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't bring a vehicle on the board without raising the alarm.  We were talking about it and he realised, "Well, I could just turn the engine off, leave off the handbrake and push it onto the board." 

On the approach

This is the sort of semi roleplaying approach to wargaming that I find really interesting, so Mr. E's lads duly pushed the car on, covered it with brush and scoped out the rest of the terrain.  The discovered three things; all unpleasant.  

1. There were a number of blinds scattered around the table and they weren't where he expected them to be.  These turned out to be undergrowth laced with trip flares.  

2. There was a guard tower that wasn't there tree days ago. This was manned by a lad with a PKM.  Anyone who set off a flare was going to have a very bad day indeed. 

But thirdly and most importantly, the Tooting Popular Front hadn't shown up.  Mr E and I were chatting and having some dinner and then we began to wonder where Capability Savage was.  He was an hour late, so I called him to find out where he was.  It turned out that he had been busy with work and had completely forgotten about the game.  He couldn't make it. 

We reckoned that the Tooting Peoples Popular Front had gotten in an argument on the way to the rendezvous and had to convene a full council to discuss the distribution of ammunition to each man ("Or woman." "Thanks Stan, or woman") The result was a long row, they became distracted and didn't make it to the rendezvous. 

Mr. E decided to go it alone. This was an interesting decision as while I scaled down the garrison a bit, I couldn't do so completely.  Consequently, Mr. E ended up taking on more than he'd initially bargained for. 

Raymondo takes up position

I'm afraid I was too distracted playing and enjoying the game to take enough photos.  But you should be able to get some sort of idea of what was going on.  

Raymondo, the Baker St Irregulars sniper, moved forward, while the rest of the team busied themselves identifying and disarming the flares. It was only half way through this process that we realised that without a turn limit (which this scenario didn't have) this was only really a time wasting exercise for the attacker.  I was happy with how the mechanics worked, but I think I will have to think more carefully about how they integrated into the scenario. 

Raymondo took out the sentry in the tower with a single shot.  The attackers held their breath, but while several of the other guards moved in that direction - they weren't certain enough to raise the alarm. 

Burnside and the lads kick the door in

With one side of the safe house temporarily uncovered, the "Spud" and his GPMG team and Raymondo covered the other two sides.  Meanwhile, I moved my sentries around to try and get a bead on Burnside and his team. They decided to take a calculated risk and kicked the door in. They were lucky.  They had located the interrogation room (of which, the less said the better, but I took some inspiration from here) and the filing cabinets.  

A short firefight with the surprised Soviet occupants generated a great deal of noise and the alarm was raised. 

RIP Chalky

While Burnside and his team were grabbing intelligence files and setting incendiaries on everything that they could not carry, Chalky decided to run to the next section of the safehouse.  Mr. E knew that my Ace (commander figure) was there and had raised the alarm (not hard considering the racket coming from next door) and was now calling for reinforcements. 

Unfortunately for Chalky, he didn't realise that it wasn't *just* the Ace in the radio room and the four guards came as a complete and very lethal surprise. 

With Chalky down and the Soviets on full alert, the GPMG team opened up and poured suppressive fire on that portion of the safehouse, pinning the guards within. Raymondo managed to take one of the guards on other flank, but his mates managed to spot him and return fire. Both sides ducked down and the Soviets made a run for the cover of the buildings. 

The firefight hotted up as the sentries that escaped Raymondo, roused the rest of the garrison. Meanwhile, "Spud" brassed up the side of the house again, pinning the Soviet commander, Major "Zmei" and his bodyguards.  I took a risk and took a hit on "Zmei" so that I could make another reinforcement roll.  I managed to pass the save, but did very well on the reinforcement roll. 

This put me on the horns of a dilemma.  I had done so well on the reinforcement roll that I could call them in now, but it would effectively amount to an infantry patrol.  Probably enough to mess up the partisans day, but not necessarily wipe them out.  However, I had done so well, that if I waited a turn and managed to roll even reasonably, I could call in a vehicle (likely a BDRM) which would be invulnerable to Mr E weapons.  Thinking ahead, he sent Raymondo back to start the car. 

I gambled and Major "Zmei" kept calling for reinforcements, while his escort hunkered down.  

Meanwhile, across the courtyard, a desperate battle was taking place.  The building on the left was occupied by Soviet troops, while the BSI were holed up in the one on the right.  This was really heating up and I was finally able to get my numbers to tell. I was hoping to pin them in place, so that my flanking force would be able to finish them.  Unfortunately, "Spud" and his GPMG team managed to keep up the fire and effectively suppress the flankers. 

Taking their opportunity and as the files started to burn, Reg Hollis threw a smoke grenade into the yard and the team made a dash for the car.  Lofty was hit as they made their escape, Burnside and Reg dragged him out of the burning building as the game entered a new phase.  

The smoke is Teddy bear stuffing with a couple of Euro Shop LED candles chucked underneath.  As we had done justice to the drinks cabinet at that point, Mr E and I decided to see if we could thicken up the smoke with extra cigar smoke.  It seems to have worked. 

At this point, I'm afraid I forgot to take any more pictures because I became too wrapped up in the game.  Raymondo managed to get the car up, while Burnside and his crew jumped aboard.  I rallied the remainder of the garrison and brought on my trump card, a BDRM.  This was where it got interesting.  The turning rules in Black Ops are quite strict for vehicles and what followed was nerve wracking. 

The game turned into an approximation of this scene from everyone's favourite educational programme.  Burnside and his boys struggled to get everyone into the car, while I executed a textbook Soviet forward dash.  The lads ran forward in a rough line, firing from the hip, those that could see shot at the car, those that couldn't suppressed likely escape routes, so that they would be channeled into the waiting arms of the BDRM. 

Reg Hollis was hit as they broke for cover, whereupon the BDRM opened up with it's 14.5 MG, which left the passengers unharmed, but shagged the engine.  Burnside and his team, decamped from the now dead car and ran into the woods.  They were pursued by the BDRM, but managed to lose it in the trees.  With many casualties of their own and with no night vision, the BDRM crew decided that discretion was the better part of valour.   Major "Zmei" was not best pleased. 

Gone, but not forgotten. 

The Baker Street Irregulars had accomplished their mission.  They had destroyed the intelligence cache and managed to escape with some files.  However, it had cost them dearly, losing three, very hard to replace men, Chalky, Lofty and Reg. 

Worryingly, Burnside and Chris had been trying to stabilise Chalky before the car was knocked out.  Now all three men had fallen wounded into the Russians hands, which given Major "Zmei"s hobbies was a pretty dreadful place to be. The look on Mr E's face when my troops swarmed the car and I announced that they were going to try first aid on his wounded men was priceless.  Chalky had already expired, the motor riflemen were unable to stablise Lofty, but they managed it with Reg. 

Poor old Mr. E was looking distinctly queasy when he picked up the die to see how Reg fared. Fortunately for Reg, Mr. E rolled a one and Constable Hollis expired peacefully in a hospital bed before the MVD could get their claws on him. 

In conclusion,  this was a tough game for both parties, with wild swings of fortune. The luck was with Mr E for the first half of the game and began to slowly turn against him as things wore on.   I was unlucky not to vaporise the getaway car with my BDRM, but the result was a hard fought and engaging game which resulted in a phyrric victory for the partisans. Looking forward to the next one. 

Your file Sir

One idea that I've used for a couple of games now is the personnel card.  This is a standard 4 by 6 file card with the stats for the unit (in this case a sniper team) written out and the points included. This is handy because it keeps all the stats in one place and you can quickly assemble a force by flicking through a few cards. Tot up the points and you are done. 

An unexpected benefit is that it gives continuity between the games. Each card gets a name and they persist over time, which has led to some interesting moments in play. 

GAAAAAARDS!!!

Airfix Coldstream Guardsman

The latest arrival from our man in Budapest, an Airfix Coldstream Guardsman.  This fellow is well kitted out and I reckon is probably about to set out to defend Hougomont.  No doubt he would look rather different by the end of the battle. 

Knapsack, all present & correct. 

Some of the old Airfix sets can be quite wooden, 

but the pose works very well in this case. 

The classic Belgic shako shown off to good effect. 

The false fronted or Belgic Shako, I think our American friends call it a tombstone shako, is always evocative of Waterloo for me.   He's a lovely piece of work and is currently guarding the Joseph Roth section of my bookshelves.  Very happy with him. 

The Medicis

Mrs. Kinch and I have been watching this on Netflix and it is really very good.  Mrs. Kinch studied Italian and knows the people and the period rather better than I do, so I cannot speak to its historicity. None of it felt wrong to me and the city of Florence certainly emerges as a character in her own right.  

It is excellent television.  Annabel Scholey is magnificent, while Richard Madden gives a wonderfully nuanced performance.  The development of their marriage over eight episodes is one of the real pleasures of the programme.  But all the cast turn in excellent work - there isn't a duffer amongst them. 

This may sound like damning with faint praise, but one thing that really stood out to me was the quality of the incidental music, most of which is variations on the main theme composed by Paolo Bounvino and performed by a lady called Skin.  It is an ambitious soaring symphonic piece of work that got under my skin in a way that little else has in quite a while. 

Two thumbs up.  I'm looking forward to the second series. 

Announcing The Fox Wife's Tail now available

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, "The Fox Wife's Tail" is now published and available both in Kindle and Print editions.

The Kindle edition is available here for less than the price of a pint.

The print edition is available on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com and CreateSpace and costs slightly more than the price of two pints.

The pricing is so far as I can manage approximately identical across .co.uk and .com and Createspace, though I seem to get a much better royalty from CreateSpace.

"In 2005, a dusty collection of papers were discovered in a cellar in Dublin. Untouched since 1860, the papers told the story of Otaro, a Japanese fencing teacher, and Captain Robert Hood, a discharged American soldier. It was a tale of duels, suspense and adventure in a Japan struggling to come to terms with the realities of the steam-powered 19th century.

When the two friends discover a samurai lord murdered on the road and his only son and heir kidnapped, they find themselves drawn into a mystery as baffling as it is deadly.

They will need sharp wits, sharp swords and stout hearts to survive the enigma that is “The Fox Wife’s Tail.”

Fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Patrick O’Brian and Agatha Christie will love this old fashioned adventure story."

I am reliably informed* that reading this novel will make walk taller, fill you with a tremendous feeling of well being and substantially increase your chances of making an advantageous marriage.  Studies suggest it improves swordmanship, provokes laughter and gives one a better singing voice.

I certainly enjoyed writing it, I hope you enjoy reading it. Now I'm off to fret about the next one.






*But do not expressly guarantee.

Gentlemen in red

Prince August Guardsmen & Line in Home Service Helmet

I've been busy with other things recently, mainly baby related, but I pulled out some old Prince August castings I did last year and set to with rasp and clippers.  They are not my best work, but with some greenstuff they are at least respectable. 

Pursuing Soviet BMP just out of shot

Played a great game of Black Ops the other night - again set in my 1970s Soviet occupied UK. Wolfie & the Tooting Popular Front and the cast of the Bill (plus some from Spearhead) versus the Russkies. They pulled off a magnificent heist where the TPF turned the escort into a giant smoking crater with home made nitro, DI Burnside from the Bill jumped aboard the supply truck carrying the target dragged the driver out and drove the thing off the board while being chased by a Soviet BMP. 

Prince of Wales Own

I thought since I was going to do a few figures in Home Service, it might be fun to some as the Prince of Wales Own.  A good friend of mine is late of that particular parish and it seemed like a fine idea to add him to the collection in lead. 

Four Irish Guardsmen

I also pulled out a few Guardsmen while I was at it and began dollying them to add to the little collection of the Irish Guards that are marching across the mantel piece.  One thing I noticed though was that I'd run out of GW Goblin Green for the bases.  The new GW paint, which is I think called Warboss Green, is very, very thin.  I had to do three coats to get decent coverage. I thought it was a bit odd to be honest. 

Line Infantryman in Home Service Helmet

Still there is something very soothing about painting these very simple figures.  It undemanding and the results are a known quantity.  They will probably end up decorating a book shelf somewhere as well.  Though I will have to get some proper smelly varnish for them first though. Stuff that needs turps - the water based variety simply does not cut it. 

Cigarette card with details of the PWO

Though having wrestled with the intricacies of plug in heads (the bodies for the line are cast seperately) I think I might do a few more.  The 18th Royal Irish, being the old local regiment, might be the next lot to get the treatment. 

The Fox Wife's Tail

The first few copies arrived

It is a very strange feeling holding a book that you wrote in your hands, but here is where we find ourselves.

So what is it?

The Fox Wife's Tail is a story set in the 1850s about a Japanese Fencing Teacher and his American friend as they wander through a Japan that is struggling to come to terms with the intrusion of the modern world.

When the two friends discover a samurai lord murdered on the road and his only son and heir kidnapped, they find themselves drawn into a mystery as baffling as it is deadly.

They will need sharp wits, sharp swords and stout hearts to survive the enigma that is “The Fox Wife’s Tail.”

Why did you write a book, Kinch? 

If I'm honest, I don't know.  

Because I had to.  

I've been scratching away at stories since I was old enough to hold a pen.  The practicalities of actually getting things into print has eluded me up until relatively recently - but after being repeatedly kicked in the seat of the trousers by Mrs Kinch, we set up A Simple Plan Press. ASSP will be publishing "The Fox Wife's Tail" in 2017 and will be publishing work by Mrs Kinch in 2018.


If I wished to buy a copy where would I go? 

The Fox Wife's Tail will be published next month. It will be available on Kindle and in paperback at Amazon Createspace and the A Simple Plan Press website.  A novel of adventure, villainy and romance in the tradition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H Rider Haggard and Patrick O'Brian with a dollop of Agatha Christie - it would make an excellent Christmas present for any family members whose company you do not wish to be burdened with next year. 

I will be posting a little bit more about it here over the next few weeks.  I'm still becoming accustomed to the idea that it is actually a real thing.  

That's not my Tiger

That's Not My Tiger... by Fiona Watt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After confronting the essential poverty and meaninglessness of existence in a post modern age, a young mouse embarks on a quest to find "her tiger". Disregarding hedonism and the tawdry distractions of other lesser tigers, she demands that which neither a deracinated capitalism nor a cold and ruthless socialism can provide. This focus on the local and the particular clearly underlines the pre-modern essence of the text.

A Scrutonian voyage of discovery for the under twos.

Also chewable.


View all my reviews

What I did on my holidays by Conrad Kinch, aged 37 1/2

An artists impression of John Treadaway enroute to tell me that my copy is late. 

(Squat Trike from the pen of Paul Bonner)

My recent trip to London was a roaring success. Four nights of uninterrupted sleep was magical. Meeting John Treadaway was great fun. Lovely fella - he rather put me in mind of one of the old GW

squat bikers with his beard, ponytail, leather jacket and giant machine. It was definitely a few days of meeting old friends and making new ones. 

The Austrians advance under the command of the doughty Brian Carrick. 

(picture cheerfully thieved from Bob Cordery)

The game on Saturday was magnificent. A spread of 2,000 figures on a playing area sixty feet by sixty feet. I commanded the Swedish contingent (mainly played by Prussians in this instance) and finished the game in the suburbs of Leipzig having done for the Imperial Guard, which will always remain something of a career highlight. The company was excellent. Made some new friends and caught up with some old ones.

I was not in a position to take photographs, but you'll find some good pictures at the fine blogs below. 

Tim's (game organiser) blog

Bob has several reports, so be sure to have a good look around. 

Brian has some good pictures

And David (Napoleon...boo!...hiss!) has some good shots too. 

St. Paul's went a little over board on the incense while I was there. 

(St Paul's survives by Herbert Mason) 

Service at Westminister Abbey was wonderful. St. Paul's was magnificent, I thought it was expensive at first, but wildly underestimated how vast the place is. Worth every penny. Had longish natter with one of the Canons named Mike.  I paid my respects at Wellington's tomb. It always does to remember the local boy.

Gordon's Tomb

(image tea leafed from the Church Monument Society)

I am a great admirer of Charles Gordon and I was strangely moved when I saw his sarcophagus.  I had not realised he was quite so small.  There I think is the difference between having read a thing and knowing it. 

My own, slightly smaller, Gordon. 

My daughter was named Gordon for a day while she was in hospital.  We had settled on a name and when we saw her, we realised that it didn't suit her exactly and it took us a day while we thought of a new one.  I was very tempted to add Gordon as a middle name when I went to register her birth, but forebore at the last moment.  She has his mercurial and exploring temperament. 

I will take her to see her (almost) namesakes tomb someday.

I miscalculated and hadn't realised that the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at the National Gallery hadn't begun yet, which was a shame. The Horse Guards museum was a joy, particularly as you get to watch the lads at stable duty. I ended up having a long old chat with some of the Ministry of Defence police who were on duty outside. I certainly noticed the greater presence of armed police and talked to several of them around the city, I suppose because it is so unusual from an Irish perspective. They were unfailingly friendly. The thing that really struck me was the number of them with beards - the Met clearly having different regulations on this matter. .

An artist's impression of the National Army Museum

Of the National Army museum, the less said the better. It was the only sour note in an otherwise excellent trip.

I should have listened Tim. I should have listened.  And what only makes it worse is that I missed the Wallace Collection because of it. 

I survived Charing Cross Road and Martins Lane with only minor damage to my wallet. Not many books this trip, but quite a few prints - mostly fashion for Mrs. Kinch and Alice and Pooh Bear for the Kinchlets. There is more framing in my future. 

I'm still wondering if anyone does a suitable train in 20mm

I was very happy to get a single large engraving (done as a special by the Illustrated London News) of "a reconaissance in force" in 1882, which the Egyptians record as the Battle of Kafr el Dawr. It's an engagement that has intrigued me for a while, so I was glad to get it. There was a definite thrill of discovery when I recognised the geography and the regimental numbers in the otherwise anonymous piece.

After that it was home again, home again, jiggity jig. Mrs. Kinch and the Kinchlets seemed none the worse my absence and quite pleased to see me actually. 

London Calling

Ladies & Germs, I will be in London over the weekend.  The plan at present is to see some of the new museums and particularly the Wallace Collection. 

NOTE: Slight change of venue - The Round House, 2 northside Wandsworth common, clapham sw18 2ss. Probably be there around half six. 

However, if you fancy it - I will be propping up the bar at the Falcon Pub Clapham Junction at 1800hrs (that's six in the evening old money) on Sunday 24th September.  In the unlikely event you fancy talking wargaming, books or the price of fish, do let me know in the comments and I'll see you there.  

I'll be the chap on his own reading "At them with the Bayonet" by Donald Featherstone. 

A little something from Dave Lycett

I was sent these pictures by friend of the blog, Dave Lycett, recently and very fine they are too.

They are from Spencer Smiths Shiny Toy Soldiers line. He is painting them up for the First Schleswig-Holstein War as part of a larger project.

Some Jaeger with what look like Danish Guard behind. 

Vorwarts!

A very creditable force. 

(Those buildings look rather tasty too - don't they?)

Out and about with the Kinchlets

Mr. Barry Sullivan, Actor. 

I haven't been as active as I would be normally, for a variety of reasons, but one thing I try to do is take the Kinchlets out for a walk every day.  This gets them some fresh air, tires them out and does at least delay my inevitable transformation into someone's fat Dad. A decent tramp is good for the soul and one of the places we've gone several times is Glasnevin Cemetery.  This is a large cemetery and well worth a walk around.  

A name in marble as well as in lights. 

Look at that profile!

This chap is Mr. Barry Sullivan, originally from Warwickshire; he was born to Irish parents and had a long association with Cork. He began a stage career in 1837 and made a name for himself as a Shakespearean.  He toured extensively particularly in the US and Australia.  He was apparently one of the finest actors of his generation, though the Australian Dictionary of Biography states that he was inclined to err on the robust side. 

 

Which always puts me in mind of this. 

Monument to fallen Dublin Metropolitan Police Officers

Prior to independence, Ireland had two police forces, the RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) who policed the countryside and were armed and the DMP (Dublin Metropolitan Police) who policed the city and were unarmed.  I always have a soft spot for old coppers - so we have dropped down to this monument a couple of times. 

The Roll of Honour

Grave stone of Constable Lahiff

Next to the monument is the grave stone of Constable Michael Lahiff who was killed during the 1916 Rebellion. 

Inscription

DMP Crest

Lahiff was shot at St. Stephen's Green (another favourite haunt of the Kinchlets) which is a wonderful park and well worth a visit.  During one of our last visits, I took a snap of the plaque which describes the shooting.  Please click on the picture to enlarge it, if you wish to read the text.