Tag Archives: Family

April 29, 2013

Citizen Keen

seniorstudent_april2013_300dpi

My eldest son got another ‘senior student’ badge today from his school.  Those who follow this blog might remember he also got this badge back in September last year.  Getting it twice in a year seems to be something of an achievement.  The badge has no meaning in terms of school work in class its a citizenship type award instead; being given instead for aiding others in school life.  I will not go into details but the lad often assists other pupils who have medical or social needs beyond the norm and it goes with his caring and responsible nature.  As normal he will accept no praise so a five pound note left in his pocket this evening will do the work for me.

Tonight is also the bi-annual parents evening at the school, so perhaps he will score big twice this week.  Or even three times since the ‘star awards’ are middle of this week and he may make the grade there too.

Well done son!

GBS

3 Comments

Filed under Family and Life

Tagged as , , ,

April 25, 2013

Tooth Fairy Pillows

toothfairypillows_300dpi

Just a quick posting today here on the blog.  Why, you ask.  Well firstly so that I can show you all these three lovely Tooth Fairy Pillows my good lady made for our three lads and secondly because Salute has left me knackered and with only a day left until the promo month for the show ends the orders are still pouring into Alternative Armies.  Normal service as of next week as they say…what am I brewing, lets just say its been talked about before on this blog…

In the picture you can see the three little pillows my good lady made.  Honestly who needs to buy such things when this talented girl is in the house and making them herself.  Lovely work and the project made a change from miniatures you can be sure of that.  I said she should consider making them to order.  As to to what such a pillow is for…you put your tooth in it when it comes out and then during the night the Tooth Fairy leaves you a golden coin (if you are lucky enough to have Sterling as currency, one pound coins are gold in colour) which you can spend as you like the next day!

Well done lass!

GBS

6 Comments

Filed under Family and Life

Tagged as , ,

April 12, 2013

A Visit from America

merryfour_april2013_300dpi

GBS, Bob, Eve Hallow and wee Bob too!

It has taken me a wee while to get to this posting here due to work commitments (I am only one Man damn it!) but I wanted to tell you all about a visit of several days that I had been looking forward to from my good friend in America Bob McAlister and his family.  During a visit to Scotland last week the jolly three came by and spent a few days here in Girvan.  A good time was had by all and several field trips undertaken as well.  Bob had sent me a package last year which I posted about and I took the chance to repay him by a filling with beer at the Roxy Pub here in Girvan and getting him hooked on Irn-Bru.

While he was here Bob and I played out the Typhon demo scenario for Salute 2013 on a cut down sized playing area and yes I won but only just.  It was a close call.  Below you can see Bob and I talking shop before play commenced.  Typhon is a super game for a visual experience and my Droves of Shades gave a powerful account of themselves against Tyro and her Cyclopes too.

gbs_and_bmc_300dpi

Getting ready to Play Typhon. Bob is the handsome fellow on the right!

During our excursion to Glasgow we visited Static Games and I picked up a stack of second hand books and magazines including some very early White Dwarf issues.   If time allows I will post on these later in the month.

Bob and his family were delightful company and we all missed them when they left.  The world can seem a large place but really in these days of jet travel, skype, email, facebook and more its not so big after all.

GBS

5 Comments

Filed under Family and Life, Wargaming Hobby

Tagged as , , , ,

April 12, 2013

The Chocolate Factory Visit from a Golden Ticket

chocone_300dpi

A Golden Ticket with my name on it!

Its a rainy dreary day here in Scotland…well at least in the South West where I am.  But that did not put the wee three off a trip to the Chocolate Factory today.  A trip which had been planned since the Warrior’s fourth birthday.  At the themed party that day he had gotten a ‘golden ticket’ and duly a visit to the excellent Chocolate Factory about an hour or so away was arranged.  It has taken a few months for the golden ticket promise to be honoured but today was the day.  I unfortunately was too busy to go along but the tale was told upon their return.

choctwo_300dpi

The Thinker and the Warrior learn the ways of Choc!

The CocoaBean Company runs the premises and you can see from their website just what they offer.  Above you can see a photo of a children’s chocolate workshop which all three of my lads enjoyed a lot.  After this and a spot of lunch (and chocolate..duh!) a large indoor play area offered fun and then an even bigger play area outside had a giant slide; see below.

chocthree_300dpi

The Poet on the loooong slide down!

All in all based on what I seen and been told I would recommend this experience to anyone with children who is in this part of Scotland or North England.  Good show!

GBS

2 Comments

Filed under Family and Life

Tagged as , ,

March 17, 2013

Nearing Three Score…well a Score and three Quarters!

gbs34thb_300dpi

The Swag of the Day!

Its me birthday today…Huzzah!  Its also been a long week of many things the future will show, hence the lack of blog postings and updates.

Thanks to all who gave me a gift.  Not only a physical object but also their time, for the emails, phone calls and also visits in person.  Above you can see some of what I received including several graphic art books and DVD’s too.  I may do a posting or two on some of these but they are all smashing great objects which will keep me ‘nerding’ for many hours over the coming weeks.  You will also see a polo shirt behind everything else.  This is a staff shirt from my local hostelry the ‘Roxy’.  They adore me so much they gave me a uniform so that I might work for them…but the 15mm.co.uk shirt I currently wear would have to be prised off with a white metal crowbar first!

Special mention to my best buddy Jim Brittain who took several days off his work to come and stay here with me in Girvan for my birthday weekend.  Also Eve Hallow who amused all with the scratching of his long nails on every chalkboard he could find.  Also my Good Lady who organised not only a rousing cheer or two but also a cake and other surprises.

Normal service resumed soon!

GBS

p.s.  I am 34 today in case the title is somewhat confusing in this posting.

10 Comments

Filed under Admiring Others, Family and Life

Tagged as , ,

March 3, 2013

Now you are Seven!

cake030313

The Cake!

Happy Birthday to ‘The Poet’ for yesterday was his seventh birthday!

Above you can see the lovely cake, my good lady does like to get a proper cake for a birthday, this time themed upon SpongeBob Squarepants featuring him on the left and pinky Patrick Starr on the right.  Great taste and the little chap loved it.  The day went well with some presents to open and cards to put up upon the mantleplace and he was very grateful to all who had given him gifts and funds which he has promised to add to his savings for ‘fun later’.  We had arranged for a two hour birthday party at the local Kidz Play centre where he, his brothers and twenty other children went on a sugar and music fuelled rampage (no pictures of this..sorry!).

smileatculzean_300dpi

I love the ducks me!

After lunch we decided on a trip to Maidens and then a walk along the beach to the grounds of Culzean Castle estate where a couple of enjoyable hours were had including the swing park and feeding the ducks and swans (on left over party food..what else!).  The Poet and the swans are pictured above and a view as I walked back along the hill to the beach and back to the car also so that you get a feel for it.  I intend to go back with the children when the weather heats up a bit more as it was a little chilly by late afternoon but its a fine view and a great place to spend a day.

ailsafromculzean_300dpi

The view from the hills on the Maidens side of Culzean

Given his choice of evening meal The Poet elected to go for Pizza which was duly done and then rounded off the day with a little chat to his favourite Uncle James (Jim Brittain) on the phone before heading off to bed.  I should mention that he was most taken with the smooth lumps of lava, quartz and granite that he and the small Warrior lifted off the beach.  Who needs toys eh!

Now we are seven…its a gonna be a cracking year!

GBS

Comments Off

Filed under Family and Life

Tagged as , ,

March 1, 2013

The Thinker gets 10 Stars!

tenstar_march13_300dpi

What a magnetic kid!

Coming home from school today the oldest of my three sons, the Thinker, presented to me his beloved father the latest example of his achievement at school.  A metallic magnet plate telling him that he had reached the point of  having ten stars in his class.  Stars are given for good work, good behaviour, good time keeping and helping others.  I think of it more as ‘citizenship points’ than ones for education.  He does well every year in this and his teacher has told me that he looks out for others constantly…if only all human beings were this way.

Well done me laddo!

GBS

Comments Off

Filed under Family and Life

Tagged as , , ,

February 7, 2013

Brush your Teeth…it really does pay off!

thewholetooth_300dpi

Its the one on the left…that on the right is typical size.

I wanted to share a little story with you all which has just been relayed to me by my Good Lady.  It concerns my eldest son The Thinker and his visit to the dentist today.  A visit to have a tooth removed…but before you begin to tut and chastise be aware that this tooth was being removed due to its desire to stay rooted into the mouth of a lad approaching eleven years old.  I shall inform further.

My children do not get to drink fizzy drinks of any kind.  Now I am not harsh but its for their own good for you see I am child of Glasgow in the early 1980′s where virtually all children had missing teeth due to such drinks.  Sadly this is still the case for many in Scotland despite the evidence of tooth decay these drinks cause.  So its a diet of milk, squash, water, fruit juice and the odd lemonade for a special treat..no caffeine either!   Here in Girvan like elsewhere I regularly see idiotic parents giving toddlers or older children bottles and cans of fizzy drinks which they tip into blackened mouths and then howl from the sugar and caffeine rushes.  None of that for my dearest three.  So the teeth in the heads of my three sons are white and bright just like they are.  This is literal proof for this science being correct.  Take it from me.

The dentist removed my son’s tooth because it was so healthy and well grown that it did not want to come out to make room for the adult tooth coming in behind it.  She remarked that not only was it one of the best mouths she had the pleasure to work on (mine is not too bad too, we all have the same excellent dentist) but also that the total lack of decay was astonishing.  But what was really remarkable was the super size and strength of the tooth, which you can see above, twice or so the length of average.  My lad did very well and not even a whimper when the pliers did their work.  When he becomes a man his mouth and his mind will thank his parents.

Brush your teeth..better to have healthy ones pulled than a mouth of rot!

GBS

4 Comments

Filed under Family and Life

Tagged as , , , ,

January 9, 2013

A Chocolate Factory themed Birthday for the Warrior

This post is a day late but yesterday was a long and hectic day so here we are; late but unrepentant!  It was my youngest son’s forth birthday and he, the Warrior, was determined that it was to be themed around his most favourite thing in the world…Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.  The lad loves this tale.  He has both the films, the audio book, the novel (though it is his brothers copy and he cannot yet read it!) plus clothing and everything else he can get his hands on for it.  So a party on this line was the order of the day.

chocolate factory cake

A Cake fit for a Prince! Custom Made and very impressive

I have to thank my good lady who frankly made all the effort with this birthday and the party.  I do not have a lot of free time (wargamers hunting Flintloque miniatures can do that too you) so she designed and ordered custom invites, the fantastic artist’s cake (above) and she made what were frankly professional grade party bags made to look like they were from the Wonka Factory.  These included candy canes and ‘re-wrapped’ cadbury bars in Wonka Wrappers.  The attendance at the party was twenty odd, no more would have fitted in!

wonka bars

Little Wonka Bars!

wonka party bag

Home made but Professional looking Wonka Party Bags

The wee guy was spoiled by his friends and family, when you are four its what should happen, and after unwrapped a pile of pressies he toddled off to bed and was out like a light!

warrior 4th

I’ve been up for fourteen hours now!

So well done to all involved.  The Warrior will remember this party and that day for a long time to come.  But as an aside…what he really wanted for his birthday, two things.  Firstly a little DVD player so he can watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in bed and…of all things…Eve Hallow to come round for some cake!  Eve did so but cake and kiddies and the living dead don’t really mix!

GBS

2 Comments

Filed under Family and Life

Tagged as , ,

January 1, 2013

Happy Hogmanay and Welcome to 2013

A Happy Hogmanay to all and to all a Happy New Year too!

2013 eh….we are truly living in the future now.  What will the new year bring?  It’s hard to tell really what with all the trouble in the world, the uncertainty in the economy, the signs in the starts and other mumbo jumbo.  But hey when was it ever any different.  Me, well I am going to keep on doing what I have been and that is to bring wargamers top notch products at great prices.  With what I have planned for this new year work wise it will be fun, fun, fun for all.  But I cannot spoil the surprises all in one go so I will keep quiet on the new game titles, new miniatures and other new things too for now.

For myself personally its going to be an interesting year since I plan on doing several things I have been meaning to do and keep putting off for one reason or another.  These are not ‘new year resolutions’ (who keeps to these anyway beyond the first week of January?) but more ambitions for living if you want to call it that.  I want to play more of my own wargames, more HOF Fire Team and USEME and of course Flintloque leading to more Slaughterloo battles; these would be accounted for on TTWG blog and linked in places to Barking Irons Online too.  I want to be a bit more productive too (did you just gasp at that, but yes I could do more) in my personal life as I have let things slide a bit in terms of keeping my space tidy and filing things away.  Its also now been three years since the operation for an umbilical hernia that laid me flat out and that means I can go back to exercise without fear of tearing my internal  ’stitches’.  I have about forty pounds I want to shift off.  I hope to get to a point where I can cycle 5k a day.  I would say I will begin work on some fiction for separate publication by Kindle but this year looks too busy already for those plans. I want to spend more time with my children too as I am having trouble keeping Saturday a ‘no work’ day beyond 9am as I had promised them plus I hope not to suck as much at Xbox games to give my lads a challenge!  So lots to think about and I hope I don’t drop the ball on all of these aims.

I am sure all of this will pop up here on the blog and elsewhere too.  Lets see how I get on!

Happy New Year!

GBS

Comments Off

Filed under Family and Life, Idle Musings, Wargaming Hobby

Tagged as , , , ,