Back in Black

Well, in spite of the unbelievably bad weather we have had this summer (there is currently a thunderstorm outside) I had a great 2 weeks off.

My birthday was a hoot, and I have spent many long hours fiddling with the new guitar amplifier to find out what it can do, which seems to be just about everything from clean country to Death Metal, with Van Halen, Santana and Rush thrown in for good measure. Really thinking about getting into a band again now!



We did not go away anywhere, but had some fun days out, managing to get a couple of sunny days on Broadstairs beach. It is a great little town that has everything you need for a day out. It is also interesting in that Charles Dickens, the famous author, lived there. You can see his house in the picture, Bleak House (which the book was named after), the brown building on the sky line, upper right. In the summer the town has a lot of events, such as the Dickens Festival and the Folk Music Festival, which includes lots of free shows, Morris Dancers, etc. All good fun.

I also ran my summer wargame at home, with plenty of food and drink laid on to keep the players happy. We played a series of small battles as each player attempted to become the most powerful nobleman in England. One player took a beating and decided to spend the rest of his time pandering to the French King, while the other three fought it out. Arthur, my son, was playing and almost won, but the other 2 ganged up on him in a final showdown, beating him. An uneasy truce was declared but I think we will be returning to this again in the future.

This week I have Arthur with me doing some work experience, so it is a nice way of easing back into work as I try to remember what on earth I am supposed to be doing here! He is enjoying it, especially lunchtimes for some reason. Teenagers and food, eh?