s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

Upon moving down here at the end of 2003, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at wargaming again. Wargames, whether they be bits of carboard on a hex map or little toy soldiers, have been a part of my life since I was but a wee little lad. Last year I started going to the Wellington Warlods, a local wargaming club, and was introdced to Full Thrust. This is a generic spaceship game where you fly your little model ships around the table and blow each other up. Fun! I was enoying the games a great deal, but I wanted more. I wanted strategic scope, and for that we would need a campaign. So I drew up a map and rules, and we had one. Twelve months later we have gone from 5 players to 10, we are on the 6th campaign. The maps have gotten bigger and better, and we have crafted a really nice set of strategic/campaign rules. On many weeks more people are playing Full Thrust than any of the other “traditional” miniatures games (Warhammer, Flames of War, DBM). Last weekend the Warlords had their AGM which I didn’t attend. Afterwards I got a call from Geoff who did. Apparently I was voted “Warlords of the Year” for my contributions to gaming at the club. That is a very nice bit of recognition (and a free yearly membership). All very cool, but you know, I was doing all this for my own enjoyment!

In other good news…

Yesterday the shed passed its final inspection! Woot! So today I can build (or start building) the hayloft, and next week I will drive over to the Wairarapa and get as much hay as my ute will carry. Very cool!

The lump on Slow’s back is cancer, as we suspected, but it is a basal cell cancer that is of little danger. Considering how little it has grown in the 12 months we have been monitoring it, that is no surprise. Slow is starting to show his age (13), but he is still doing well, and enjoying his farm life (which often involves just spending the day outside, lying in the sun and watching the birds).