Saturday 16 August 2014

A News Round-Up

I've been a little under the weather for the last couple of days, which is why I haven't blogged as much as I'd intended.  So today's post is by the way of a catch-all round-up.

Bloggers for Charity


The end of the BfC auction means the end of active fundraising for BfC 2014.  I was able to post an announcement that the total raised for Help for Heroes was £718 - a very nice sum indeed!

It looks unlikely that there will be a BfC 2015.

A Mile-Stone

Ste over at Monty's Caravan this week hit the 100K visitors mark.  He promises prizes, so perhaps now is a good time to visit this excellent blog!

Wargame Bloggers' Quarterly



As surely everyone whose interested in this field now knows, a new e-zine, the WBQ was launched last weekend.  It's of very high quality and has already had over 1,000 downloads.

I'm sure anyone who follows hobby blogs and forums realises that the growth of self-publishing on the internet will be the death-knell of hobby magazines unless they change their act drastically.  Because of the visual aspect and potential for instant feedback this seems to particularly likely in the wargaming world.  It would be an interest subject for someone with more knowledge than me to blog about.

Anyway, I wish all involved much success and look forward to future issues.

The Dawlish Chronicles

A bit French, bu you get the idea...

A blog I've recently started to follow might be of interest to readers.  The Dawlish Cronicles is a blog by Antoine Vanner, author of the series of books of the same name (two so far) that chart the career of Nicholas Dawlish during the transition of navies from Age of Sail to that of the Ironclads.

We already have the following teaser about how the series will end:
Admiral Sir Nicholas Dawlish is probably best remembered today for leaving retirement in 1914, at the request of his friend and sometime rival Lord Fisher, to assume responsibility for Unconventional Naval Operations. 
His imaginative filling of that role, and his death at the age of seventy two on the Zeebrugge Mole, where he fell in a hail of machine-gun fire on St.George's Day 1918, (making him the oldest serving officer to fall in action in either World War), ended an illustrious career in a manner which he would have found wholly appropriate...
The blog isn't about the books, but is the history behind this period of transition.  It's great stuff and well-researched.

The PBB BBIB Game


Clint's Play-by-Blog game of Blood, Bilges and Iron Balls continues.  He published the results of Turn 3 today and, though we're still a fair bit from any action, things are beginning to mix up...

I'll update my PBB page once I've worked out the ramifications and transcribed the relevant section from Capt Fearless' memoirs.

Other Games


Given the success of the BBIB game, I've signed up for another play-by-blog one.  This will be the famously devious board-game Diplomacy being run by The Man Padre.

It may be the worse decision I've made in a long time!



I normally avoid playing on-line games (because it then becomes difficult to pull myself away from the computer!), but suffering as many are from Piratitis, I found it difficult to resist Pirates Glory, a trading and plunder game.  I'm actually enjoying it so far.

12 comments:

  1. We'll done on wrapping up BFC 2014.

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  2. Glad you signed up for Dip, old man. Hopefully you'll come out the other side in one piece.
    Thanks for the note re the Dawlish blog, that sounds like a good read - UNLESS he's another fictitious admiral you've invented to fool your readers?

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    1. Once prawned, twice shy? ;-)

      I've just added another extract from Sir Henry's memoir to the PBB page...

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  3. Cheers for the shout out for WBQ Edwin and well done with BfC.

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  4. I heard that someone actually finished a game of Diplomacy once...
    : )

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    Replies
    1. I have been in many that played to completion; either in victory or stalemate.

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  5. Good catch-up post, Edwin. I was hoping I could get away with some nice figures from BfC but that was not to be.

    Good luck in Diplomacy! I was very tempted to step in and give it a go too.

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  6. Sorry to hear that you have been feeling under the weather old chap, but a great catch up post - I see Piratitis is spreading, I blame Loki! ;)

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  7. Glad you're feeling up I knew Piratitis would catch like a house on fire but the summer is nearly over and I can hear the call of Samhain. My entry into Diplomacy is rather terrifying really.

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  8. Hadn't heard of The Dawlish Chronicles. They look just up my street!

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    Replies
    1. Do post a review if you read one - I'm intrigued.

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