I’m keeping this brief.
There should have been at least two posts about my stay with Nathan and our LoTR campaign play.
But at the moment I’m in extreme pain with my right arm. A pain that inflicted me for the last two days of my stay with Nathan and still does.
I think it might be a trapped nerve.
What it means is that I can barely move my right arm at the moment without some pain.
As soon as it improves I’ll be back to a normal service.
There was no gaming over the weekend after Friday.
Which was probably a good thing really.
Although I really enjoyed my gaming session Friday. I think I needed it after Thursdays memorial for Nan. A weekend of gaming might have been too much.
Saturday I had to help a relative move Nans sideboard and bureau into their van when they eventually came to pick the items up. Which basically took the day out anyway as I waited for them to turn up. Boy does Nans living room look empty now without them there. However it does mean mum can move round the downstairs easier.
With stuff leaving like some of the furniture, pictures off the wall, the house is starting to feel less and less like Nans home. Is that a good thing? Maybe. It means mum can start to make the place feel more like a home for her.
Yesterday I did finish organising the final bits for Marvel Champions that I own. However I do need a better storage solution that will allow me to transport the game easier. Obviously I take it with me when I visit Nathan. But I am in the process of trying to organise a regular game or two of not just Marvel Champions but Lord of the Rings LCG. So that I can play some of the campaigns both the games have. But to do that I need a better storage solution for Marvel Champions.
There are plans afoot for some gaming this week with Jonathan midweek. Followed by some gaming with Jeff.
I know what I’ll be playing with Jeff. That’s easy. War of the Ring the card game, and the Lord of the Rings LCG (arriving today).
With Jonathan the decision is a bit tougher. I’ll take Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Although I know the theme won’t appeal to him. The fact it is a “Pandemic” based game will at least pique his curiosity to try it once. Other wise I’m hoping he will bring games along that he wants to get to the table. I don’t think he’ll want to try Expeditions.
I’m looking forward to both gaming sessions. It will be good to game with them both again.
Yesterday was the family memorial for Nan.
Luckily we avoided any family drama, so the afternoon remained rightly all about Nan.
Nineteen members of the family gathered at the Wisbech St Mary Sports and Community Centre to remember the life of Nan.
A couple of days earlier my aunt and mum had gone through a massive pile of photos and put together a couple of photo boards. Which we had on display alongside a couple of photo albums.
If any family member wanted a particular photo they were welcome to take it. You can see the three I particularly wanted in the gallery below.
My aunt had bought 20 rose bush plants for people to take and plant in Nans memory if they wanted to. A really nice thing to do.
It was a nice afternoon that I know Nan would be happy we had.
A big thank you to Terry and Diane for doing the buffet, and Paula for working behind the bar.
Another day of wandering down memory lane as we cleared more stuff from nans.
And boy did I hit a reach seam of nostalgia
With my aunt and uncle back in the country and staying locally in the run up to Nans memorial next Thursday. They have been able to help Mum and me get on with sorting out Nans belongings.
It’s been a hard thing to do. Not just physically but emotionally as well. However it has been that emotional side that has been the main stumbling block over the past nearly two years preventing Mum and I making much progress with Nans stuff.
Even with my aunt and uncle here helping. It’s not been easier on that front. But it’s helped to have some-one else to share the burden with. We made some real headway over the last two days.
Whilst sorting out what stuff goes to the dump, charity, or to keep we came across a box that quite clearly was mine.
Inside this cardboard time vault were treasures that took me back to my teenage years and the early days of the British Home Computer boom.
If you remember when I wrote about playing the latest MtG set, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth I shared about my history with Tolkien and when I first came across Middle-Earth.
Well colour me pleasantly surprised (whatever that colour is) when I opened up the box and inside were my copies of The Hobbit (Oric-1 version) and Lord of the Rings Game One (C64 version). Minus the respective paperback books.
Also inside this treasure trove of memories were the following three items pictured in the gallery below.
The Simon’s Basic was a cartridge for the C64 that allowed you to use a more powerful version of Basic on the machine.
It was this version of Basic that I wrote a game to teach the Green Cross Code for my O-Level computing project in.
It’s the project I also rewrote completely the night before it was due to be handed in. I did an all nighter. I was young. Didn’t know better.
I hadn’t realised what an impact I’d made with the game or my coding skills until decades later when my school friend Jon Ward returned to the UK for a visit. When we met up he remembered all this, bringing up the game and how good I was in the computing lessons. It was very flattering.
Author probably has the honour of being the first ever word processor I ever owned and used!
Finally the official Commodore modem for the C64. Mum and Dad got me that for Christmas. A decision they would later regret. Later being three months later when that quarters phone bill came in.
You see Mum and Dad had no idea what a modem was or that it used the phone line.
Try and imagine one morning waking up. That days post dropping through the letterbox before 8am. Yeah that’s how far back we’ve gone to a functioning, reliable (well compared todays offering) postal service. Opening up the post and seeing a bill from BT for over three pounds.
Yeah I’d hit the phone pretty hard. I’d developed a serious Compunet habit downloading demoes etc.
Well Mum and especially Dad were more than a little pissed off. Getting Dad angry was the quickest way to lowering your life expectancy.
Obviously my online activities were seriously curtailed from that point on.
But it was Nan that really saved my bacon (as she has always done). She let Mum and Dad have the money to help with the phone bill I’d rung up with the modem.
There were other gems in the box too. But I’ll save them for another day.
It’s been one of those weeks where nothing much gaming wise has happened. Hence the blog silence.
Preparations for Nans memorial next week are in full swing. As you can imagine things are a getting a bit emotional for me.
My iron clad edition of Scythe Expeditions arrived yesterday. The production quality is amazing, as usual for a Stonemaier game. And OMG those large metal mechs are gorgeous.
Luckily I don’t have too long to wait before it hits the table with tonight being club night.
So look for initial thoughts on the game over the weekend.
It’s been a long week.
One that’s been very emotional as well.
At the start of the week I finally had the offer from college to become a full time lecturer. Which I accepted.
However it hit me hard that the one person I really wanted to share the news with I couldn’t. I miss Nan so much.
And the working week ended that way to.
It’s not only the end of term but the academic year and my leaving class of level three students gave me a card and box of Maltesers. An unexpected and very nice thought.
But when I opened the card back in the room where I was doing my final marking of the year, my eyes nearly leaked as I read it.
The card means so much. It’s hard to express how. But it’s nice to know that all the hard work has been appreciated by the students.
After thanking the students again I just wanted to share the card with Nan. And once again the eyes threatened to leak. If it was hard to articulate how I felt about the card. There is no way I’m getting close to getting across how much I miss Nan.
Last night I got to play War of the Ring the card game with Diego. For once the free people of middle-earth (me) won. Plus it was a points win ending the game early by creating a ten point difference
But the glow of victory didn’t last long as Diego thrashed me at Star Wars the deckbuilding game as the Empire.
It was a cool evening gaming with Diego. I’m glad our life events are enabling us to play more games together. Now if only they would sync a bit more so we could game with Jonathan more.
I was going to write a post in response to a recent YouTube video by Jamey Stegmaier and one or two others called Tabletop Publishers, Content Creators, and Audiences: The Inside Scoop.
However this heat wave is sucking my will to live, and I can’t be bothered to share my very cheap opinions about the issues raised.
Besides I’m not a content creator in the board gaming space. Or not by any definition that most people would use.
What we have in this little corner of the internet is a personal diary where I talk about what gaming I get up to. I don’t review stuff. I share my opinions on the games I play.
If this blog is read by more than a handful of people I’d be shocked. I’d bet good money that most of those that read my posts are friends and family.
Why do I write it?
It’s for me. And maybe one day for Nathan. That’s why some of the posts recently have had a more personal “back when I was a lad” bit to them. It’s my “gift” to him. Hopefully it will help him feel closer to me if he ever decides to read my badly written words.
So no I’m not trying to make a living from this. I’m not trying to get free games (god I’d hate that pressure), and I’m definitely not trying to make a name for myself.
I’m just creating memories that one day will help my son.
It’s been a busy and tiring week at work. Which has left me too tired to try and arrange any midweek gaming.
My attempt to get some gaming in last night failed. No one was free or interested in playing some roll and writes. And I had to turn down an invite to learn Marrakesh as it would have meant finishing too late.
So it looks like June is on course for being a slow month of gaming, and I don’t have a car issue as an excuse this time.
Work wise I’ve stepped up the job search as the clock counts down to the end of my temp contract. Apparently there is a full time contract, they are timetabling as if I’m there next year. However I’ve not seen anything yet to sign.
At the start of the week the latest promo packs and solo mode for Rolling Realms arrived. It’s getting to the point now that an alternate storage solution needs to be found for the game. I think with the Encounters promo pack that comes out at the same time as when the game does that’s it. The limit for everything in the original game box has been reached.
So yesterday out of the blue my pre-order of Tome of Beasts 3 by Kobold Press arrived.
I am a big fan of the Kobold press pocket editions of their books. I love the format. It’s so handy. Goes nicely in a bag to read on public transport or in bed. I just love it compared to the larger books like the Monster Manual.
I currently have two other of their creature books, Tome of Beasts 2, and Creature Codex. With the updated Tome of Beasts pre-ordered (out next month if memory doesn’t fail me).
For me I actually prefer these Kobold Press offerings to the official WotC equivalents. They feel fresh and fire the imagination more. The art is amazing. Which helps fire that imagination.
There is also the benefit that unless your players also have purchased the books that they are unlikely to have come across the creatures in them. So when they encounter one it’s a surprise and refreshing to them also.
I’m looking forward to flicking through the pages of this latest volume and seeing what grabs me.
It’s felt like an age since I last did any board gaming.
With the car woes not yet resolved I was glad I was able to arrange for a lift home from the community centre. It meant I could hop off the college bus on the way home, walk to the community centre, and play some games.
The gaming drought was about to be over.
Jonathan had bought along Letters from Whitechapel. A Game I last played with Jonathan back in 2016. Back then it was a three player game with me taking on the role of the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper. In that game Jack managed to avoid capture, carry out his crimes, and disappear into the night, never to be caught. In other words I won, Jonathan and Debbie lost.
Last night Dave was to be Jack the Ripper whilst Diego, Jonathan, Charlene, and myself would be the boys in blue trying to stop Jack.
The first game was over during the first night with Jack running out of time to get back to his hideout.
It was a learning game, and refresher. So can we really count it as Dave was learning how to play, and be Jack at the same time?
Our second game went to the third night with Jack being arrested by me. But he had already claimed four victims by this point.
Charlene’s crime board had worked, but sadly it had not been effective enough to save more lives.
But our collective deduction skills had been more mighty than Dave’s tricksy skills.
These were two really fun games.
A big thank you to Jonathan for the lift home. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to go.
A brief car woes update. I have wheels again.
Green Flag got the car started again, and found the fault to be the battery. So once at the garage I passed on the info. It was lucky it was the that. I was prepared for something more expensive like an alternator (whatever one of them is).
A big thank you to Jonathan for picking me up and dropping me off at the garage. Without him getting the car woes sorted would have been a lot more eventful, and longer. Mainly because of a flaw in my plan that didn’t foresee not getting a loan car while the work was being done.