Lockdown and an Osprey freebie

Well, if the last few weeks haven't been strange enough, the UK is now is in (almost) complete lockdown.  It's quite incredible how quickly the tone has changed and we find ourselves queuing (with sensible spacing) outside the supermarket in the hope of finding some supplies.

I'm pretty fortunate in that I already work from home and my job has continued with only a few changes.  I know several people who have lost hours at work or are now potentially facing a long spell with no income at all.  The UK government have committed to meeting 80% of salaries so it's not all bleak but no one really knows how this will pan out.  The general impact on our day to day life isn't really too disruptive compared with most people so 'musn't grumble' (not yet at least, although there are mutterings at work that things may change and hours might be reduced).

Regular gaming had, very sensibly, pretty much stopped everywhere before the lockdown so it has given me more time to paint and work through the Wars of the Roses retinue I've been painting.  I can already sense my attention beginning to wander though (I'm so fickle...) and so I may need to find some other stuff to paint as well.  Like most people that shouldn't be a problem as the loft is full of unfinished projects.  Who am I kidding!?  Most of them haven't even been started!  So there are plenty of things to work on.  Of course this means I might lose my focus on the WotR figures. I'm now up to 80 figures completed with another 24 almost done... it's been a long time since I've produced so many figures in such a short space.

To fill in the gaming vacuum a friend has kindly resurrected a Space based campaign which he has run in the past...a mix of galactic empires building up fleets and exploring the universe before bloodily stabbing each other in the back!  (back to the Wars of the Roses again!).  This all done via email so no risk of contagion.  This was great fun last time it had an outing so it promises lots of fun...in the last game I did quite well despite not having a clue what was going on!  I'm also looking at playing some games on Vassal with a friend (or maybe Tabletop Simulator)...haven't used this before but it looks relatively straightforward.

One bit of good news is that Osprey are running a really generous offer where they are making 5 titles a week available for free over the next 4 weeks... have a look here .  I've just downloaded 3 of the titles from the 1st week... US Marine vs Japanese Infantryman, Blackbeard and The Martini Henry Rifle.  Can't really say no when it's free!!

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well and that we all get through the next spell unscathed!