Trumped again!

Wednesday 9th November.

                          Summoned to Garvald as Liz had decreed that since she was hors de combat due to a hip replacement said that Colin should put on a game this evening.Who am I to argue and after picking up Mr Ray who was still suffering from post Trump depression headed out to the sticks to see what awaited us.

Seceret plans

                         We were not disappointed as Colin had set up a Bolt Action Korean game featuring a mass North Korean attack on an allied artillery base supported by a couple of T34 tanks.Sounds like an easy night for me as I was playing the North Korean against the cowardly Americans.How many times have I said that in the past few years.My plan was to steamroller up the middle and join up with the two units who were going to turn up behind enemy lines.what could be easier? Bad dice rolls for a start.Colin was my partner in crime whilst Bill Gilchrist and Mr Ray Neal provided hopefully some lack lustre opposition.

The Brit's having their customary brew.

                                   

Spread out in a bunch

 The enemy had dug themselves into the crest of two hills overlooking the only decent road towards their base so we just sent our infantry to attack them giving support to our two tanks who were going to head up the road.

"Let's get into them"

                                 

I'm sure they would go faster if all these dice were not in the way.

  Our infantry plodded on towards their objective under fire from Bill and Ray's dug in infantry.As soon as Ray caught a glimpse of my tanks he immediately called in an air strike on my leading tank.I thought it a wee bit hasty but as the tanks were crewed by inexperienced crews the leading tank was brought to a shuddering halt.No damage was done but the crew were shaken and the tank became immobile before an officer and probably a commissar arrived and threatened them with a fate worse than death.

"This is the voice of the mysterons,we know that you can hear us earthmen"

                                     Bill began to bring up his two tanks to deal with my armour which was part of my original plan as I wanted to draw his armour out before revealing my hidden units.

Peering around the corner

                                  Everything seemed to be going to plan until I revealed one of my hidden units and a light went on in Bill's head telling him of my cunning plan to which he reversed his Chaffee tank to engage them.My other unit came charging on into the other flank straight into the camp and went into close combat with a British unit which was hiding behind some cover.The British were soon heading for the hills.No sooner had my men dug in when they were attacked by the allies HQ unit but they were soon dealt with and finally a put together squad of cooks and clerks charged in.They were quickly despatched but all the while my ensconced  squad were being whittled down so that when the Chaffee engaged them my squad just disintegrated.

That's it Ray-Take them off

                                     

"What part of I'm gonna shoot you don't you understand(in Korean)"

  For us I'm afraid that was the highlight of the evening for after that it was downhill.My leading tank finally got moving with the help of an officer's boot and the commissar's Tokarev pistol and joined up with the other tank hoping to dispatch Bill's leading tank.Great idea in theory but lousy in practise.a one sided duel took place with both of my tanks being cruelly dispatched and this was interspersed by Ray as his mortar finally hit its target which was one of Colin's infantry squads.

Before

and after!

                            The boot was firmly on the other foot with the allies causing casualties with ease bringing the game to the point where it was worthless to go on.
                              Never the less it was a very good game with Colin saying that the force makeup could do with a little tinkering and myself having to think before charging in.How many times have I been told that in my life.

The Korean war memorial in Washington D.C.It is very eerie even in the sunshine.

                   All figures,scenery and scenario were provided by Colin Jack who also provided us with a delicious Minestrone before or Korean fisticuffs.
Heading for Kirriemuir and their Targe wargames show and since I'm not involved in any game I should have the chance to partake in some of the games.I'll tell you all about it when I get home.
                         See you when I see you.

Meet me on the Corner

Wednesday 26th October

                            I had two choices for today.One was a game out at Colin's or celebrate my ninth wedding anniversary. and as I thought that  as discretion is the better part of valour I decided to head for the island of Lindisfarne for a romantic tete a tete with Lady Watson.I do anything for a steak pie dinner which also involves a few pints of foaming ale.

               As an added incentive for my participation in this jaunt I was asked if I'd like to stop of at Barter Books in Alnwick as we couldn't get across the causeway to the island before two in the afternoon.

Barter Books like us a lot as we spend an awful lot of money there and today was to be no exception.Barter Books is one of the biggest second hand book shops in Britain and be prepared to spend a couple of hours enthralled in the amount of books on display from fiction to non-fiction,new to old originals that are kept in glass cases.The actual bookshop is situated in the old Alnwick railway station and you can see its railway origins in the layout of the shop including the cafe which has evolved from the station buffet and waiting rooms.The fare in the cafe is mostly local with the bacon roll consisting of half a pig whereas the roll with sausage has the other half.Another local delicacy they offer is a slice of fruitcake served with a slice of cheddar cheese and yes they do complement each other.

                                 After about three hours and big armful of books(three 1950's Eagle annuals amongst mine) we headed for our car,visiting two antique/collectible shops along the way and coming away with a model of the Batmobile and a WW1 shell casing and drove along the coast road towards the island causeway just in time for it opening.

                                 As we headed on to the island we could see the twitchers,walkers and even duck hunters heading on to the island to have a couple of hours of daylight before dusk set in doing their thing.I was informed by Lady Watson that we should have a peruse of the island before dinner and that the local foaming ale would have to wait.So reluctantly I headed down towards the harbour with the rest of the incomers and had a look at some of the boats that had finished their summer jaunts and were getting ready for winter hibernation among them a gorgeous twenty six footer Moody.If I was ever given the chance of buying any yacht it would be a Moody.Very graceful whilst being very seaworthy but very expensive.

Upturned boats used to store fisherman's gear.

Not a car in sight.

Preparations for bonfire night.

                         

Heartbreak time.

  To be fair walking around the island at twilight was very inspiring especially with the darkening ruins of the priory complemented by the wailing of nearby grey seals giving the island a nice seasonal aura.

Seals on an ever decreasing island.

                              When the day tourists go home the island the island does feel isolated and does give the impression of one of these end of the world films.Lucky for me there was plenty of ale behind the bar.

Eleven course menu on the Titanic's last evening-think I'd rather have had eleven jerseys or jackets.

                             When we headed down to the bar I found that it was a bit busier than I thought it would be but then I realised it was English half term and these were the inhabitants of some of the rentable properties on the island.The steak pie was exceptional as expected and was washed down with a nice pinot(I know I'm a Philistine,white wine with beef) and followed by a cheese board to die for.I don't think cholesterol exists on Lindisfarne.

Seemingly it's more than my life's worth to put a witty caption on this photo.

                            After a reasonable sleep(they collect the rubbish at three o'clock in the morning and the ch oil is delivered at seven) and an excellent breakfast we headed for Lindisfarne castle which is about a half mile out on the headland.We were treated to a nice fresh morning for our walk and good weather for Lady Watson to take her usual thousand's of pictures.The only problem was the dozens of rugrats(Lady Watson speak)that were milling around the castle.

Lady Watson enquiring about our retirement home.

                                   

Castle de Belleme or Bebbanburg Castle-you choose.

 Lindisfarne castle was built around 1550 using stone from the recently disused priory on the island.Obviously Henry viii was a recycler.It was used as a defence fortification right up to 1901 where even at one point was occupied by Jacobite forces(two men in total)before being recaptured by troops from thre Berwick garrison.

Jacobean telly

                             After being used by the coastguard it was bought by  Edward Hudson,owner of Country Life magazine,and was redesigned by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens who used upturned herring boats as storage facilities outside the castle.Seemingly Edmund Miralles used this concept in the design of the Spanish Holiday centre in Edinburgh-sorry the Scottish parliament.The castle came into the care of the National Trust in 1944 where it has been in their capable hands since then.

                               

 We spent a fair time looking round the castle narrowly avoiding the hordes of rugrats along the way before having a look at the nearby disused lime kilns and eventually ending up on the beach were tourists for some reason were piling up rocks into some construction that we were told were suppose to bring luck.Whatever.

Dragon's den -poor dragon doesn't know what it's in for.

                               

Must be a wife thing-always having their back to us.

  The last part of our visit was to the the castle garden situated away from the castle and was designed by Gertrude Jekyll who apart from having a story book name was a garden designer along the lines of Capability Brown.

I wonder where Mrs Hyde is?

                                    Before we headed off the island(low tide was 15.40)we had a look around the gift shops and bought as always some local mead and partook of a nice lunch to provide us with some sustenance for our drive home as usual by the scenic route through the eastern borders.

Must be where they store the mead

                             A very nice couple of days out complemented by a very nice hostelry and a nice visit to Barter Books.No doubt we will be paying another visit soon.
                            See you when I see you.
                        

Last days in Japan

Thursday 6th

                 The penultimate day of our Japanese soujourn found us heading to the island of Miyajima which is situated to the south of Hiroshima in the Inland sea.Miyajima Island may not be known to most people but the Itsukushima shrine is after Mount Fuji,Japan's biggest tourist attraction.The island is beautiful and in contrast to the rest of Japan less hustle and bustle.

                Ferries go back and forward every 15 minutes passing on the way the oyster beds for which the area is also well renowned.I would imagine that they would crop up on tonight's menu.

                 Wednesday the fifth was my sixtieth birthday so Lady Watson had booked us into a rayokan which is a traditional Japanese inn dating from the seventeeth century.Tatami matted rooms,communal baths and dressing up in a yakata which is a typical Japanese kimono are the norm.

                Since we had a few hours to kill before we check in to the rayokan we decided to explore the island,after a cup of coffee of course.
                        The Itsukushima shrine and its with its floating torii gate is the number one attraction on the island so this was obvious the main destination for Lady Watson whilst seeing a sign for the island aquarium made me decide this was going to be my main destination on the island.

                 To get to the aquarium I had to walk around the bay which contained the shrine whilst Lady Watson headed into the shrine and as it bisected the bay she had taking her pictures, perused the shrine and had exited from the other side just in time for me to meet up with her.
                 

One thing about the island is its wildlife especially the deer which roam all over the island and have become very tame.They have a taste for paper and tourists are warned to keep it out of their reach especially ferry tickets and souvenirs.

                              Being a typical Japanese island it was full of wooden houses and buildings.In rural Japan wooden buildings seem to be the norm whilst cities are infested with earthquake proof skyscrapers.I suppose wooden buildings are easier to replace after earthquakes.

                       We eventually arrived at the aquarium and once again I was amazed at the range of fish and aquatic creatures that were on display.From local species through to the wonders of the Pacific.

                 The first exhibit concerned the local oyster fishing with actual oyster infested ropes on display.The oyster tank also contained other local species swimming around in shoals.

                         The next tank,which was my favourite,contained a fantastic selection of rays,groupers,sharks and a very menacing conger eel.The sharks although small would swim near the surface showing off the ominous dorsal fin which imagine still puts the shivers up people.

                           Moving on I was amazed by the various species including porpoises in a giant glass tank.These ever smile creatures swam around looking as though they didn't have a care in the world coming across to peer at us looking as though they were trying to engage us in conversation.Amazing beasts.
                           Once again there were tanks of different jelly fish swimming and dancing in some extra terrestrial like movement.All it needed was some John Williams soundtrack to accompany it.

                       Moving through the aquarium there were more sei terrestrial creatures on display.Amphibians,snakes and even some otters who seem to prefer playing about in plastic basin rather than the well thought out in the connecting tank.I suppose it's the same as children when they forget about the new toy and play with the box instead.

                         Outside was a tank containing some very fussy Humboldt
penguins as they were being picky when the assistant brought their lunch out expecting to be hand fed.Next to the penguin tank was a tank containing one very fed up sealion who kept on mumping and moaning throughout the afternoon.

                           After our visit we decided to head for our accommodation courtesy of a taxi.The road up the hill was a bit hairy as we were getting the tail end of a typhoon at the time.We eventually reached the drop of point and proceeded to head warily into the wood before being met by what can only be described as a Japanese type gingerbread house albeit along period style.

We were met by a friendly host who after making sure we had taken our shoes off showed us to our room which I thought was amazing.As previously mentioned it had wooden walls and tatami matted floors and I was beginning to think that I had stepped back in time until I saw a tv and then a fridge.

Apart from these hiccups the place looked fab.We were handed kimonos and yakatas and shown to our bath which had been filled ready for our visit.It was not as hot as I would have imagined but it still done the job.

Suitably refreshed we were then shown to another adjoining room were starters for our Japanese banquet had been set up.It was a fantastic set up with different varieties of fish and pickled vegetables awaiting our selection.Every so often our host would come in with more delicacies including the ubiquitous oyster which Ilook on with some trepidation but was content to eat it when I found out that it was served hot and had been cooked in garlic and butter.Anything cooked in this way is usually delicious and this was no exception.More beef and chicken dishes were provided albeit not in large portions which made for a more pleasant meal.The meal as finished off with Japanese sweets and fresh fruit.When we retired to our room we found that our futons had been laid out ready for use.

                      We settled down for the night with only the sound of the river running outside the house.

                        Morning came after one of the most noiseless night's sleep I've had for a long time.In the morning we joined the rest of the guests for breakfast and although it was a western breakfast it still had fish,rice and miso soup with it.Obviously the frankfurter and croissant gave it a western taste.

                      We said our farewells and thank them for their fantastic hospitality and after visiting yet another cable car headed back down the hill towards the ferry port and the eventual train ride back to Tokyo.

"We're on our way home"