Monthly Archives: June 2014

Effort and Reward at Schools End

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The school term has ended and the summer holidays begun here in South Ayrshire.  Huzzah you might think but no.  It means seven weeks or so of entertaining children and educating them yourself rather than the teachers. Teacher work so hard, they do.  Really…I am not joking.  In fact while I am working they are, when they are off for the whole summer…well I am still working.   Anyway let me not suggest that education needs an overhaul bringing it into the modern world the rest of us live in let me instead brag a little about my three.  The Thinker, the Poet and the Warrior did well this year and I reward them for that.

Society now seems in a fair bit of imbalance towards children but not in my home.  Rewards and treats are earned.  You get what you need and then your good behaviour and excellent performance combined with contributing ideas and thought in conversation gets your rewards.  End of term means an accounting of those prizes earned in term time and I reward well.  As the image above shows it was a good payout as a small pile of award stars, certificates and so on were presented to me.  Well done you three!

GBS

Queens Baton Relay 2014 – June 20th 2014 Girvan

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While work prevented me attending the Queens Baton Relay today as it went through Girvan on its way up the coast and through South Ayrshire (well local big wigs get paid for standing in the sun and I don’t hey ho) my good lady got me some pictures and a little booklet.  You can see the cover of the booklet above and a picture of the baton carrier who had done some good work for local children at Girvan Hospital below.  It has been a lovely week of sunny weather and it shows in the pictures.  Such a blue sky and the heat made for fine baton walking conditions.

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My eldest son as a part of his class attended the event (one of the last things he had to do before his primary / elementary schooling ends for good in a week or so) and was given the distinction of carrying the flag for his class’s chosen commonwealth nation South Africa.  He had a smashing time and a well deserved way to end his last little school year.  Top of the class and a thoroughly nice child who is turning into a young man that I am rightly proud of to my core.  Have a look below and check out that springing step and grin!

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As for the Baton Relay itself I really don’t care about it but it was nice to see some crowds and smiling faces in the town.  Interestingly enough when you read the baton booklet a sizeable piece of the text is given over to ‘Business Branding’.  While it urges that everyone have fun and benefit from the relay it makes it clear that again and as always know your place.  Don’t be naughty and try to make a few quid off the back of the games (just like the Olympics in 2012) as copyrights and brands are jealously guarded.  While I agree and understand this after all big companies have paid big to advertise and we want to keep it clean it does make me grin falsely when I consider that a local person baking little cakes for 50p with the word’s ‘Queen and Baton’ on them to sell for an hour in their little town will be coshed all the same.  Heck if I was to say the name of my employer and put it in this posting I would be breaking the law….gotta love sport eh.

Well got to get on….

GBS

Alternative Armies is changing Website!

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This is taken from the Alternative Armies blogger blog as of noon today. For your information as a follower of this website of mine.  GBS :

Alternative Armies is moving!

We are about to move our website and email accounts to a new service provider and system. This will greatly improve what we can show you (we are beginning Project Darkhelm and we have a lot of Flintloque miniatures coming) and make us more effective for offering deals, viewing on mobile devices and blogging too. While the process of moving should be painless we do need to tell you all some information. So please read on. 
The process will begin on Wednesday 18th June 2014 at 8pm GMT and we estimate it will all be complete within fourty eight hours. However it may take up to a week. We will let you all know once the shiny new site is up and running. We will have launch offers too so something to look forward to. 
We will be deactivating our payment gateway and current website and email system between 4pm and 7.45pm GMT on the 18th of June 2014. Please DO NOT email us on our normal email address during the transfer period as we may lose your email in transit. All orders placed with us will be filled and dispatched as normal and all email already in progress with us will be answered by our proxy. 
Our sister brand www.15mm.co.uk is going to help us out during the transfer with our email as a proxy. If you want or need to contact Alternative Armies during this period please email us on sales@15mm.co.uk and they will pass it directly onto us and in turn we will respond by that email address. We will announce here that all is well on the new site and email systems once ready so that live will continue as normal for us and our customers. 
Lastly once the new website is up and you can see it please delete all your page links to parts of the current website as they will no longer work and check your computers cache too as this may show you a ‘ghost’ vision of the website that no longer represents the live one. Its an exciting time and you want to ask me something please do it in the comments below as well.   Go HERE.
Gavin Syme (GBS) 
Creative Manager – Alternative Armies

Rest in Peace Rik Mayall and know that I will miss you…

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I was going to do a blog post this evening about how the build of the mighty new Alternative Armies website is now complete and that preparation to move over to the new site will begin soon.  I was going to do a blog post about it being only 100 Days until Scotland must choose to be in this union or become an independent nation once more.  I was going to do a blog post about the great success of the latest Ion Age early supporter offer or about the great reception to the re-mastered Sabre Jet Flyer for Laserburn or even about the massive efforts we have been going to for project Darkhelm.  But no.  I little piece of my world died this afternoon for my comedy hero of my entire remembered life is dead.  Rest in Peace Rik Mayall aged only 56.

Its not a big tribute.  Its just what I feel.  On the odd occasion where it has gotten a little dark for me in life the comedy programme of Rik kept me going.  I know literally all the lines of Bottom dialogue off by heart.  I own four copies of Guest House Paradiso in an effort to support him.  I have seen him live on tour.  I own all the Young Ones, all of The New Statesmen, the movie Drop Dead Fred and even the little known Filthy Rich and Catflap and the Dangerous Brothers.  Since the 1980’s and boyhood I have adored Rik Mayall.   Hell in the last blog post I put up there was a still of Ade Edmondson leading it, that is how much its on my mind most weeks.  I had hoped for another series of Bottom, of another Tour.  Really anything but no chance of that now.

I do not yet know what happened to Rik but it must have been quick and that is something.  Time will tell.  My thoughts are with his wife and three children.  Enjoy these video links:

No more work for me today.  Email will have to wait this evening and instead its going to be a DVD and a few beers.  Anarchic comedy one last time before it becomes legend.

GBS